President Alberto Fernández is expected to put forward a bill to legalize abortion in Argentina when the legislative session opens on March 1. The bill would be a victory for the country’s abortion rights activists who began a grassroots movement in 2018 to push for a legalization bill. Fernández made abortion access a focus of […]
Federal Court Strikes Down “Fetal Heartbeat” Abortion Ban in Mississippi
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after a “fetal heartbeat,” is detected—as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. This standard contests Roe v. Wade’s national legalization of abortion prior to viability—usually around 24 weeks into pregnancy. Jackson Women’s Health Organization […]
Alabama Legislator Proposes Mandatory Vasectomy Bill in Response to Abortion Ban
Last Thursday, Democratic state representative from Alabama Rep. Rolanda Hollis proposed a new law in which all men are required to have a vasectomy once they reach the age of 50, or after they have their third child – whichever comes first. They would also be required to pay for this surgery on their own. […]
New Form of Birth Control Being Tested for Approval by FDA
Ovaprene, a new form of birth control, is being tested and would be the first barrier form of contraception to be released to the market since the internal condom in 2006. In recent years, most forms of contraception created are hormonal, including the birth control pill, the shot, the ring, and the patch. Hormonal forms […]
Oklahoma State Bill Aiming to Revoke Abortion Providers’ Licenses Under Fire
Both abortion rights and anti-choice activists have slammed a recent Oklahoma bill that would take away licenses of physicians who perform abortions. Last week, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed Rep. Jim Olsen’s bill, H.B. 1182, which would mandate the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to revoke a doctor’s license for a year […]
New Report by Doctors for Choice Asserts That Abortion Access is Healthcare
Tomorrow there will be a report released by Doctors for Choice, a worldwide pro-choice group of medical providers, regarding their stance on abortion being a healthcare issue and that bans on abortion would risk the lives of women. Doctors for Choice previewed its paper by describing their position with “the complete ban on abortion is […]
Planned Parenthood to Resume Care at Louisville Clinic, Expanding Abortion Access in Kentucky
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Louisville will resume providing abortions in March after former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin ordered a stop on abortions at the clinic in 2016. The clinic received a provisional license from the state in January permitting it to provide a full range of reproductive healthcare, including abortions. This will make the […]
Legal Abortion Upper Limit Raised to 24 Weeks in India
The Union Cabinet of India, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which will raise the upper limit for abortion to 24 weeks from 20. Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that this was passed as “here was the demand from section of women, doctors and […]
Virginia State Legislature Moves Forward with Pro-Choice Bill
The Virginia General Assembly is positioned to pass a bill eliminating numerous abortion restrictions and allowing physician’s assistants, nurses, and nurse midwives to perform first-trimester abortions, a major expansion of abortion access in the state. The House passed HB 980 on Tuesday, and the Senate is preparing for a vote on parallel legislation. The bill […]
Ohio Senate Introduces Bill Banning Telemedicine Abortion
On January 21st, the Ohio Senate introduced a bill, State Senate Bill 260, which would ban telemedicine abortions, following the lead of 18 states that currently ban this abortion procedure. Telemedicine abortion occurs when there is not a clinician on staff when a patient visits a health center, and the patient would have a video […]
Trump Administration Reinstates Texas Medicaid Funding, Allows Planned Parenthood Exclusion
Texas will regain federal Medicaid funding for its state family planning program despite refusing to reinstate Planned Parenthood’s coverage, a move which threatens to embolden attacks on Planned Parenthood in other states. Texas lost its Title X federal funding under the Obama administration in 2012 after removing Planned Parenthood and other “affiliates of abortion providers” […]
New Gallup Poll: Three Out of Five Americans Dissatisfied with Restrictive Abortion Laws
A new Gallup poll found that nearly three out of five Americans are dissatisfied with U.S. abortion policies—a record number driven by Democratic and Independent dissatisfaction towards increasingly strict abortion laws. From 2001 until 2016, a roughly equal proportion of Americans were dissatisfied with abortion laws as Americans satisfied with with abortion laws. The latest […]
New Maryland Bill Proposes Parental Consent Requirement for IUDs
On January 8th the Maryland House of Delegates introduced a bill, House Bill 53, that would require minors to have written parental consent to get insertive contraceptive devices, such as the intrauterine device (IUD) and implantable rod. This bill does not require parental consent for minors to receive other forms of birth control, such as […]
South Carolina Bill Introduced That Would Compensate Pregnant People Forced to Give Birth
South Carolina state Senator Mia McLeod has introduced a bill called the South Carolina Pro Birth Accountability Act, or SB 928, that would compel the state to provide financial support to pregnant people forced to give birth due to the state’s proposed ban on abortion after six weeks. The legislation would mandate that the state […]
Ohio Bill Requires Doctors to Reimplant Ectopic Pregnancies
A new Ohio bill requires doctors to reimplant ectopic pregnancies in the uterus, in an attempt to save the pregnancy. House Bill 413 was introduced in the Republican-controlled legislature in November by Representatives Candice Keller and Ron Hood. The 700-page bill defines a fertilized egg as an “unborn child” and outlaws abortions unless the mother’s […]
Monthly Birth Control Pill Developed by Scientists
In a paper published Wednesday, MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital scientists say they have made progress on the development of a contraceptive pill that only needs to be taken once a month. The gelatin-coated pill, which has only been tested on pigs so far, dissolves in the stomach where it releases a six-armed star-shaped […]
House Oversight Committee Holds Hearing On State Reproductive Health Care Access
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a congressional hearing on November 14, 2019 to examine state efforts to undermine access to reproductive health care. Led by Acting Chairwoman Maloney, the committee examined “how states, emboldened by the Trump Administration’s sustained and systematic attacks on reproductive health care, are restricting access, and it will […]
Federal Judge Strikes Down Rule Allowing Clinicians to Refuse Abortion Care for Moral or Religious Reasons
A federal judge in New York on Wednesday struck down a new Trump administration rule that would allow health care clinicians to refuse to provide medical services, such as abortions, to patients for moral or religious reasons. United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York rejected the rule on […]
Federal Appeals Court Blocks Trump Administration Contraceptive Rule
The Trump administration issued a ruling to block the enactment of a Trump administration policy that would allow employers with religious or moral objections to opt out of the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to provide birth control coverage in their insurance plans. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently joined the Third Circuit in […]
Missouri’s State Health Department Tracked Patients’ Periods in an Attempt to Identify Failed Abortions
Missouri’s top health official testified Tuesday that the state health department kept a spreadsheet monitoring detailed personal information about Planned Parenthood patients, tracking patient’s menstrual cycles with the aim of identifying those who had failed abortions — news that has raised questions about patient privacy violations. The spreadsheet included patients’ medical identification numbers, dates of […]