Last week, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a family planning “gag rule,” which would strip federal Title X funding from any clinic that provides abortions or abortion referrals, could go into effect immediately. The new rules ban Title X funded-clinics—which serve approximately 4 million low-income Americans—from both making abortion […]
Last Remaining Abortion Clinic in Missouri Denied License Renewal
The sole remaining abortion clinic in the state of Missouri is waiting on a further decision from the circuit court after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) declined to renew their license last Friday, citing concerns for patients and perceived regulatory violations that were not fixed after an inspection. With the license […]
Rhode Island Codifies Rights Granted under Roe v. Wade
Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo signed the Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA) into law, a monumental moment for the protection of abortion rights in the state. The bill codifies the privacy rights that were established in Roe v. Wade, meaning that if Roe were to be overturned on the federal level, citizens of Rhode Island would […]
Health and Human Services Defends Attack on Title X
On Wednesday, June 19, 2019, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce met to discuss the Department of Health and Human Services new Title X regulation, dubbed as the ‘gag-rule’, that would ‘gag’ health care providers who are Title X funded from telling their patients how and where they can […]
New York City Announces $250,000 of Funding towards Abortion Services
On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced a budget deal for the next fiscal year that would allocate $250,000 to fund reproductive care for those seeking abortions. The money will go to the New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF), an organization that works to make abortion […]
D.C. Appeals Court Blocks Policy that Prevents Undocumented Minors from Seeking Abortions
Today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Trump administration policy barring undocumented minors held in federal custody from obtaining an abortion. In their opinion, the Circuit Court judges wrote that “a person has a constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy” and “the government accepts the applicability of that settled framework to unaccompanied alien […]
More than Four Million Flee Venezuela Amidst Economic and Political Crisis
Venezuela’s downward spiral into chaos and the collapsing economy coupled with high levels of violent crime forces more than four million people to leave the country as accused illegitimate president, Nicolas Maduro, moves to crush political opposition. The crisis means that Venezuela is now “one of the single largest population groups displaced from their country”, […]
Injunction Granted; Last Clinic in Missouri Remains Open for Now
Monday, a Missouri circuit court judge granted Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region a preliminary injunction, allowing the clinic to continue providing abortion services; this injunction will keep Missouri’s last clinic that provides abortion services to remain open for the time being. The judge ordered Missouri’s Department of Health and […]
Wisconsin Senate Passes Restrictive Anti-Abortion Legislation
Last week, the Wisconsin Senate approved four anti-abortion bills that outlaw abortion in cases where the fetus has been or may be diagnosed with a congenital disorder, empower the Department of Health Services to decertify any private abortion provider under the Medical Assistance program, and require doctors to inform patients taking their first dose of […]
New CNN Poll Demonstrates Importance of Reproductive Rights in 2020 Campaign Dialogue
Yesterday, CNN released a poll of American adults concerning their opinions on abortion, finding that three in ten Americans consider reproductive rights to be the major factor in their voting decisions. The poll was conducted May 28-31 of this year and looked at individuals’ views on various laws restricting access to legal abortion and how […]
House Subcommittee Convened for a Hearing on the “Threats to Reproductive Rights in America”
On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties convened for a hearing on the “Threats to Reproductive Rights in America,” specifically focusing on abortion access in light of the abortion bans passed in Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama earlier this year, all of which severely restrict people’s ability to have safe […]
Missouri’s Last Abortion Provider may Close Today
Missouri may become the first state without a clinic that provides abortion services after the Missouri health department refused to renew Planned Parenthood’s license to perform abortions, which expires today. The license expires because of what Planned Parenthood argues are politically motivated and arbitrary regulations targeted at the clinic and Planned Parenthood is suing the […]
Supreme Court Agrees to a Compromise on Indiana’s Anti-Abortion Law
Today, the Supreme Court agreed to a compromise regarding a restrictive Indiana anti-abortion, upholding part of the law that regulates the disposal of fetal remains while dismissing an appeal to reinstate the part of the law that banned abortions on the basis of fetal characteristics. The court’s decision argued that regulating fetal remains “does not […]
Anti-Abortion Constitutional Amendment will be on Louisiana’s Ballot this Fall
On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate passed a bill (HB 425) that would allow Louisiana voters to decide whether or not to change the state’s constitution to further restrict abortion access at the ballot box this October. The passage of HB 425, also known as the “Love Life Amendment,” means that a constitutional amendment containing explicit […]
States are Passing Extreme Anti-Abortion Laws to Challenge Roe v. Wade
Yesterday, Alabama’s female Governor Kay Ivey signed into law the most restrictive and cruel anti-abortion legislation in the United States, legislation that female Representative Terry Collins introduced in the state house to challenge Roe v. Wade. This past week both Georgia and Alabama have passed extreme anti-abortion legislation, revealing the conservative agenda to overturn Roe […]
Anti-Abortion Extremist Testifies in Support of Louisiana’s 6 Week Abortion Ban
Today, the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee unanimously voted to advance a bill banning all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is frequently around 6 weeks, before many people know they are pregnant. It now goes to the full state House floor for a vote.
Maloney and Bonamici Introduce the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Healthcare Services Act
Today, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Suzanna Bonamici (D-OR) introduced legislation called the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Healthcare Services Act to combat fake pregnancy centers and false advertisement of reproductive and family planning services. “No one should have to question that the person they are seeking medical advice from is actually a doctor […]
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Maine House Passes Bill to use State Funds on Abortion Services
Yesterday, Maine House passed a bill to use state funds to cover abortion services and if the bill becomes law, then Maine will be the 16th state to allow public funds on abortions. In a 79-63 party line vote, bill L.D. 820 passed the Maine House and will now be debated on in the Senate […]
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Georgia Passes Strict Anti-Abortion Law
Today, Governor Kemp of Georgia signed into law the controversial “Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, which bans all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. A fetal heartbeat can usually be detected around 6 weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. This is one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws […]
Alabama Seeks to Outlaw Abortions and Criminalize Doctors
This week, the Alabama state house passed the most restrictive anti-abortion bill in the nation that bans abortion, even in cases of rape and/or incest, unless the woman’s life is in danger, and makes performing an abortion a felony. Doctors that do perform abortions can be sentenced to up to 99 years in prison. It […]
