REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ALERTS – Page 2 – Updated daily. A service of Toby's Fund for Reproductive Health Equity

18 Apr

Understanding when HRT makes sense in menopause

RandyLatest NewsHealthcare, HRT, menopause, Reproductive rights, United States

Each day, about 6,000 women in the U.S. enter menopause and begin to deal with the associated physical and mental changes. Menopause is natural as women move away from their reproductive years. Yet the transition can bring about significant physical and emotional changes that can affect a woman’s overall well-being. While most women have minimal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, about 15% will require treatment for more severe problems. The loss of estrogen during menopause can lead to anxiety, bone weakening, insomnia and negative impacts to the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems.

17 Apr

Seasonal air pollution found to undermine IVF success

RandyLatest NewsAir Pollution, IVF, Reproductive rights, Scientific Research, United States

A recent study published in BMC Public Health explores the impact of seasonal fluctuations in fine particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) pollution on the outcomes of assisted reproductive technology (ART).

17 Apr

Conn. Reproductive health advocates push against Trump’s plan to freeze Title X

RandyLatest NewsConnecticut, Reproductive rights, Title X, United States

In a push to protect Title X, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Planned Parenthood and other advocates met on Wednesday to talk about reproductive health services. See less

16 Apr

Yale-launched national coalition aims to defend public health from political threats

CoreyLatest NewsReproductive rights, United States, Women's Health, Yale

Mindy Jane Roseman, director of International Law Programs and director of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights at the Yale Law School, signed the open letter from Defend Public Health opposing Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Roseman’s work focuses on how international human rights norms and laws improve health outcomes, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health. While funding for her work does not depend on US government support directly, she is still concerned that the Trump administration wants to remove the voices of underrepresented patients from public health…

16 Apr

Title X freeze puts at risk low-cost reproductive health in Ohio

CoreyLatest NewsHealthcare, Low Income, Ohio, Reproductive rights, United States

More than a dozen organizations that provide family planning services are in limbo right now. The Trump administration has put more than $27 million of their funding on hold as the Department of Health and Human Services investigates potential violations of Title X.

15 Apr

Guttmacher Institute Releases Full-Year US Abortion Data for 2024

CoreyLatest NewsAbortion Care, Healthcare, Reproductive rights, United States

The Guttmacher Institute today released new data showing that in 2024 there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in US states without total abortion bans, an increase of less than 1% from 2023. In addition to offering state and national abortion estimates from January 2023 through January 2025, the latest round of data from the Monthly Abortion Provision Study also includes new estimates of the number of people traveling across state lines to obtain an abortion in 2024. An in-depth look at these findings is available in an accompanying policy analysis.

14 Apr

Oklahoma senators spurned fearmongering about women’s health. Will the House and governor step up?

PatLatest NewsContraception, legislation, Oklahoma, Opinion, Reproductive rights

A tip of the hat to Oklahoma’s state senators who managed to do some good governing that, for once, actually would help improve women’s health. These brave lawmakers voted to allow women to access six months’s worth of birth control at a time. That would make life infinitely easier for tens of thousands of Oklahomans who rely on contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies or to treat other medical problems such as acne, irregular periods or endometriosis.

14 Apr

We are flying blind’: RFK Jr.’s cuts halt data collection on abortion, cancer, HIV and more

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion, Abortion data, cancer, data collection, HIV, RFK Jr., STI data, United Sates

“The federal teams that count public health problems are disappearing — putting efforts to solve those problems in jeopardy. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of tens of thousands of federal workers has halted efforts to collect data on everything from cancer rates in firefighters to mother-to-baby transmission of HIV and syphilis to outbreaks of drug-resistant gonorrhea to cases of carbon monoxide poisoning….”

14 Apr

Declining Support for Workplace Inclusion Jeopardizes America’s Nursing Mothers and Their Babies

PatLatest NewsDEI, misogyny, United States

The loss of DEI policies promoting full inclusion of all employees jeopardizes another group: America’s breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

13 Apr

Will the SAVE Act make it harder for married women to vote? We ask legal experts

PatLatest NewsElections, misogyny, Reproductive rights, United States

As the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act heads to the Senate, there has been growing debate on how the bill may affect voting for millions of married women, particularly those who have changed their last names, if it becomes law.

12 Apr

Abortion rates remain stable in Ontario despite global spike

MollyInternational, Latest News2020-2022, abortion rates, England, Global, Ontario, Scotland, Wales

"A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from 2020-2022. Following decades-long declines in nearly all high-income settings, abortion rate trends reversed between 2020 and 2022 in many countries. For example, 2022 and 2023 saw the highest abortion rates on record in Scotland, England, and Wales....."

12 Apr

Strict Idaho abortion ban loosened by judge’s ruling on medical exemptions

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Ban, Idaho, judge's ruling, Lawsuit, Loosened abortion ban, Medical exemption, Ruling, United States

"An abortion in Idaho is not prohibited if pregnancy complications could cause a woman's death, even if that death “is neither imminent nor assured,” a state judge said Friday in a ruling that loosens one of the strictest abortion bans in the U.S. Four women have sued over Idaho's strict abortion bans. The women, who are represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, aren’t asking for the state’s abortion ban to be overturned. Instead, they want the judge to clarify and expand the exceptions to the strict ban so people facing serious pregnancy complications can receive abortions before they are at death’s…

11 Apr

Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies

RandyLatest NewsGOP, Healthcare, legislation, Reproductive rights, Texas, United States

For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive.

11 Apr

Bill could open door to civil lawsuits over abortions and drive away OB/GYNs

RandyLatest NewsAbortion Rights, Florida, Healthcare, legislation, Opinion, Reproductive rights, United States

It also could threaten access to IVF and cancer treatments. This Florida Legislature continues its all-out attack on reproductive freedom. A near-total ban was not far enough for this extreme anti-abortion Legislature. Although the majority of Floridians — 57% — voted to limit government interference with abortion, Florida’s extreme anti-abortion politicians are ignoring the will of the people and seeking to further restrict abortion access in Florida. Now they are seeking to open the door to civil lawsuits for money damages against doctors — and even the friends, family, and clergy members who help individuals seeking abortion care obtain the…

10 Apr

She was tracking post-Roe abortions. The government just pulled her funding.

MauraLatest NewsAbortion Ban, Funding, GOP, Healthcare, Post-Dobbs, United States

Diana Greene Foster, who was behind the landmark Turnaway Study, wanted to study the health and economic impacts of the loss of abortion access.