JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Republican-led campaign to restore abortion rights in Missouri ended Thursday, clearing the path for a competing, more sweeping constitutional amendment to get on the state’s November ballot. “Having two initiatives on the ballot would create confusion and potentially split the vote,” Missouri Women and Family Research Fund Executive Director Jamie … Read more
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates — controlled by Democrats who flipped the chamber in November after campaigning on abortion rights — decisively voted down a bill that would have instituted a near-total abortion ban. On a bipartisan 8-0 vote Wednesday night, a House subcommittee rejected the measure that would have … Read more
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lawyers trying to keep an abortion-rights measure off the Florida ballot told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday that the proposed amendment is deceptive, and that voters won’t realize just how far it will expand access to the procedure. But the justices seemed to think the proposed ballot question isn’t so much … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After begrudgingly agreeing to tweak Tennessee’s strict abortion ban last year, the Republican-dominant Legislature is once again facing pressure to reconsider when doctors can legally offer the procedure to pregnant patients. The push comes as confusion and fear continues among residents in many GOP-controlled states over how abortion ban exemptions should be … Read more
More than 300 reproductive health researchers urged the Supreme Court to follow the science when they hear arguments on mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion that is under attack by Republican lawmakers and conservative courts. While detractors have cast doubt on mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness, the researchers said there is “ample scientific evidence” to … Read more
PARIS — France’s National Assembly takes up a bill Tuesday meant to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French Constitution, the first key step in a legislative process that also requires a vote in the Senate. The measure has been promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback of abortion rights in … Read more
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions, a major victory for Planned Parenthood and the abortion clinic operators who sued. The decision also elicited hope … Read more
CHICAGO — Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the efforts are evidence that Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents are trying to undercut democratic processes … Read more
TRENTON, N.J. — Dawn Ericksen was struggling with an opioid addiction a dozen years ago when she got pregnant and realized she couldn’t keep herself safe, much less a baby. Working part-time, she couldn’t afford the hundreds of dollars she would need for an abortion and had to turn to a trusted friend to help … Read more
MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would call for a binding statewide referendum to ban abortion after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Current Wisconsin law prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill’s supporters say closing the window after 14 weeks could save more fetuses from death. … Read more
