reproductive rights
A men’s movement takes reins in a nationwide quest to end abortion
Wendell Shrock doesn’t believe in condoms. “We should leave the uterus to God,” the street preacher from Tennessee tells States Newsroom, in front of an abortion clinic outside of Atlanta, mid-morning in late July. Sweat drips from his cowboy hat into his salt-and-pepper beard that stretches halfway down his red-plaid shirt. The retired police officer […]
Anti-abortion ‘abolitionists’ take slavery rhetoric to the next level
The first time Tina Marshall heard anti-abortion protesters call themselves “abolitionists,’” she said she burst out laughing. Marshall, a Black woman who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, was counter protesting at an abortion clinic when a mostly white group — save one Black woman — surrounded her and told her they were abolitionists. “I rolled […]
Pregnancy resource centers tout their services to Arkansas lawmakers
CORRECTION: Arkansas Pregnancy Resource Center is next door to Little Rock Family Planning Services. An earlier version of this story erroneously named another organization. Some Arkansas lawmakers said Thursday that they see pregnancy resource centers as tools to help reduce infant, child and maternal mortality in the state, which has a near-total abortion ban and […]
Ohio’s Issue 1, which would have made it harder to amend state constitution, goes down to defeat
The Republican-led effort to make amending Ohio’s constitution more difficult has failed. As of 11:45 p.m. Eastern, unofficial results for the Aug. 8 special election show voters rejected Issue 1 57% to 43%. The Associated Press called the race at 9:00 p.m. While precincts were still reporting late into the night and absentee ballots will […]
National abortion ban eyed as group marks ‘Siege of Atlanta’ protests 35 years ago
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Thursday, July 20, 2023. A previous version of the story incorrectly characterized Georgia abortion law. Members of a national anti-abortion religious organization called Operation Save America are in Atlanta this week to protest at a local abortion clinic and to discuss new strategies for achieving a national prohibition […]
Nearly 50 congressional Democrats urge tighter regulations protecting medical records
Nearly 50 Democratic and independent members of Congress are appealing to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to tighten regulations protecting the privacy of health information. In a letter Tuesday to Secretary Xavier Beccera, they asked that the department enact more precautions to ensure that law officers obtain a warrant before seeking the […]
Column: Dobbs decision spurs moral injury to abortion patients, providers alike
On June 24, 2022, the landscape of reproductive healthcare in this country took a frightening turn for the worst. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned what had previously been a constitutional right to abortion set off a whirlwind of changes in healthcare – not only as related to […]
Echoing history, reliance upon travel rises for abortion care post-Dobbs
Editor’s note: This report is part of a special States Newsroom series on abortion access one year after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision one year ago, people of childbearing age in states across the country suddenly faced what seemed […]
Arkansas Democratic lawmakers discuss maternal and reproductive health policies at White House
Four Arkansas state representatives participated in a discussion at the White House on Wednesday about the state of reproductive rights in the U.S. nearly a year after the landmark Supreme Court ruling that left abortion access in the hands of the states. The 49 state legislators at Wednesday’s meeting came from 25 states that have […]
Democrats in Congress renew push to protect access to birth control
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. The measure would ensure people have the right to use contraception and that health care providers have a right to share information about contraception as well as provide it. The legislation would […]
Lawmakers debate violence against abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers
WASHINGTON — Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics. GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the Federal […]
Health experts urge FDA to approve over-the-counter birth control in unanimous vote
Dyvia Huitron started having sex when she was 16. Worried about getting pregnant, she talked to her parents about getting on hormonal birth control. Instead, they grounded her. The now-19-year-old had expected pushback – she was living in a religious community in conservative McAllen, Texas. But she underestimated how many years it would eventually take […]