Molly – Page 10 – REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ALERTS

21 Jul

Ruling keeps abortion question on ballot in South Dakota

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Rights, Ballot, lawsui, Lawsuit, Ruling, United States

"A state court judge's ruling Monday keeps an abortion-rights question on the November ballot in South Dakota. Judge John Pekas dismissed a lawsuit filed by an anti-abortion group, Life Defense Fund, that sought to have the question removed even though supporters turned in more than enough valid signatures to put it on the ballot...."

18 Jul

In states with strict abortion policies, simply seeing an OB/GYN for regular care can be difficult

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Ban, Health care, OB-GYN, OBGYN, Reproductive Health Care, United Sates

“The chances that a woman can see a doctor while pregnant — or during a time when she might become pregnant — have fallen significantly since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a new report released Thursday. The findings, from The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan health care research foundation, show that women living in states with a history of health disparities — often in the Southeast — are affected the most. They are not only less likely to be able to afford a doctor’s appointment; they’re less likely to be able to find an OB/GYN in their area….”

04 Jul

Dominican Republic’s Senate Doubles Down on Abortion Ban in Criminal Code

MollyInternational, Latest NewsAbortion Ban, Bill, Criminal Code, Dominican Republic, LGBT+, Senate

"A deeply problematic bill for a new Criminal Code is now approaching final approval in the Dominican Republic's Senate. The bill, which the Senate approved on first review on June 26, maintains the country's complete ban on abortion. It also reduces penalties for sexual violence within marriage, classified as ‘non-consensual sexual activity,’ and continues to exclude sexual orientation from the list of characteristics protected from discrimination, thus failing to afford equal protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The Dominican Republic is one of only five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that maintains a total prohibition on abortion and imposes incarceration for women and…

03 Jul

In wake of Supreme Court ruling, Biden administration tells doctors to provide emergency abortions

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion, Abortion Care, Biden Administration, Emergency abortions, ER, Health care, Supreme Court Ruling, United States

"The Biden administration told emergency room doctors they must perform emergency abortions when necessary to save a pregnant woman’s health, following last week’s Supreme Court ruling that failed to settle a legal dispute over whether state abortion bans override a federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment. In a letter being sent Tuesday to doctor and hospital associations, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Chiquita Brooks-LaSure reminded hospitals of their legal duty to offer stabilizing treatment, which could include abortions. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press...."

02 Jul

CT sees 150% increase in people coming from out of state for abortion care, officials say

MollyLatest NewsAbortion Care, Connecticut, Increases, Reproductive care, Statistics, travel, Travel for Care, United States

"Connecticut has seen an influx of people coming from out of state to get an abortion in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving thousands of people without access to the necessary reproductive and abortion care, officials said. In 2023, there was about a 60 percent increase in people coming to Connecticut for an abortion, while this year saw a 150 percent increase, said Dr. Nancy Stanwood, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England...."

02 Jul

Abortion rights groups file suit to overturn ban on taxpayer-funded abortions

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Rights, Constitutional Protections, Lawsuit, Medicaid, Michigan, Reproductive Freedom, taxpayer-funded, United States

"The ACLU Michigan announced Thursday it had filed a suit challenging Michigan’s ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion and related care, arguing the ban violates the state’s newly enacted constitutional protections for reproductive freedom. The suit, filed alongside the law firm Goodwin Procter on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which offers financial assistance to help people pay for abortion care and related costs. According to a statement from ACLU Michigan, 77% of those who YWCA Kalamazoo provides with this assistance have incomes that qualify them for Medicaid. The suit argues the ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion violates the right to reproductive freedom…

28 Jun

Abortion bans still leave a ‘gray area’ for doctors after Idaho Supreme Court case

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Ban, Abortion Care, Gray area, Health care, Idaho, Ruling, Supreme Court, United States

"The Supreme Court’s abortion ruling on Thursday is a narrow one that applies only to Idaho and sends a case back down to the appeals court. Confusion among doctors in states that have strict abortion bans remains widespread. The case concerns the kinds of situations in which emergency room doctors could end a pregnancy. Under Idaho law, it is a felony to provide nearly all abortions, unless the life of the mother is at risk. But what if a pregnancy threatens her health? For now, those abortions can happen in Idaho emergency rooms...."

28 Jun

Iowa’s Supreme Court tells lower court to let strict abortion law go into effect

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Ban, Abortion law, Iowa, six week ban, State Supreme Court, Supreme Court, Temporary block, United States

"The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that put a temporary block on the state’s strict abortion law, and is telling the lower court to let the law take effect. In Friday’s ruling, the high court told the lower court to dissolve the temporary injunction and continue with further proceedings. The new law bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant...."

27 Jun

The First National Data on Birth Control Post-Dobbs Is Here, and the News Is Not Good

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion clinics, Birth Control, emergency contraceptives, low-income, National Data, national trends, Plan B, United States

"In the wake of the June 2022 Supreme Court Dobbs decision, as dozens of abortion clinics shut down in states with total or near-total abortion bans, reproductive justice advocates warned that the closures wouldn’t just affect patients seeking to terminate their pregnancies. Family planning clinics have historically provided more than abortion services, often offering basic gynecological health care for women. Indeed, more than 1 in 10 women get their birth control from these clinics, including those that also provide abortions. For low-income patients and people of color, the numbers are closer to one 1 in 5. Without access to affordable and reliable contraception, many more women were…

27 Jun

Opinion on important abortion case appeared briefly on the Supreme Court’s website

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion case, draft leak, Emergency abortions, Idaho, Leak, Opinion leak, Supreme Court, United States

"Reporters at Bloomberg Law read that opinion before it was removed. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Kimberly Robinson, a Supreme Court reporter with Bloomberg Law...."

19 Jun

Post-Dobbs, abortion clinics find new ways to serve patients in states with bans

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Care, Abortion clinics, Health care, Reproductive care, Reproductive rights, Reproductive Services, United States

"In the last couple years, Houston Women’s Reproductive Services scaled down from nearly 5,000 square-feet to an 800-square-foot location. The Texas clinic cut more than a dozen full-time employees down to a medical director and three part-time staff members. It’s no longer able to provide abortions, but it changed its focus and stayed open. “I was willing to make whatever sacrifices needed to be made to keep our head above water, just keep the doors open and the lights on, and be able to provide care to these people who desperately need our help,” said clinic administrator Kathy Kleinfeld...."

18 Jun

Parole and probation rules limit travel. That can be complicated for people seeking abortions.

MollyLatest NewsAbortion Care, Abortion Rights, Parole, Post-incarceration, Probation, travel, Travel for Care, United States

"In the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the number of patients forced to seek out-of-state abortion services has doubled. Fourteen states have total abortion bans, three more restrict abortions after six weeks — before most people know they are pregnant — and two others limit them after the first trimester. One population often overlooked in reproductive rights conversations are people under community supervision, also known as probation and parole, which often prohibits travel across state lines without government approval. A new briefing by the public policy think tank Prison Policy Initiative puts these challenges into context for a country without…

18 Jun

Brazilian women protest bill that would equate late abortions with homicide

MollyInternational, Latest NewsAbortion Rights, Bill, Brazil, Healthcare, Late Abortion, legislation, Protest

"Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of São Paulo on Saturday as protests sweep across Brazil in opposition to a bill that would further criminalize abortions. If passed, the law would equate the termination of a pregnancy after 22 weeks with homicide. The bill, proposed by conservative lawmakers and heading for a vote in the lower house, would also apply in cases of rape. Critics say those who seek an abortion so late are mostly child rape victims, as their pregnancies tend to be detected later...."

18 Jun

First hospital fined for refusing to provide abortion under new Polish government rules

MollyInternational, Latest NewsAbortion Care, fined, Healthcare, Hospital, Legal abortion, Poland

"A hospital has been fined for refusing to provide a legal abortion in the first such case since the government recently introduced a requirement for publicly funded medical centres to offer such procedures. Health minister Izabela Leszczyna announced on Monday that the Pabianice Medical Center was fined 550,000 zloty (€126,300). She revealed that audit proceedings regarding two other medical facilities are also in the “final stages” and that they are also likely to be penalised."

18 Jun

Abortion Pill Access Is Still Under Threat After SCOTUS Ruling, Legal Experts Warn

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Pill, Abortion pill access, mifepristone, Ruling, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, United States

"....Last week’s ruling was widely expected, legal experts say. “Anybody that values reproductive freedom and the scientific integrity of the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] can breathe a sigh of relief,” says Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University. But “it would be foolish to declare victory” for abortion rights, he says. The ruling was a narrow legal technicality that didn’t go into the case’s actual merits. It’s quite possible, Gostin says, that the Court could make future rulings that restrict access to medication abortion and usurp the FDA’s broader authority to regulate drug safety...."