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 […]
UN Passes Anti-War Rape Resolution Despite US Opposition
On Tuesday, the United Nations amended resolution aimed at ending sexual violence in war passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining. This was after the United States threatened to use their veto power to demand that all references to sexual and reproductive health be cut out. The Trump administration called for this change because they claim the resolution “implies support for abortion.”
Congress to Reintroduce Women’s Health Protection Act
On Tuesday, the Act for Women Campaign alongside Planned Parenthood, National Network of Abortion Funds, and Center of Reproductive Rights, held a briefing on two bills that aim to protect the constitutional and reproductive rights of women nationwide. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) protects abortion services against medically unnecessary restrictions, and the Equal Access […]
Ohio Implements Unconstitutional Six Week Abortion Ban
Ohio has officially banned abortions after 5-6 weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. The law will make an exception to save a woman’s life, however no exceptions for cases of rape and incest. It will take effect in 90 days unless blocked by a federal judge. The law also creates […]
South Korea Rules Sixty Year Old Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
On Thursday, Seoul’s Constitutional Court voted 7-to-2 to overturn the 66-year-old abortion ban in South Korea, which criminalized abortion except in cases of rape, incest or imminent danger to the women’s health, and was one of the strictest abortion bans in a developed country. The court ruled the abortion ban as unconstitutional and violated a […]
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A Texas Bill Would Make Abortion Punishable by Death Penalty
Texas lawmakers are considering a bill, called the Abolition of Abortion in Texas Act or House Bill 896, that would ban all abortion in the state as well as charge women who have abortions with homicide, a crime punishable by death penalty in the state of Texas. The bill was granted its first committee hearing […]
Lindsey Graham Holds Hearing on Dangerous Anti-Abortion Act
Today, Senator Lindsey Graham, the head of the Judicial Committee, is holding a hearing on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a dangerous bill based on “junk science” that would make abortion after 20 weeks illegal. This bill could have lethal consequences for women who “are faced with pregnancies complicated by severe birth defects that […]
Alabama Introduces Bill to Outlaw Almost All Abortions in the State
Alabama legislators introduced the most severe anti-abortion bill in the country on Tuesday that would ban abortions upon knowledge of pregnancy and make performing an abortion at any stage of a pregnancy a felony. The bill, HB314, would ban all abortions as soon as a woman is “known to be pregnant,” only giving exception if […]
Trump Expands Global Gag Rule, Further Restricting Abortion Access Worldwide
In a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of the Global Gag Rule, also known as the “Mexico City Policy,” which prohibit U.S. funding for foreign aid groups and health organizations that provide or refer patients to abortion, even if they do so with separate non-U.S. resources. Although […]
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Study Finds About 4 Percent of Women Are Pregnant When Jailed
A study published in The American Journal of Public Health on Thursday found that about 4 percent of women who were currently incarcerated in state prisons in the United States were pregnant when they were first admitted. While overall prison rates have declined, the number of incarcerated women has been increasing at about a rate […]
Ohio Terminates State Funding For Planned Parenthood
On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health(ODH) notified Planned Parenthood locations all across the state that they would no longer be receiving funding starting next month, due to a 2016 state law that was upheld earlier this month by a federal appeals court. The law forbids the state from providing funding to any affiliations that […]
Six-week Abortion Ban Bill Passes Mississippi Senate
On Tuesday, Mississippi senators passed, by vote 34-15, a 6-week abortion ban bill, which bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If a physician performs an abortion before checking if there is a fetal heartbeat, or performs an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, the physician could have their medical license […]
Congress Introduces the EACH Woman Act to Repeal Hyde Amendment
The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Woman Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and require federal health insurance to cover abortion costs, was introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee and Sen. Tammy Duckworth in both houses of Congress last Tuesday. The Hyde Amendment bans federal funding for abortion with exceptions for […]
Alabama Court Allows Man to Sue Abortion Clinic, Recognizing Fetal Personhood
An Alabama man, Ryan Magers, is suing a reproductive health center as well as the manufacturer of the pill his ex-girlfriend used to end her six-week pregnancy, after a probate court judge granted his petition and recognized the full legal rights of a fetus. Magers’ lawyer claims his lawsuit may be the first U.S. court […]
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California Attorney General and Twenty States File Injunctions to Stop ‘Domestic Gag’
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 […]
11 year old Rape Survivor Forced to Give Birth in Argentina
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 […]