Abortion Policy
One year after FDA approves over-the-counter birth control pill, advocates push for more access
Sriha Srinivasan remembers how surprised her mom was two years ago when she learned that birth control pills weren’t sold in stores without a prescription in the United States. “My parents are immigrants from India, and it’s been over the counter there since my mom can remember,” said Srinivasan, a recent graduate of University of […]
Religious views on abortion more diverse than they may appear in U.S. political debate
Lawmakers who oppose abortion often invoke their faith — many identify as Christian — while debating policy. The anti-abortion movement’s use of Christianity in arguments might create the impression that broad swaths of religious Americans don’t support abortion rights. But a recent report shows that Americans of various faiths and denominations believe abortion should be […]
Supreme Court justices appear split over whether to protect abortion care during emergencies
U.S. Supreme Court justices spent two hours Wednesday debating whether a federal law about emergency treatment encompasses abortion care even in states with strict abortion bans, with no clear indication of how they may ultimately rule. A decision could come as soon as the end of June to decide whether Idaho’s near-total abortion ban means […]
Abortion rights petition okayed by Nevada Supreme Court
An initiative petition circulated by Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, an organization working to enshrine abortion rights in the Nevada Constitution, can proceed, thanks to the Nevada Supreme Court’s affirmation Thursday of the petition’s language, which focuses on reproductive rights, including contraception, vasectomies, tubal ligation, and infertility treatment. Donna Washington and the Coalition for Parents and […]
Harris warns a second Trump term would endanger abortion rights in Nevada
Vice President Kamala Harris urged Nevadans to deny Donald Trump a second term in order to protect access to abortion and birth control via the ballot box in November. Harris’s visit to Las Vegas Monday follows a decision by the Arizona Supreme Court last week to reinstate a Civil War-era law banning all abortions, except […]
Abortions are banned in Arizona after the Supreme Court upholds an 1864 law
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled to make abortion largely illegal in the Grand Canyon State, reinstating a 160-year-old law that forbids all procedures except those to save a woman’s life. Justice John R. Lopez IV, writing for the court in a 4-2 split decision, said that a 2022 law allowing abortions up to 15 weeks […]
Trump backpedals on support for national ban, says states will decide abortion rights
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced a shift in his views on abortion laws Monday, releasing a video advocating for state legislatures to make those decisions, not Congress — and was immediately met with strong criticism from an influential anti-abortion group that said it should remain a national debate. “My view is now […]
An 1873 law banned the mailing of boxing photos. Could it block abortion pills too?
WASHINGTON — An anti-obscenity law enacted in 1873 that hasn’t been enforced in decades shot to the forefront of the nation’s abortion debate in the past week thanks to two U.S. Supreme Court justices, amid expectations a future Republican president would use the law to order a nationwide ban on medication abortion. The Comstock Act, […]
Hundreds protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court to keep abortion medication accessible
WASHINGTON—As the enormous yellow banner unfurled in front of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning, Laura Clime-Coates turned to her 9-year-old daughter and said, “Those are the names of people who agree with us.” On the sign, titled “We the People Support Medication Abortion,” were what activists estimated to be half-a-million signatures […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices seem skeptical of limits on access to abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The future of medication abortion access in the United States went in front of the U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday, where several justices appeared somewhat skeptical as anti-abortion organizations argued use of the pharmaceutical should be moved back to what was in place before 2016. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, speaking on behalf […]
First the GOP came for abortion. Birth control, surrogacy and IVF are next.
For girls like me who came of age in the ‘80s while the backlash to the women’s liberation movement raged, it was a profoundly confusing time. On one hand, we grew up listening to “Free to Be … You and Me” combat harmful sexist stereotypes, but the decade was also marked by stifling pressures to […]
U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments Tuesday on abortion pill limits
WASHINGTON — The same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion will hear oral arguments Tuesday over access to mifepristone, a pharmaceutical used in both medication abortion and miscarriage care. The nine justices will then decide whether to leave access to the drug intact or require the U.S. Food and Drug […]