United States

The science of conception is clear

Regarding the article “Abortion issue key in retention vote” (Oct. 26): Science is a prime value in American culture. At least a dozen embryology texts, dating from 1887 (Quimby, I.N. Address at the 38th Annual Meeting of the A.M.A.: ”the life of the foetus commences at the moment of conception”) to 1964 (Guttmacher, A.F. et al in “Planning Your Family,” p. 36: “Fertilization, then, has taken place; a baby has been conceived”) refer to fertilization as the beginning of a new life.
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Researchers discuss gaps, obstacles and solutions for contraception

Contraception and family planning are vital aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Despite major advances in modern contraception over the past 60 years, many gaps remain and the rate of unplanned pregnancies and abortions remains high. These issues have given rise to a new era in contraception research with great opportunities and many challenges.
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Targeting Black Women Workers

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

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.
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Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resuming abortion services after nearly a month

“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is restarting abortion services after a nearly month-long pause due to a federal budget and tax law that threatens to withhold Medicaid funding from organizations that provide abortion services. The organization paused services on Oct. 1, due to a provision in the federal megabill signed by President Donald Trump that bars Medicaid payments for one year to organizations that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in fiscal year 2023 and primarily engage in family planning services and reproductive health and provide abortions. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin had said the pause was temporary as they explored…
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Stillbirths in the 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.
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Disability Reproductive Equity Agenda: Protecting the Reproductive Rights of Disabled People in 2025 and Beyond

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?”
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