Abortion Policy
The 10 states where voters could decide on abortion directly
After abortion rights were upended federally in June 2022, Kansas voters got a chance to weigh in on a ballot measure that was something of a test balloon just a couple of months later. Defying expectations, nearly 60% of voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. Since then, voters in states with both conservative- and liberal-leaning […]
What’s IUI? What’s IVF? A look at the fertility treatments the Walz family is talking about
The broader scope of fertility treatments entered the spotlight this week after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen shared that they had children through a less commonly known procedure. Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Walz as her running mate, he has discussed his family’s fertility journey during speeches in Pennsylvania, Nebraska […]
Women imperiled by abortion bans take center stage at the DNC
Most major party leaders who took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, mentioned that Vice President Kamala Harris would work to restore federal abortion rights if elected president. But the most poignant remarks about the issue on the DNC’s first day came from Southern women who had traumatic pregnancies and spoke […]
‘Perfect storm’ of crises is leading to cutbacks in abortion care, advocates say
Advocates for abortion access say compounding crises of abortion bans, rising economic costs and systemic health care issues are beginning to cause significant funding challenges and potential disruptions to reproductive care of all kinds. Several people described it as a “perfect storm” of problems with the U.S. health care system, particularly post-pandemic, and the rise […]
Potential threats to IVF push political novices into election-year advocacy
Marilyn Gomez was sitting at her kitchen table in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 16 when news alerts and friends’ texts began pinging her phone: The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court had ruled that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization were children under state law. That meant providers could be held liable for discarding them, […]
Kentucky appeals court rejects AG’s efforts to get employment records in abortion case
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Court of Appeals has rejected efforts by the office of the state Attorney General to use a Franklin County grand jury subpoena to get employment records in a case that appears to involve two University of Louisville physicians who performed abortions at EMW Women’s Surgical Center and trained residents at the […]
Telehealth abortion still on the rise, especially in states with shield laws, report shows
Both the overall number of abortions and the use of telehealth abortion care continue to increase in the United States, according to the latest #WeCount report released Wednesday. Telehealth made up 20% of all abortion care in the first three months of 2024, and the monthly total of abortions exceeded 100,000 for the first time […]
Data privacy after Dobbs: Is period tracking safe?
After the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and abortion was banned in the state of Tennessee, Dr. Danielle Kelvas quit using an app that tracked her menstrual cycle. “It frightened me … I actually got frightened because it tracked me for like, a week,” Kelvas said of the Oura Ring […]
Harris’ possible running mates have record of securing reproductive rights post Dobbs
The Democratic Party kicked off its virtual roll call on Thursday to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as its pick for the next commander-in-chief. Harris is expected to announce her running mate soon. Speculation over her vice presidential nominee has run rampant. States Newsroom’s Washington, D.C.,?bureau?recently spoke with political experts who suspect Harris is […]
KY abortion rights advocates mark milestone, lament state’s barrier to ballot initiatives
Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund members, who in June announced a pro-abortion access messaging campaign, gathered at the Warren County Courthouse in Bowling Green Thursday to say their campaign has reached 1.8 million people through digital ads.? Ona Marshall, who founded KRFF and co-owned one of Kentucky’s last two abortion clinics, also criticized Kentucky’s lack of […]
‘Between rock, hard place:’ Will anyone ever have standing to challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban?
LOUISVILLE — Lisa Sobel thinks any Kentuckian who has a uterus should have standing to challenge the state’s abortion ban.? The Kentucky Supreme Court and, more recently, a judge in Louisville, disagree.? Meanwhile, Sobel, one of three Jewish women challenging the ban on religious grounds, says she’s left in a “holding pattern.” She is afraid […]
Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about abortion
Reproductive rights has taken center stage in the first post-Roe presidential election that presently features a longtime advocate for reproductive rights in possible Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, opposite former Republican President Donald Trump, whose three appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices helped overturn federal abortion rights. Although Trump’s former health staffers have co-authored the […]