reproductive rights

GOP lawmakers resist calls to tweak abortion bans. Some say they’ll clarify the laws’ few exceptions

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GOP lawmakers resist calls to tweak abortion bans. Some say they’ll clarify the laws’ few exceptions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In Republican-led states across the U.S., conservative legislators are refusing to reevaluate abortion bans — even as doctors and patients insist the laws’ exceptions are dangerously unclear, resulting in denied treatment to some pregnant women in need. Instead, GOP leaders accuse abortion rights advocates of deliberately spreading misinformation and doctors of intentionally … Read more

Alabama IVF ruling highlights importance of state supreme court races in this year’s US elections

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Alabama IVF ruling highlights importance of state supreme court races in this year’s US elections

CHICAGO — CHICAGO (AP) — The recent ruling in Alabama that frozen embryos are legally considered children created a political firestorm after the decision halted treatment for many couples seeking to have families through fertility treatments. It also has turned the spotlight on the importance of institutions that are poised to play a central in … Read more

Alabama IVF Patients Are Running Out of Time

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Alabama IVF Patients Are Running Out of Time

In October, Melissa began an in vitro fertilization cycle. A resident of Birmingham, Alabama, her fertility journey to that point had been not just difficult, but harrowing—earlier that year, she had nearly bled to death during a procedure to resolve a second-trimester miscarriage. When the IVF process yielded just a single viable embryo, she had … Read more

Alabama IVF ruling puts spotlight on state plans for tax breaks and child support for fetuses

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Alabama IVF ruling puts spotlight on state plans for tax breaks and child support for fetuses

TOPEKA, Kan. — The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are legally protected children is highlighting how support for the idea that a fetus should have the same rights as a person underpins far less dramatic laws and proposals from abortion foes across the U.S. Lawmakers in at least six states have proposed … Read more

Alabama’s frozen embryo ruling is now having its first effects. See what to expect

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Alabama’s frozen embryo ruling is now having its first effects. See what to expect

The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, raising concerns about how the decision could affect in vitro fertilization, commonly known as IVF. The decision issued in wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident could potentially leave clinics vulnerable to … Read more

Alabama hospital puts pause on IVF in wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children

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Alabama hospital puts pause on IVF in wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A large Alabama hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as health care providers weigh the impact of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama Birmingham said in a statement Wednesday that its UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has paused … Read more

Many Reproductive Rights Workers Are Fed Up With Biden

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Many Reproductive Rights Workers Are Fed Up With Biden

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris celebrated what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade in late January — their first campaign event of 2024. The “Restore Roe” rally in northern Virginia made it clear that the Biden/Harris ticket will center abortion rights in the reelection campaign. The theater was filled with the … Read more

A Study at the Center of the Abortion Pill Battle Was Just Retracted

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A Study at the Center of the Abortion Pill Battle Was Just Retracted

Scientific publisher Sage Journals has retracted three papers on abortion—including a controversial 2021 study on mifepristone, the medication at the center of a US legal battle. The 2021 study found that mifepristone, one of two pills used in a medication abortion, significantly increased the risk of women going to the emergency room following an abortion. … Read more

Tennessee’s strict abortion ban is under pressure, but change is unlikely under GOP control

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Tennessee’s strict abortion ban is under pressure, but change is unlikely under GOP control

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

Hundreds Of Researchers Urge Supreme Court To Follow Science On Abortion Pill

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Hundreds Of Researchers Urge Supreme Court To Follow Science On Abortion Pill

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