In Massachussets, joint bills filed by Sen. Rebecca Rausch, D-Needham, and Rep. Sally Kerans, D-Danvers, heard before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary Nov. 21, would eliminate the decades-old requirement that teenagers younger than 16 seek parental consent, or present their case before a judge, in order to access an abortion. Read Article >

(MSN, Nov. 21, 2023) New results from a Wall Street Journal-NORC poll show Americans’ support for abortion access is at one of the highest levels on record since nonpartisan researchers began tracking it in the 1970s. Some 55% of respondents say it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she wants it for any reason. The poll, conducted for the Journal by NORC at the University of Chicago, surveyed [...]

Seven women who were denied reproductive health care in Texas have joined an ongoing lawsuit. (And more people are joining by the day, including Austin-based Bumble, a women-focused dating app.) Read Article >

(Independent, Oct. 27, 2023) In a clip resurfaced by liberal political groups, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson tells a Louisiana congregation in 2016 that mass shootings are the result of no-fault divorce, feminism, abortion, and other expansions of social rights that took place in the 20th century. The Louisiana representative, elected to Congress the same year he gave the sermon, traced the roots of this “chaos” to the cultural revolutions of the 1960s and ‘70s. Note: [...]

(PBS, Nov. 3, 2023) Abortion access is expected to play a central role in the 2024 elections. The preview comes next week, when Ohio voters decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in their state Constitution. Note: And, as elections showed Nov. 7, Ohio voters did enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution. Read Article >

(NPR, Nov. 8, 2023) In the six states where voters were asked to weigh in directly on abortion rights, they supported measures that protect those rights and rejected initiatives that could threaten them. In Ohio, voters approved a ballot initiative putting protections for reproductive health decisions in the state constitution, including abortion at least until fetal viability. In Vermont, voters approved a measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution. In California, voters approved a measure to enshrine abortion rights in the [...]

(The Guardian Oct. 5, 2023) Book banning in public schools jumped by 33% this year, so a group of enthusiasts is tackling censorship with a bus tour. "Florida has overtaken Texas as the state with the highest number of titles pulled off the shelves and accounts for just under half of the nationwide bans. Consistently, this censorship targets materials dealing with themes like physical abuse, sexual assault, race and LGBTQ+ identities."

(New York Times, Oct, 24, 2023) A lower court is now expected to hear arguments on the broader question of whether the right to privacy in the state constitution protects a right to abortion. "With North Carolina now banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, South Carolina after six weeks, and Florida doing the same, pending a legal challenge, the ruling ensures that abortion will be largely inaccessible in the Deep South, forcing women there to travel farther [...]

(New York Times, Oct. 23, 2023) Hospitals are playing a growing role in abortion access, as pregnant women with certain health issues travel to seek care that clinics can't provide. "At the end of last year, Illinois abortion providers met with state officials to suggest a program to better serve the sickest abortion patients.In July, the state awarded them a $600,000 grant to start the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access, or CARLA. Two full-time nurses now coordinate [...]

(The Guardian, Oct, 24, 2023) The average number of abortions performed each month in the United States rose in the year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, according to the first full-year count of abortions provided nationwide. In states with near-total or six-week bans, abortions plummeted. Providers in those states performed 114,590 fewer abortions than they would have if Roe had not been overturned, according to data collected by the research group, WeCount. At the same [...]