On Wednesday, the House passed the Fiscal Year 2022 State, Foreign Operations, and Relating Programs appropriations bill. The bill contains several provisions that work to advance sexual health and reproductive rights across the globe. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Subcommittee Chair, first wrote the bill and spearheaded its […]
Mississippi Could Ban Abortion Based on Race, Sex, or Genetic Anomalies of Fetus
The Mississippi Legislature is advancing a bill to ban abortions from being performed based on race, sex, or potential physical disabilities caused by genetic anomalies. The Republican-led Senate passed the bill Wednesday by a 33-11 margin. The House is expected to send the bill to Republican Governor Tate Reeves later this week. Senator Joey Fillingane […]
Planned Parenthood Endorses Joe Biden for President
On Monday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced their endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden for president. In a video statement, acting president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Alexis McGill Johnson, explains the decision. She cites the work done during the Obama-Biden administration. “While Joe Biden was Vice President, more people got insurance coverage than […]
Chinese Political Advisor Proposes New Law to Expand Women’s Reproductive Rights
A delegate to China’s top political advisory body proposed a law to allow unmarried women access to reproductive health care such as in vitro fertilization and egg freezing. If passed, the new rule will overturn existing laws that ban unmarried women and couples who exceed the legal limit of children from using assisted reproductive technology […]
Parliament Votes to Protect Same-Sex Marriage and Abortion in Northern Ireland
Last week, U.K. members of parliament (MPs) voted to extend same-sex marriage and abortion rights in Northern Ireland via two measures that will go into effect as long as the regional government in Northern Ireland remains defunct. The Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Ann Furedi, told CNN that Tuesday’s vote on abortion […]
Oklahoma Judge Upholds Ban on Second-Trimester Abortions
The Center for Reproductive Rights has vowed to take an Oklahoma abortion-ban to the state Supreme Court after an Oklahoma district judge upheld a law banning second-trimester abortion procedures last Friday. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has previously rejected multiple anti-abortion bills similar to this ban. The Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the Oklahoma law after […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Trump Administration Proposes New Rule to Restrict Abortion Coverage
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 […]
Supreme Court puts Temporary hold on Louisiana Anti-abortion Law
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 […]
Indiana Looks to Supreme Court to Implement Anti-abortion Law
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 […]
VA House of Delegates Table Abortion Bill That Loosens Restrictions on Late-Term Abortions
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 […]
Fifth Circuit Upheld an Anti-Abortion Louisiana Law, Despite SCOTUS Precedent
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 […]
