Reproductive Rights News Roundup

Mike Pence emphasizes anti-abortion message in Tampa Bay visit
By Kirby Wilson and Margo Snipe
Tampa Bay Times
Related AP story: Pence tours pregnancy center, fires up GOP base in Florida
Vice President Mike Pence spent Wednesday afternoon in Tampa Bay shoring up a passionate evangelical base that will be critical to Donald Trump’s reelection efforts.

Anti-abortion centers receive at least $4m from US coronavirus bailout
By Khushbu Shah
The Guardian
Anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers across the United States received at least $4m and possibly more than $10m in forgivable federal loans as part of the government’s first coronavirus bailout package, called the paycheck protection program (PPP).

Abortion By Telemedicine Remains Out Of Reach In Many Coronavirus Hot Spots
By Melissa Jeltsen
Huffington Post
A few weeks ago, Dr. Sanithia Williams was working when her group text, made up of friends active in reproductive rights, lit up with news.

Health Groups Oppose FDA’s Attempt to Limit Abortion Pill Access
By Mary Anne Pazanowski
Bloomberg
A drug used to induce abortions should be accessible by mail while the the federal Food & Drug Administration appeals an order lifting its in-person dispensing requirement during the Covid-19 pandemic, women’s health-care providers told a federal appeals court.

‘I Had an Abortion 15 Years Ago Today—It’s Still the Best Decision I Ever Made’
By Renee Bracey Sherman
Newsweek
Today is an anniversary for me. Fifteen years ago today, I woke up pregnant—when I truly didn’t want to be—for the last time.

COVID-19 Job Losses Threaten Insurance Coverage And Access To Reproductive Health Care For Millions
Staff Report
Guttmacher Institute
The immediate economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating in the United States, and particularly for younger women and women of color, who thus far have been hit hardest by job losses.

Abortion opponents dominate Trump’s fetal tissue review board
By Meredith Wadman and Jocelyn Kaiser
Science Magazine
Fourteen months ago, the Trump administration clamped down on federally funded fetal tissue research by requiring that such projects go through an ethics review by a new advisory board.

After the Latest Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion, the Women’s Health Protection Act Is More Important than Ever
BY Megan K. Donovan
Guttmacher Institute
In June Medical Services v. Russo, a plurality of the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana admitting privileges requirement for abortion providers that would have devastated abortion access in the state.

Louisiana abortion clinic ends suit against licensing rules
Staff Report
Associated Press
A Shreveport abortion clinic and two doctors that perform abortions have dropped their lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s clinic-licensing regulations, after a federal appeals court questioned the legal approach.

Nebraska advances new 2nd trimester abortion restrictions
By Grant Schulte
Associated Press
A proposal to outlaw a second-trimester abortion procedure cleared a major hurdle Wednesday in the Nebraska Legislature, a signal that it’s likely to pass in the final days of this year’s session.

Medical Students Can’t Provide Abortions If They Never Learn How
By Alys Brooks
Rewire
Brienna Milleson was a medical student working at the free clinic at Saint Louis University two years ago when a woman came in seeking a pregnancy test.