U.S District Judge Sam Sparks ruled that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission provided no tangible evidence to warrant the funding ban.
Abortion Ship Detained By Guatemalan Government
Women on Waves brings women who are up to ten weeks pregnant on board the boat and carries them 12 miles into international water where they take the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol, which are more than 90 percent effective for women early in pregnancy.
Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill to Block Abortion Providers from Title X Funding
HB 2264 would have specifically cut off Title X funding to organizations that perform abortion despite the fact that Title X funding does not directly pay for those services due to the longstanding Hyde Amendment, instead funding STI/STD testing, cancer screenings and birth control access for women who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford health insurance.
Expanded Global Gag Rule Already Threatening Lives
Since Donald Trump reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule his first week in the White House, public health non-governmental organizations (NGO), international governments, and even USAID have been scrambling to pick up the pieces and figure out exactly how far reaching this executive order goes.
House Moves to Rescind Protection for Women’s Health Centers
This week the House Rules Committee sent legislation to the House floor that would rescind an Obama administration rule, finalized in December, that is meant to block states from cutting off federal funding to organizations that offer abortion care, ensuring that women’s health centers continue to receive Title X funds for other health services including STI/STD testing, cancer screenings and birth control access.
Planned Parenthood Supporters Appear in Thousands to Counter-Protest Anti-Abortion Groups
Nearly 150 collections of Planned Parenthood supporters turned out, ranging in size from dozens to thousands at parks, government buildings, and clinics in 45 states, and oftentimes even outnumbered the amount of anti-abortion protesters.
Threats and Violence Against Abortion Providers Has Skyrocketed, According to FMF Survey
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) has released the results of the 2016 National Clinic Violence Survey, an analysis of the anti-abortion violence, intimidation and harassment that occurred at women’s health clinics across the country in the first six months of 2016.
Arizona May Soon Require Abortion Providers to Check for “Evidence of Life”
Abortion providers and advocates are concerned that this bill will further the undue burdens placed on providers, preventing safe and legal access to abortion services.
Arkansas Governor Signs Offensive and Dangerous Anti-Abortion Bill
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas recently signed into law a bill that allows the husband of a woman seeking an abortion to sue his wife’s doctor, either for monetary gain or in order to place an injunction on the procedure, essentially allowing a man to refuse his partner access to an abortion.
EACH Woman Act Reintroduced in Congress
The EACH Woman Act would prohibit federal, state and local governments from passing laws that restrict private health insurance companies from offering abortion care, and restore abortion insurance coverage to the 28 million women who receive health insurance through the federal government and are currently denied coverage for an abortion procedure through the 1976 Hyde Amendment.
Trump Reinstates and Expands the Global Gag Rule
In one of his first acts as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to reinstate and expand the Global Gag Rule, which restricts women’s abortion access worldwide.
House Expected to Vote on Major Abortion Restriction
Today the House is expected to vote on H.R. 7, known as the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, a bill that would attempt to block all women from accessing health insurance that covers abortion care. It is a sweeping piece of legislation that touches on a number of anti-abortion policies.
Tennessee Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempted Procurement of a Miscarriage
This week, Anna Yocca, the 32 year old Tennessee woman who has been in jail a year waiting trial over allegations that she attempted to induce her own abortion, was released after pleading guilty to attempted procurement of a miscarriage.
House GOP Promises Major Attack on Reproductive Healthcare
House Republicans announced this week that they intend to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and de-fund Planned Parenthood all in one budget “reconciliation” bill, a process that prevents Democrats from filibustering the measure and requires only a 51 vote in the Senate to pass, not the standard 60 vote threshold required for most controversial legislation.
House Select Panel Investigating Abortion Providers Comes to an End
This week the House Select Panel investigating abortion providers finally came to a close after over a year of waging a “McCarthyesque witch hunt,” abusing Congressional authority and subpoena power to intimidate, threaten and endanger the lives of abortion providers and fetal tissue research professionals.
Texas Fetal Burial Rule Temporarily Blocked
The fetal burial rule approved by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
Ohio Governor Signs 20 Week Abortion Ban
Yesterday Governor John Kasich of Ohio signed into law a 20 week abortion ban, vetoing the “heartbeat bill” that had the potential to outlaw abortion as early as six weeks gestation based off the first detectable heartbeat.
Texas Sued Over New Fetal Burial Requirement
Today the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over their new rule requiring fetal tissue from an abortion or miscarriage to be either buried or cremated, a mandate that abortion rights activists say will increase both the cost and the stigma associated with abortion.
Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban Awaits Governor’s Signature in Ohio
A bill that would outlaw abortion after the first detectable fetal heartbeat passed the Ohio legislature Tuesday and is awaiting signature on Governor John Kasich’s desk.
Texas Publishes Anti-Abortion Booklet Filled with Falsehoods and Lies
This week, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) released their newest edition of “A Woman’s Right to Know”, a booklet filled with factual inaccuracies and falsehoods required by state law to be given to women before undergoing an abortion.