Reproductive Rights
Celia Rivenbark: The only thing that can save us is…big pharma?!
There’s an old joke that if men were the ones who got pregnant, they’d be able to get an abortion at a 7-Eleven. I’d go a step further and say they’d also demand a Big Gulp and free taquitos from the “hot” bar before they left. Such is the entitlement of those men who talk […]
Two NC House Republicans resign leadership positions in the wake of derogatory remarks
North Carolina House Republicans Jeff McNeely and Keith Kidwell have resigned leadership positions within their caucus in the wake of controversial statements each representative made last week. The resignations were first reported by Raleigh’s News & Observer. Republican House Majority Leader John Bell announced the resignations during a House session Thursday morning, the paper reported. […]
After the act, SB 20: Reflections on North Carolina’s new abortion ban
After the sun set on May 16, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly completed their override of the Governor’s veto of a bill that will now dramatically restrict reproductive rights in our state. Before all that happened, the Council and our allies co-authored a letter to every member of the General Assembly asking them to […]
Appeals court judges embrace anti-abortion speculation
America’s major medical institutions and drug policy scholars have roundly denounced as “pseudoscience” many of the claims brought by anti-abortion groups in a high-profile federal lawsuit asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, one half of a two-drug regimen that has become the most common form of pregnancy termination […]
Three-judge panel in U.S. appeals court hears arguments in abortion pill case
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court panel quizzed lawyers during oral arguments Wednesday over a Texas judge’s decision that could end access to the abortion pill nationwide. Observers see the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals as a legal way station for the case, in which anti-abortion groups sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, […]
NC legislature overrides governor’s veto of abortion ban to make new restrictions law
Republican state legislators overturned Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a 12-week abortion ban Tuesday as hundreds of spectators packed the chamber galleries or watched from the hallway. Cooper’s veto was canceled in party-line votes in both the House and Senate. The GOP has veto-proof majorities in both chambers. Cooper dramatically vetoed Senate Bill 20 […]
Arguments on landmark abortion pill case to be heard Wednesday in appeals court
WASHINGTON — The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court. The three-judge panel will decide whether to keep, overturn, or alter a ruling from U.S. District Court […]
Physician: Abortion bans are mainstream…in countries where people die from them
When I was training to become a family doctor, I spent the summer in rural Kenya caring for women who had resorted to drinking poison, inserting sticks in their bodies, or visiting an untrained provider in unhygienic conditions to end a pregnancy. At the same time, a friend in my home state of Indiana, was […]
NC OBGYN: Abortion ban will harm patients and the practice of medicine
North Carolina’s anti-abortion bill (Senate Bill 20) will have many direct and detrimental impacts on the people of our state. The bill includes numerous unnecessary restrictions on the provision of healthcare and requires medically unnecessary visits and documentation — all of which will provide no benefit to patients and only serve to erect further barriers […]
The least that abortion rights flip floppers can do is explain themselves
As anyone who’s spent much time observing the proceedings at the North Carolina General Assembly can attest, those who issue pleas for more debate on important issues can sometimes have second thoughts later on. While the Legislative Building has seen its share of impressive orators through the years, this is much more of an exception […]
NC physician shares her patient’s painful abortion dilemma
I am a family doctor in North Carolina and taking holistic care of people during their pregnancy as part of my daily job. This includes counseling about genetic testing, medication safety during pregnancy, managing miscarriage, and discussing abortion. I share with permission a patient story that is powerful, and sadly, not unique. The female body […]
Photo gallery: Veto rally draws big crowds as NC’s governor vows to fight Republican-backed abortion restrictions
Thousands gathered on Raleigh’s Bicentennial Mall Saturday cheering as Gov. Roy Cooper made good on his promise to veto Senate Bill 20, the restrictive abortion ban rushed through the Republican-controlled legislature with little public input and zero amendments. The governor will need at least one Republican to rethink their position in order to sustain his […]