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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, […]
Turning pain into purpose: Tennessee House candidate talks to voters about her abortion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Candidates for political office often have personal reasons motivating them to run, even if those reasons don’t always end up as part of a stump speech or a talking point of the campaign platform. But when Allie Phillips knocks on the doors of strangers in Tennessee, she is leading with the story […]
Both of these women needed to end their pregnancies. Only one got to do it on her terms.
Jennifer Vollstedt and Ariel Cavanaugh-Okhah have never met, but they are connected by fatal chromosomal abnormalities that affected their wanted pregnancies, and the stress and heartbreak that come with it. Their experiences of needing to terminate their pregnancies were quite different. One took place before the Dobbs ruling overturned Roe and the federal right to […]
‘A woman’s health matters’: Abortion access allowed New Hampshire woman to become a mom
Amanda D’Angelo only had a few weeks to get used to the idea that she was going to be a twin mom, before her eight-week scan revealed one had died. It’s a relatively common occurrence early on in twin pregnancies, and while it was upsetting, she took comfort in still being pregnant. She went on […]
Child care costs far outpace wages, but dependent care tax credit stuck at 2001 rate
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening to assist low-income families through an expansion of the child tax credit and the bill now awaits approval in the Senate. But some organizations are also highlighting a separate tax credit for child and dependent care, which they say is not providing adequate assistance to families […]
Before and after Dobbs, questions of ‘when and where’ affect abortion access
DakotaRei Frausto was 17 years old and 12 weeks pregnant when they had to travel 11 hours by car from San Antonio, Texas, to New Mexico to terminate a pregnancy after contraception failed them. The appointment was April 1, 2022, about six months after Senate Bill 8 initially took effect in Texas, banning abortions after […]
Physician says residency programs must reassess post-Roe training for miscarriage, abortion care
More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, many have raised concerns about training for obstetrician-gynecologists, particularly in states with civil and criminal penalties for providers if they perform abortions. But researchers from the Person-Centered Reproductive Health Program at the University of California San Francisco have found there is reason to be […]
Fear and confusion over abortion access persist as SCOTUS takes its first post-Dobbs case
This year will end on a major cliffhanger for abortion access. Last November, anti-abortion activists via a powerful conservative Christian law firm asked a federal court to effectively ban or widely restrict the abortion drug mifepristone. Finally on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take the case, making Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. […]
Most Americans want health exceptions in abortion bans. Political infighting keeps blocking them.
In early October, an Idaho woman 20 weeks into her pregnancy went to the emergency room after her water broke about five months early. When the water breaks prematurely, an infection can develop and infect the fetus, placenta and other fluids. At that stage of pregnancy, the threat of infection becomes a ticking clock for […]
Legislators in 49 states ask SCOTUS to preserve access to abortion pill
A group of more than 600 Democratic legislators from 49 states have signed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to overturn an appellate court decision that would roll back access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used to safely terminate early pregnancies and treat miscarriages. The amicus brief, also called […]