Since anti-abortion advocates released a series of selectively edited and highly misleading videos in 2015 intended to give the false impression that Planned Parenthood clinics inappropriately profit from the sale of aborted fetuses, Republicans in Congress have repeatedly tried to cut off all federal funding that goes to the health non-profit. But as the 2018 midterms draw near, few Republican House candidates in swing districts are talking about it at all — even those who are runni...
reproductive-rights
Rand Paul proposes Planned Parenthood ‘poison pill’ to Senate funding bill
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is continuing his years-long crusade against Planned Parenthood, filing an amendment to a massive Senate appropriations bill last week that would cut federal funding from the organization, as well as others that perform abortion procedures.
In a statement released Friday, Paul said his amendment to the Senate appropriations package for Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is “our chance to turn our words into action, stand up for the sancti...
Pro-choice movement seizes on chance to overturn decades-old, anti-abortion laws in Virginia
Health care providers are trying to use the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt to strike down five abortion restrictions passed more than 10 years ago in Virginia.
The 2016 Supreme Court decision struck down some of the most regressive restrictions in Texas, as the highest court found they were more burdensome than beneficial for people looking to terminate their pregnancies. Now, providers want the courts to examine Virginia law...
A 15-week abortion ban is heading to the Louisiana governor’s desk
The Louisiana legislature has sent Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks, except in the cases of a medical emergency. The governor is expected to sign the measure into law.
If a doctor performs the procedure, they’d be imprisoned for at least one year (and up to ten years) and fined anywhere between $10,000 to $100,000. The state Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill (24-5) on Wednesday.
Roughly 94 percent of abortions in Louisiana t...
Most young people want health insurance to cover abortion, new poll finds
A new national poll found a majority of young adults believe abortion services should be covered by most health care plans, a finding that contrasts current coverage bans at the national and state level.
While the survey — conducted by the nonpartisan research organization Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) — also found that the United States is more divided on whether health plans should generally cover abortion care, especially as compared to other reproductive ...
Health department removes breast cancer and Obamacare info from women’s health website
The Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office on Women’s Health removed a webpage dedicated to breast cancer and other helpful reproductive health information, including important insurance information for low-income people, according to a new report.
The Sunlight Foundation’s Web Integrity Project first reported the missing webpage. The group has been documenting page or link removals from the OWH website and shared its most recent report with ThinkPro...
Here’s how Texas is using Medicaid to defund Planned Parenthood
Republicans in Congress weren’t able to “defund” Planned Parenthood last year, but some remain hopeful that they can in 2018.
While eyes fixate on Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — an agency packed with anti-abortion sympathizers — signaled it would approve efforts to withhold federal dollars to Planned Parenthood if states asked. Texas has already sought federal permission to do so and the green light could come any day now.
In June 2...
The Trump administration’s Orwellian plan to gut Roe v. Wade
Two women, known by the pseudonyms “Jane Roe” and “Jane Poe,” are being held at federal facilities for undocumented minors who enter the country without an adult guardian. They are pregnant and want abortions. Yet they cannot obtain one because the Trump administration will not let them leave the facility to obtain the medical care they seek.
If this scenario sounds familiar, it should. Last October, the Trump administration made a similar attempt to hold a w...
‘Hands off my birth control’: 500,000 personal objections to one Trump administration policy
The Iowa family clinic Chelsea Vargas went to recently closed, forcing her to reconsider her current form of birth control. The clinic provided her a free birth control ring. Without the clinic’s financial assistance, she won’t be able to afford her preferred contraception. (Although most plans cover the ring, she hasn’t been able to pay off her deductible to use her insurance.)
Before the clinic closed, she switched from the ring to an implant, a tiny rod inserted...
