Riley – REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ALERTS

30 Oct

Judge Quashes DOJ Effort To Acquire Private Patient Information

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, Reproductive rights, United States

In a scathing order, a judge in Washington State said the government’s real purpose was to intimidate providers into dropping or paring back transgender care.

30 Oct

Targeting Black Women Workers

RileyLatest NewsMinority Groups, Unemployment, United States

It is no accident that Black women are being disproportionately affected by Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce. In the past 120 days, approximately 300,000 Black women have been forced out of the workforce in tech, finance, healthcare, DEI, and the federal government. In January 2025, Black women comprised 12 percent of the federal workforce, nearly twice the national average. Tragically, Dr. Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Federal Reserve Governor, received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Unsurprisingly, she’s now on the chopping block. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has rightly pointed out that Black women’s employment is a “key metric of the…

30 Oct

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

RileyLatest NewsGOP, Healthcare, Reproductive rights, Trump Administration, United States

In late October, Maine Family Planning announced three rural clinics in northern Maine would close by month’s end. These primary care and reproductive health clinics served about 800 patients, many uninsured or on Medicaid.

29 Oct

MN. Attorney General Ellison blocks illegal cuts to comprehensive sexual health education

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, Minnesota, Reproductive rights, Sex Education, United States

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late Monday blocking the Trump administration from defunding reproductive and sexual health education programs unless those programs agreed to fully erase any acknowledgment of gender identity from their curricula. The ruling is the latest in a lawsuit filed by 16 states and the District of Columbia, which Attorney General Ellison co-led. The states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in September alleging the administration was denying young people services for cruel and purely political reasons with no regard for the law.

29 Oct

Court Ruling Protects Maryland’s Teen Reproductive Health Education Programs

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, Reproductive rights, Sex Education, United States

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from cutting funding to teen reproductive and sexual health education programs that include language affirming all gender identities.

28 Oct

Stillbirths in the United States

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, Reproductive rights, Stillbirth, United States

Stillbirth—the death of a fetus at or after 20 weeks’ gestation—impacts nearly 21 000 families in the United States each year.1,2 Although commonly perceived to be rare and unavoidable, stillbirth occurs in 5.74 per 1000 US births (10.34 per 1000 births among non-Hispanic Black individuals),2 and nearly half of term stillbirths are thought to be preventable.3 Little progress has been made in reducing stillbirth rates in the United States in recent decades.1,4 In 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services established a Stillbirth Working Group.

28 Oct

Disability Reproductive Equity Agenda: Protecting the Reproductive Rights of Disabled People in 2025 and Beyond

RileyLatest NewsDisability, Healthcare, Reproductive rights, United States

Disabled people face more barriers to accessing their reproductive health care and rights than nondisabled people,1 and those barriers continue to grow as elected officials attack legal protections, funding, and programs.2 On May 6, 2025, the Center for American Progress’ Disability Justice Initiative hosted more than 50 advocates from the reproductive and disability rights communities to discuss common goals and develop a communitywide agenda for 2025 and beyond. The guiding question for the working convening was, “What is the world we want to imagine for ourselves?”

18 Oct

Shield Laws for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care: A State Law Guide

RileyLatest Newsgender affirming care, Healthcare, Reproductive rights, SCOTUS, United States

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion, many states enacted bans and further restrictions on abortion. In response, states seeking to preserve and expand access to abortion have passed shield laws: legal protections for patients, health care providers, and people assisting in the provision of certain health care in states where that care is legal from the reach of states with civil, criminal, and professional consequences related to that care.

18 Oct

Trump announces a deal with a manufacturer to make a common fertility drug cheaper for IVF patients

RileyLatest NewsFertility, Healthcare, Reproductive rights, United States

The White House and EMD Serono said the drug, along with all its other IVF medications, will be available at a discount on TrumpRx, a government website where patients will be able to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. The Trump administration contends that the new website, which is expected to be running in 2026, will cut pharmaceutical costs by allowing people to buy them without a middleman.

17 Oct

US aid cuts severely undermine Senegal’s fight against HIV

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, HIV, International, Reproductive rights

By reducing staff and access to treatment, the suspension of USAID and other funding threatens the country’s progress in HIV care

11 Oct

Global Experts Converge At Suraksha Diagnostics To Explore Cutting-Edge Genetic Solutions For Reproductive Health

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, International, Reproductive rights

Suraksha Diagnostics , a diagnostic chain, brought together global experts for a scientific session on “Advances in Genetics & Reproductive Health.” The event focused on the latest developments in Prenatal, Postnatal, and Preimplantation Genetic Testing, crucial for early diagnosis and improved reproductive outcomes.

11 Oct

Changing the Conversation on Women’s Health

RileyLatest NewsHealthcare, Reproductive rights, Women's Health

For too long, women have been told to “live with it.” Leaking a little when you laugh or jump? “Oh, that happens.” Shoulder stiffness after menopause? “Just part of aging.” Fatigue that lingers after cancer treatment? “Something you’ll get used to.”

10 Oct

Why Does Female Fertility Decline So Fast? The Key Is the Ovary

RileyLatest NewsAging, Fertility, Healthcare, Ovary, Reproductive rights

The ticking of the biological clock is especially loud in the ovaries — the organs that store and release a woman’s eggs. From age 25 to 40, a woman’s chance of conceiving each month decreases drastically.

10 Oct

Health Rounds: Increasing sperm mutations in older fathers may affect offspring

RileyLatest NewsAging, Healthcare, Pregnancy, Reproductive rights, Sperm

The age of the father plays a role in pregnancy outcomes, with harmful genetic changes in sperm being substantially more common in older men, new research shows.

30 Sep

RAUNCHy at UNC spearheads free Plan B distribution on campus

RileyLatest NewsEmergency Contraceptive, Healthcare, North Carolina, Reproductive rights

Beginning this fall, Reproductive Access at UNC-Chapel Hill Campus Y,a student organization based in the Campus Y dedicated to promoting safe sex resources on campus, has launched a cost-free emergency contraception distribution program.