A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas can ban the standard dilation and evacuation abortion procedure used in the second trimester of pregnancy. Texas will be the first state in the country to ban the procedure. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Texas law passed in 2017 banning D&E abortions could […]
Federal Judge Blocks Several Indiana Abortion Restrictions
On Tuesday, a federal judge issued permanent injunctions against several Indiana laws that restrict abortion access, ruling them unconstitutional. Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana blocked a number of Indiana abortion laws that had been challenged in court by a 2018 lawsuit brought by Whole Women’s […]
Federal Judge Blocks Arkansas Law Banning Almost All Abortions
On Tuesday, a federal judge placed a preliminary injunction on an Arkansas law that would ban most abortions. The temporary block ensures that the law will not go into effect until a final ruling on the legality of the ban is made. U.S. District Court Judge Kristine Baker blocked the law, which would prohibit all […]
Indiana “Abortion Reversal” Law Blocked by Federal Judge
A federal judge blocked an Indiana abortion law from going into effect that would have required abortion providers to give misinformation to patients seeking a medication abortion. The law said doctors were obligated to tell their patients about the possibility of “abortion reversal”—a contested process for potentially stopping an abortion that has no scientific backing. […]
Phoenix Clinics Remain Open Despite Anti-Abortion Siege
Arizona reproductive health care facilities remained open and accessible during anti-abortion group Operation Save America’s (OSA) annual national summer siege, dubbed “Further Up & Further In.” Extremists from across the nation traveled to Maricopa County June 22nd through June 26th to join OSA to target area abortion providers with disruptive protests and to oversee the […]
Reproductive Rights Organizations File Lawsuit Challenging Texas Abortion Law that Incentivizes Citizen Enforcement
On Tuesday, Abortion rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking a Texas six-week abortion ban. The law would allow individuals to sue anyone thought to have helped someone obtain an abortion. Whole Woman’s Health, Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the ACLU, and other parties are challenging the Texas law, which encourages […]
2021 Has the Most Abortion Restrictions on Record, Says Guttmacher Institute Report
According to a report released by the Guttmacher Institute last Thursday, 2021 is already the worst year for abortion rights in the United States. 90 abortion restrictions have been enacted by state legislatures in the first half of 2021 alone. The report lists 11 bans on abortion passed in eight states, including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Idaho, […]
Iowa Law Mandating 24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion is Blocked by Judge
On Monday, an Iowa district judge blocked a law that required patients to observe a 24-hour waiting period before they could get an abortion. The law, passed in 2020, was declared unconstitutional by Judge Mitchell Turner. He ruled that the law not only violated a 2018 decision made by the Iowa Supreme Court that protects […]
North Carolina’s 20-Week Abortion Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court
North Carolina’s ban on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy was unanimously declared unconstitutional on Wednesday by Richmond, Virginia’s 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The ban had been in effect since 1973 and was enacted as a response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. It prohibited abortion after 20 weeks except […]
U.S. Bishops Meet to Discuss Biden’s Eligibility for Communion In Light of Pro-Choice Policy Support
This week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will convene to debate whether President Biden and other Catholic politicians who support access to abortion should be denied Communion for their beliefs on abortion rights. Biden, a devout Catholic, has been denied Communion before for his position on abortion rights. As the first Catholic president since […]
California Legislature Considers Bill to Reduce Abortion Costs
The California state legislature is considering a bill to reduce or eliminate the cost of abortion care in the state. The bill would eliminate co-pays and payments towards deductibles for abortions and abortion counseling. The bill, SB 245, was approved by the Senate and will next be voted on in the Assembly. “It’s tough to […]
Supreme Court to Review Mississippi’s 15- Week Abortion Ban
On Monday, the Supreme Court said that it will review Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, which aimed to repeal Roe v. Wade, in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The ban has been blocked by lower courts over the last two years since its passage, reasoning that the law is unconstitutional under Roe’s standards. […]
Texas House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill
On Wednesday, the Texas House passed a bill banning abortion as early as six weeks, before most people know they are pregnant. The Senate has already passed a similar version, and differences will be negotiated before the bill will go to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk. The bill is a “heartbeat bill,” meaning it aims to […]
Biden Announces Reversal of Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced that they would be taking steps to undo the Trump-era domestic “gag” rule, which prevented clinics that referred patients for abortions from receiving federal funding. The proposed Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule would revoke the Trump restrictions eventually, but not immediately. If implemented, the rule will […]
Anti-Abortion Extremist Sentenced to Prison for Health Insurance Fraud
On February 23, Jeffrey White and his son Nicholas White were sentenced to prison and subsequent supervised release. The two men conspired to defraud health care plans under the Affordable Care Act, enrolling individuals in ACA plans in states where they did not live. They created fake leases and cell phone numbers for these individuals. […]
Two Incidents of Anti-Abortion Clinic Harassment Occur This Week
On Saturday, an anti-abortion protester accidentally shot himself outside of A Woman’s Choice clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to Kelsea McLain, a lead volunteer coordinator with the clinic, the facility has lockdown protocols to follow when a gun is seen on site, but no staff members realized that the protester was armed until after […]
Trump Administration Will Stop Blocking Pregnant Minors in Custody from Accessing Abortion
According to a judge-approved agreement from Wednesday, the Trump administration will cease blocking immigrant teens in federal custody from accessing abortion care. The policy follows an ACLU lawsuit from 2017 on behalf of a 17-year-old from Central America seeking an abortion, referred to as “Jane Doe”. The ACLU claimed that the government’s abortion ban has […]
Mexican Women Protest for Legalized Abortion
Yesterday, on International Safe Abortion Day, hundreds of women in Mexico City clashed with the police during protests demanding nationwide legalized abortion in Mexico. The protestors donned green bandanas, the symbol of the Latin American pro-choice movement, and threw Molotov cocktails and bottles at police lines. Much of the police force was comprised of female […]
Anti-Abortion Democrats Press Democratic National Committee to Change Party Platform
Over 100 anti-abortion Democrats have signed a letter calling for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to adopt a party platform less supportive of abortion. The letter was written by Democrats for Life, an organization of pro-life Democrats. It was signed by a number of prominent Christian pastors, anti-abortion organizers, and professors of religion. The letter […]
Trump Administration Demands UN Remove “Reproductive Health” From Pandemic Response
The Trump administration sent a letter to the United Nations on Monday urging the UN to remove references to reproductive health and abortion in its COVID-19 humanitarian response plan. The letter was sent from John Barsa, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The letter urges the UN to eliminate all mentions […]
