reproductive rights
Monopoly men: GOP legislative leaders continue to extend their power in all directions
Is there any aspect of life in modern North Carolina for which the Republican majority of the General Assembly doesn’t see itself as the font of all wisdom and rightful final arbiter? That’s not a facetious question. GOP pols and their pals on the religious right and in the business and gun lobbies love to […]
Crowd cheers Gov. Roy Cooper as he vetoes abortion ban
A crowd cheered Gov. Roy Cooper as he vetoed a Republican-authored abortion ban in an unusual rally that capped off a week of attempts to pressure a small group of GOP legislators into letting the veto stand. Some bills are signed in public ceremonies, but bill vetoes don’t usually draw enthusiastic audiences. For Senate Bill […]
Ohio abortion foes are banking on a low-turnout August election.
Supporters of the push to make it a lot harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution have given many, sometimes-inconsistent reasons for wanting to do it. But clearly a major one is to try to block an abortion-rights amendment that is currently in the works. To pull off the maneuver, abortion opponents are trying […]
NC’s 12-week abortion ban would limit access and create chaos, Duke doctors say
Duke University doctors said the 12-week abortion ban North Carolina Republicans approved this week will make abortions harder to get but won’t make people safer. “This is just an ideological bill – the abortion part – about limiting access,” said Dr. Jonas Swartz, a Duke OB/GYN said this week. Swartz, Dr. Beverly Gray, and Jolynn […]
NC Republicans present their bill banning abortion after 12 weeks in most cases
North Carolina Republican legislators disclosed at a news conference Tuesday evening the details of their proposed law that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks. The current 20-week abortion ban would remain in effect for cases of rape or incest. Abortions could be performed up to 24 weeks in cases of life-limiting fetal anomalies, said […]
Judge’s ruling on abortion pill sows chaos
A federal judge’s decision to suspend FDA approval of an abortion pill has added to patient confusion over abortion laws and has doctors making contingency plans. Doctors at Duke are considering various scenarios for patient treatment if, in a few days, mifepristone becomes an unapproved drug. The FDA first approved mifepristone 23 years ago for […]
As future of abortion pill is weighed, Democrats in Congress see little they can do
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats appear lukewarm about pursuing reproductive rights legislation in a divided Congress, even as a federal judge in Texas considers overturning access to abortion pills nationwide. Interviews by States Newsroom with Democrats who control the Senate by a narrow margin found little optimism they could counter a ruling that could potentially […]
Remaining abortion clinics face more challenges if abortion pill limited by Texas judge
JACKSON, MISS. The Pink House — otherwise known as Jackson Women’s Health Organization — was the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned the federal right to abortion in June. Today, the clinic, the only abortion clinic to serve Mississippi and the greater area for years, is shuttered. On a hot day in […]
Fifty years later, our lives still at risk
On the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, Americans must take action to ensure access to critical health care Fifty years ago, a very different U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. Radical right-wing extremists control the Supreme Court and serve in elective office. We have fewer freedoms than we did a generation ago. […]
U.S. House Republicans push through two anti-abortion measures in first work week
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday approved its first abortion-related measures under a new Republican majority, eliciting strong support from GOP members and opposition from Democrats, who rejected the legislation as misleading and incomplete. Republicans, who secured a four-seat majority during the November midterm elections, said the bill setting medical standards on a national […]
Abortion rights advocates look to build on recent electoral successes using 2024 ballot measures
Encouraged by six victories — and zero defeats — in this month’s midterm elections, abortion rights advocates are considering another round of ballot measures in 2024 that would enshrine reproductive freedom in state constitutions. This time, they’re mostly aiming at states with tight abortion restrictions already on the books, hoping to outflank anti-abortion state lawmakers and courts that are out of step with most residents.
Monday numbers: A closer look at the fragile status of abortion rights in North Carolina on Election Day eve
Tomorrow is Election Day, and while North Carolina is not a referendum state in which citizens can place initiatives on the ballot, for better or worse, this year’s vote will serve – at least effectively – as a referendum on the future of a fundamental and long-established constitutional right for women in several U.S. states. As Policy Watch Lynn Bonner reported last week, North Carolina has become a sanctuary state for people seeking abortion care.