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Confusion, clinic closures may have caused big declines in contraception use, study shows
Clinic closures in the wake of the Dobbs decision and questions about the legality of emergency contraceptives, including disinformation that some are abortion drugs, may have contributed to a sharp drop in the rate of prescriptions for contraceptives in states with the most restrictive abortion bans, according to a University of California study. The decline […]
U.S. Supreme Court sends Idaho abortion case back down to lower courts
As expected after the court said it inadvertently uploaded the opinion prematurely on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday remanding a case about emergency abortions in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for now. The decision was 6-3, with conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissenting. […]
Document indicates Supreme Court will punt Idaho emergency abortion case for now
A document inadvertently uploaded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s website on Wednesday appears to indicate the court will send a case regarding emergency abortion care in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rather than make a decision, according to reporting from Bloomberg Law. Rather than rule on the merits, the unofficial opinion, […]
The Dobbs effect today: Abortion ballot initiatives, expected higher mortality, more litigation
In Arizona, the state’s highest court upheld a Civil War-era abortion ban. Florida and South Carolina moved to restrict abortion to six weeks — before many people know they are pregnant. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are “children,” temporarily throwing fertility treatments, such as IVF, into uncertainty and igniting a national debate. […]
After an abortion for fetal anomalies, she hoped IVF would build her family. Now that’s in doubt.
This is the fifth installment of an occasional States Newsroom series called When and Where: Abortion Access in America, profiling individuals who have needed abortion care in the U.S. before and after Dobbs. The first installment can be found here, the second installment is here, the third is here, and the fourth is here. Anne […]
Anti-abortion groups say Supreme Court’s mifepristone ruling won’t deter them
In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Thursday to maintain current access to the abortion medication mifepristone, abortion-rights advocates and opponents vowed to continue their respective battles over the drug. Mifepristone is one of two drugs used to treat miscarriages and terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, and is the most […]
States are already collecting more abortion data. And HIPAA won’t always keep it private.
Years before the Dobbs decision, providers like Dr. Kylie Cooper were already uncomfortable with some of the reporting requirements for abortion procedures in states where they practiced. Cooper was a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for several years in Idaho before she reluctantly left the state in 2023 because of the near-total abortion ban that is now […]
One year after FDA approves over-the-counter birth control pill, advocates push for more access
Sriha Srinivasan remembers how surprised her mom was two years ago when she learned that birth control pills weren’t sold in stores without a prescription in the United States. “My parents are immigrants from India, and it’s been over the counter there since my mom can remember,” said Srinivasan, a recent graduate of University of […]
Supreme Court justices appear split over whether to protect abortion care during emergencies
This story has been updated U.S. Supreme Court justices spent two hours Wednesday morning debating whether a federal law about emergency treatment encompasses abortion care even in states with strict abortion bans, with no clear indication of how they may ultimately rule. A decision could come as soon as the end of June whether Idaho’s […]
Loss of federal protection in Idaho spurs pregnant patients to plan for emergency air transport
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January to consider a case about whether a federal law regarding emergency medical treatment supersedes an abortion ban in Idaho, air transports out of state for pregnancy complications at one of the state’s largest hospitals have increased from one in all of 2023 to six in the past […]
Fatal anomaly exception didn’t spare Alabama mom who needed an abortion
Kelly Shannon was grieving a pregnancy she would need to terminate because of multiple fetal anomalies when she got the call that Alabama doctors wouldn’t approve an abortion procedure despite exceptions in the law. That meant she would have to leave the state. Shannon, 36, was about 16 weeks along in January 2023 when genetic […]
Health and Human Services increases loan forgiveness for OBs, midwives who practice in rural areas
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday a $25,000 increase in loan forgiveness available to primary care providers in designated underserved areas. That means qualifying individuals are eligible for up to $75,000 in forgiveness if they commit to two full-time years of service. The amount is available to medical and osteopathic doctors, […]