On Friday, Governor Ralph Northam signed bills into law that roll back state abortion restrictions, specifically the state’s TRAP (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) laws. The removal of abortion restrictions comes at a time when reproductive rights are being restricted under the current administration and during the COVID-19 crisis. Northam’s spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky stated that […]
Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Texas Coronavirus Abortion Ban
A federal appeals court upheld Texas’s ban on abortion services during the coronavirus crisis less than 24 hours after a district judge struck down parts of the ban. This latest decision blocks medication abortions but allows abortions for those who would be past Texas’s legal gestational limit at the end of the ban. In late […]
Abortion Providers in Texas Turn to District Courts for Abortion Ban Exemptions
Texas abortion providers asked a district judge for limited relief from an executive order restricting abortion during the pandemic, rather than taking the case to the Supreme Court. The move by the providers to seek help from a district judge was made in response to an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]
Northern Irelanders Must Travel to England for Abortion Care During Pandemic
Despite the recent legalization of abortion in Northern Ireland, it remains inaccessible there, forcing patients to take an 8-hour ferry ride to England to receive abortion care. Last year, the British parliament overturned Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws to bring it into line with the rest of the United Kingdom, but the regional government continues […]
Judge Blocks Oklahoma Abortion Restrictions During COVID-19 Outbreak
Oklahoma US District Judge Charles Goodwin has just blocked a state executive order that limits abortion access during the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Goodwin believes that Oklahoma’s ban would cause “irreparable harm” to individuals unable to receive abortion care. In response to Oklahoma’s state executive order, Goodwin also remarked, “that while the current public health emergency […]
Wisconsin Republicans Push Health Officials to Close Abortion Clinics
Wisconsin Republicans argued in a letter that state health officials should temporarily close abortion clinics for safety, and to ensure that they are not utilizing medical resources that are needed elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order given last week did not specifically mention abortion clinics as essential business; however, […]
Reproductive Rights Groups Sue to Stop Oklahoma’s COVID-19 Abortion Ban
The Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) have filed an emergency lawsuit to nullify Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s ban on abortion procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Stitt issued an executive order temporarily halting elective surgeries, which he later specified includes all abortions not deemed “necessary to prevent serious […]
U.S. Appeals Court Rules in Favor of COVID-19 Texas Abortion Ban
On Tuesday, March 31, a United States appeals court ruled to allow Texas to continue enforcing limits on people’s ability to obtain safe and legal abortions due to the state’s policy to postpone “non-essential” procedures in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a New York Times release by Reuters, “Texas and other states that […]
UK Government Permits Medication Abortions at Home During Coronavirus Lockdown
The United Kingdom government announced that it will allow patients to perform medication abortions at home during the national coronavirus lockdown. The decision follows a week of confusion over abortion access in the UK after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) issued and then hours later rescinded its initial order to allow home […]
COVID-19 Activates Debate on Abortion Access Around the World
Globally, federal and local governments have adjusted abortion policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing shortage of medical supplies and stay-at-home orders as rationale for restriction. The government of the United Kingdom generated confusion among abortion providers, when a government website announced that patients would be allowed to access early medical abortion from home, […]
New Laws in Northern Ireland Feature Abortion Stipulations in Wake of Decriminalization
Under new laws to soon be in effect, abortions will be allowed to take place up to 12 weeks “without conditionality” in Northern Ireland. Abortions after 12 weeks will be allowed only under certain circumstances, and the new laws stipulate that in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities there is no time limit for a person […]
Texas Abortion Providers Sue Governor Over Attack on Abortion Access
In one of the most high-profile challenges to a government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of Texas abortion providers have sued Governor Greg Abbott and other state officials in protest of his administration’s exploitation of the pandemic to stop most abortions. The abortion providers, represented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Center […]
TX, OH, LA Attempt to Ban Abortion in Midst of Global Pandemic
Abortion has been included as a nonessential surgery in Texas and Ohio in yet another attempt by lawmakers to ban abortion in the midst of a global pandemic. While the states pointed to a desire to save personal protective equipment for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19, abortion rights activists claim that abortion is, in fact, essential […]
COVID-19 Spending Measures Stalled by Anti-Choice Lawmakers
On March 13, a Facebook post went viral, which claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stalled a coronavirus relief package in an attempt to authorize federal abortion funding. On the contrary, most evidence suggests that conservative lawmakers were focused on inserting the issue of abortion in the bill. A number of conservative lawmakers demanded that the […]
New Zealand Decriminalizes Abortion
On Wednesday, March 18, New Zealand lawmakers voted on and passed a bill that treats abortion as health care and not as a crime, with a vote of 68 to 51. In Nick Perry’s Associated Press release published by ABC news, Margaret Sparrow, 84-year-old doctor and advocate for reproductive rights, said that, “it’s been a […]
Patients Seek Out-of-State Care as Missouri’s Only Abortion Clinic Threatened with Closure
Missouri’s strict abortion laws have begun pushing patients out of the state to seek reproductive healthcare, reports Planned Parenthood. The state’s only remaining abortion clinic has seen a severe drop in patients as it fights a legal battle against the state government to stay open. The clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the […]
Supreme Court Set to Hear Louisiana Abortion Case Today
Today the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments for June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, which looks into the constitutionality of a Louisiana state law (Act 620) regarding abortion practices and has the potential to reshape the legal status of abortion nationwide. According to SCOTUSblog’s official issue report, the case is […]
Colombia Could Pave the Way for Abortion Access in Latin America
In the coming days, a high court in Colombia could rule to legalize abortion within the first few months of pregnancy. In a region known for restrictive abortion laws, this could be a landmark decision in Latin America. Generally seen as a regional legal trendsetter, the Colombian high court could shift abortion access in an […]
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Reproductive Health Protection Act
On Thursday, Virginia lawmakers passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act (RHPA), a “commonsense bill intended to roll back politically-motivated restrictions on access to abortion that have no basis in patient health and safety and only serve to eliminate access to safe, legal abortion care and shut down health centers in Virginia.” Pro-choice lawmakers hope the […]
Argentinian Abortion Rights Activists Make Progress with New Bill
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 […]
