Health care – REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ALERTS

25 Sep

As Abortion Bans Spread, so Do Virtual Appointments

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Care, Health care, Statistics, Telehealth, United States, Virtual appointments

According to NGO Society of Family Planning, the number of virtual-only abortion appointments has risen in the United States since the overturning of precedent Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court around two years ago. As providers needed time to gear up, appointments by clinics that do not offer in-person meetings of doctors and patients and instead sent an abortion pill via the mail began to become more common at around the one-year mark after states had been freed to pass their own abortion laws. In July of 2023, the advocacy group estimated that almost 13,700 such appointments took place, up from between 5,200…

20 Sep

Safety issues with medication abortion are extremely rare, experts emphasize

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Care, Abortion Pills, Health care, Medication abortion, safety issues rare, United States

"Two Georgia mothers, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, died in 2022 because of a lack of care most likely tied to the state’s abortion ban, the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica reported this week. Both experienced complications after taking abortion medications, the reporting said — complications, doctors emphasized, that are exceedingly rare and entirely treatable. “To read about a mom just trying to make the best decisions for herself and her family die from something completely preventable in the United States – I don’t think ‘tragedy’ is a strong enough word,” said Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an obstetrician/gynecologist and founder of Pegasus Health Justice Center in…

16 Sep

Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother’s Death Was Preventable.

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Care, Abortion Pills, felony, Georgia, Health care, loss of life, preventable loss, United States

“In her final hours, Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a grave infection that her suburban Atlanta hospital was well-equipped to treat. She’d taken abortion pills and encountered a rare complication; she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body. She showed up at Piedmont Henry Hospital in need of a routine procedure to clear it from her uterus, called a dilation and curettage, or D&C. But just that summer, her state had made performing the procedure a felony, with few exceptions. Any doctor who violated the new Georgia law could be prosecuted and face up to a…

30 Aug

Abortion access could be in jeopardy as Chicago Abortion Fund, others run short of mone

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Access, Abortion Care, Abortion Fund, Chicago, DNC, Health care, Illinois, Reproductive Medical Care, travel, Travel for Care, United States

"Abortion took center stage during the Democratic National Convention, and Illinois was celebrated for welcoming thousands of women needing care since access has vanished across much of the Midwest and the South. But funds that are essential for many traveling to Illinois and other states for abortions — paying for their flights, hotels, child care and the abortions — are running out of money. Providers and advocates say that’s putting access to reproductive medical care in jeopardy...."

12 Aug

Poland’s Abortion Reform Stalls as Coalition Politics Clash with Campaign Promises

MollyInternational, Latest NewsAbortion Care, Abortion laws, abortion reform, Health care, Poland

“Nearly a year after new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised a fresh start for abortion rights, following his election victory in October 2023, reform efforts have stalled as campaign promises collide with the realities of coalition politics in a divided Poland. Poland is amongst only four countries worldwide to have restricted abortion rights in the past three decades, joining El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the United States. In 2020, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, stacked with judges appointed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, further tightened the country’s already strict 1993 abortion law….”

01 Aug

Indonesia Legalizes First Trimester Abortions in Cases of Rape or Medical Emergency

MollyInternational, Latest News14 weeks, Abortion Care, emergency abortion, first trimester, Health care, Indonesia, Rape exception

“Indonesia will allow women to have an abortion up to 14 weeks gestation in some instances, from six weeks previously, as part of regulatory changes aimed at arresting one of Southeast Asia’s highest rates of maternal mortality. The new rule, signed into law by President Joko Widodo this week, follows demands from women’s rights activists and health-care practitioners who argue that the previous rule was too restrictive in cases of rape, leading some women and girls to be jailed for terminations beyond six weeks….”

24 Jul

North Dakota judge will decide whether to throw out a challenge to the state’s abortion ban

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Ban, Abortion Care, Health care, Judge, Minnesota, North Dakota, Red River Women's Clinic, Ruling, United States

"Attorneys argued Tuesday over whether a North Dakota judge should toss a lawsuit challenging the state's abortion ban, with the state saying the plaintiffs' case rests on hypotheticals, and the plaintiffs saying key issues remain to be resolved at a scheduled trial. State District Judge Bruce Romanick said he will rule as quickly as he can, but he also asked the plaintiffs' attorney what difference he would have at the court trial in August. The Red River Women's Clinic, which moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, filed the lawsuit challenging the state's now-repealed trigger ban soon after the fall…

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….”

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...."

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...."

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...."

11 Jun

United States: Social media companies’ removal of abortion-related content may hinder access to accurate health information

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Information, Abortion News, abortion-related content, accurate information, Health care, post removal, Social media companies, Social media platforms, United States

"Removal of abortion-related content on social media platforms with inadequate or unclear justification can contribute to the increasing challenges in accessing abortion care and threatens the right to health and bodily autonomy, according to a new briefing from Amnesty International. In Obstacles to Autonomy: Post-Roe Removal of Abortion Information Online, Amnesty International reveals that social media companies are failing to respect international human rights standards by removing abortion-related content without providing sufficient information and transparency regarding content removal decisions...."

07 Jun

Arkansas says New York woman’s clinic complying with cease & desist order on abortion pill access

MollyLatest News, United StatesAbortion Care, Abortion Pills, Advertisement, Arkansas, Cease and desist, Health care, New York, United States

"A New York facility is now in compliance with a cease-and-desist order made by the state of Arkansas regarding access to abortion pills. Attorney General Tim Griffin said Thursday that Choice Woman’s Medical Center of New York had complied with his cease-and-desist request sent in May seeking for the center to stop advertising access to abortion pills for Arkansas residents in violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act...."

21 May

Republicans try to soften stance on abortion as ‘abolitionists’ go farther

MollyLatest News, United States"Abortion Abolitionists", Abortion, Fertility Clinic, Health care, IVF, North Carolina, Reproductive Health, Reproductive rights, Republicans, United States

"As some Republicans try to moderate their messaging on abortion over concerns about voter backlash this November, some activists are trying to go much further. Outside a fertility clinic in Charlotte, N.C., last month, dozens of protestors lined both sides of the street, as some shouted toward the closed front door. "How many children are in the freezer here? How many?" one man yelled, interspersing his speech with Bible verses...."

22 Feb

Are Maryland prisons out of bounds with federal requirements for trans prisoners?

BarbraLatest News, United StatesHealth care, Health Equity, Maryland, Prisons, Transgender Rights

Nearly a year after formerly incarcerated transgender people testified to Maryland lawmakers about the troubling conditions they faced in state prisons and Baltimore jails, the agency in charge of their care continues to violate federal standards in how it houses trans prisoners, according to a coalition of trans rights advocates.