This week, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking an injunction to stop the abortion gag rule in Title X Family Planning Program funding from taking effect, which would affect more than 4 million low income women across the United States, and a coalition of at least […]
In Argentina, an 11-year old rape survivor was forced to give birth this week after fighting for the right to an abortion. At 23 weeks pregnant, she underwent a cesarean section however the baby is not expected to survive. The girl, who has been given the name Lucia to protect her identity, attempted suicide twice […]
The Trump administration is implementing a policy that prevents clinics that provide abortion counseling and referrals from receiving Title X Family Planning Program funding, funding that provides birth control, STD tests, cervical and breast cancer screenings, and reproductive health care to low-income and uninsured individuals. Under Title X, federal dollars already cannot directly fund abortion […]
Last Thursday, Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion clinic located in North Austin, Texas, closed its doors after a faith-based pregnancy center, Austin LifeCare, bought out their lease in an attempt to prevent abortion access. This is the second time an organization has tried to buy their lease out from under them, but previously Whole Women’s […]
Governor Reynolds of Iowa stated Monday that the government will not seek an appeal after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the “fetal heartbeat” law passed last May was unconstitutional. This unconstitutional law, if had it gone into effect, would have been one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the United States. Those against […]
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposed a new abortion restriction under the Affordable Care Act in their “2020 Payment Notice” that is meant to deter insurers from covering abortion services, requiring insurance companies that have plans covering non-Hyde abortions to […]
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in favor of placing a temporary hold on Louisiana’s abortion law which requires abortion providers to have hospital privileges at a local hospital. In a tight ruling, 5-4, the Supreme Court set the block in place for a week. This is, however, only a small victory for abortion advocates as […]
Yesterday, members of Congress, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), announced their plan to introduce the Global Health Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act soon. The bill reverses and permanently bans the anti-abortion Global Gag Rule reinstated under the Trump administration, and protects access to healthcare, especially for women and girls, […]
The state of Indiana has requested the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court injunction that blocked a law requiring women receiving an abortion to also receive an ultrasound at least 18 hours prior to the procedure, which adds a waiting period and two different appointments to receive an abortion. The Planned Parenthood of Indiana […]
A proposed Virginia bill meant to loosen several restrictions on abortions, such as eliminating any procedures and processes required that affect a woman’s informed consent, and easing late-term abortion requirements, was tabled by a subcommittee after videos of Del. Kathy Tran defending the bill went viral. Del. Kathy Tran’s remarks went viral after she said […]
The Center for Reproductive Rights has filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, after the Fifth Circuit upheld the law despite Supreme Court precedent, to prevent an extremely restrictive anti-abortion Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges from going into effect on Feb. 4th; the law would leave only one abortion doctor […]
Newly sworn in governor Mike DeWine made a surprise appearance at the Ohio March for Life rally on Tuesday and has announced that he would sign the heartbeat bill, vetoed by Kasich, if it came to his desk. This bill would ban abortion after 6 weeks without exceptions for rape and incest, making it the […]
On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York signed the Reproductive Health Act into law, providing protection against prosecution if an individual receives abortion care as well as expanding the availability of abortions. The law expands the criteria for receiving an abortion as well: the fetus is not viable; endangers the life of the mother; […]
Early Thursday morning, the Michigan statehouse passed a bill renewing the 2012 “telemedicine ban,” which is set to expire at the end of December. Governor Snyder is expected to sign the bill into law before the New Year when newly-elected Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer takes office. The “telemedicine ban” prevents doctors from prescribing an abortion-inducing […]
On Tuesday, a federal judge in Mississippi permanently blocked the state’s 15-week abortion ban, calling it unconstitutional. The Mississippi Gestational Age Act, or HB 1510, bans abortion procedures after 15 weeks of gestation. Further, doctors who violate the ban would have their licenses revoked or suspended. The law was signed in March by Republican Governor […]
Women in the United States can now order safe abortion pills online through the organization Women on the Web, allowing women to medically induce their own abortions at home. The organization performs online consultations, fills prescriptions, and ships the pills to women in countries that legally allow abortions, and studies have determined that the service […]
Kenya’s Medical Practitioners Board banned Marie Stopes, an international health organization, from offering all forms of abortion care in all its facilities within Kenya. Further, the Board requires Marie Stopes to file a weekly report on all services rendered in their facilities for 60 days. The decision to ban abortion came after the Medical Practitioners […]
On Monday, a criminal trial against Imelda Cortez, a 20-year-old woman charged with attempted murder after she gave birth to her abuser’s baby in El Salvador, began. Cortez has been in custody since April 2017 and may face up to 20 years in jail because doctors believe she attempted an abortion. The court ruling is […]
Recently, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill appealed to the Supreme Court to review a lawsuit against an Indiana anti-abortion law that restricts abortion access as well as enforces regulations on how to dispose fetal tissue. This could be the first case on abortion restrictions that the Supreme Court rules on since Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) has launched a campaign to educate and mobilize students against a thinly-veiled “personhood” amendment to the Alabama state constitution on the ballot this November. Amendment 2 would grant full legal rights to fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses, declare that there is no constitutional right to abortion in Alabama, and pave the way to banning abortion and some forms of birth control in the state.
