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HB 5
Governor DeSantis Signs Bill Banning All Abortions in Florida After 15 Weeks
By Staff
WQCS
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibits all abortions in Florida after 15 weeks of gestation. House Bill 5 does not allow for exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
Related coverage: Orlando Weekly, Tallahassee Democrat, Rolling Stone, CNN, AP News, NBC News, Washington Post
Providers are scrambling as Florida’s abortion ‘safe haven’ for out-of-staters nears its end under the 15-week ban Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed into law
By Kimberly Leonard
Business Insider
These days, Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro receives about 60 requests a week from people who need help getting an abortion.
FAKE CLINICS
Florida lawmakers have forked over $30 million to deceptive ‘pregnancy centers’ since 2009
By Lily Bohlke, FNC
Orlando Weekly
Florida reproductive-health advocates are urging people to be aware of anti-abortion groups known as “crisis pregnancy centers” that offer pregnancy tests and counseling to discourage abortions, and sometimes other resources, such as diapers.
The Threat of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Will Escalate in a Post-Roe U.S.By Carrie N. Baker
Ms. Magazine
The proliferating web of “crisis pregnancy centers” (read: fake abortion clinics) is positioned to assist with state surveillance of pregnancy and enforcement of abortion bans once Roe v. Wade falls.
24-HOUR WAITING PERIOD
Judge upholds Florida’s 24-hour wait period for abortion
By Brendan Farrington
The Associated Press
Women will have to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion under a ruling by a Florida judge in a nearly seven-year battle over the waiting period. Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey in Tallahassee tossed out a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Gainesville women’s clinic.
Related coverage: Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel
BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH / REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
To Be Pro-Choice, You Must Have the Privilege of Having Choices
Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
New York Times Opinion
As a queer woman who grew up in North Carolina, I learned at an early age that my Blackness could be a source of great joy — but it could also pose a threat to my safety and autonomy.
Central Florida group seeking solutions to save the lives of Black mothers, infants
By Gail Paschall-Brown
Wesh 2 News- Orlando
The mission of Black Maternal Health Week is to bring national awareness to health issues affecting Black pregnant women.
Black Maternal Health Week: ‘We have to do better,’ support, listen to Black moms, experts and loved ones say
By Nada Hassanein
USA Today
In September 2020, Dr. Chaniece Wallace was a healthy 30-year-old physician, seven months pregnant. A photo from her baby shower shows her beaming, surrounded by pink and purple balloons, standing next to a 5-foot tall tower of blocks that spelled “BABY.”
One mom’s struggle to have a baby shines a light on the Black maternal health crisis
By Meghan Holohan
Today Show
Last year, India Sneed Williams, then 34, learned some devastating news — she had cervical cancer. Sneed Williams had hoped to have another baby, but her doctor recommended a hysterectomy to treat her cancer. This would eliminate her chance of having another child.
Protecting Our Mothers: Why Black Maternal Mortality is on the Rise
by Bria Suggs
The Atlanta Voice
Black Americans make up roughly 12.4% of the population, yet Black women are three times as likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth than their White counterparts.
CHARGES DROPPED IN TEXAS
How reproductive rights groups sounded the alarm after a South Texas woman was charged with murder for an abortion
BY Eleanor Kibanoff
The Texas Tribune
The Rio Grande Valley, often seen as a reliable vote against abortion, has a long history of advocacy to increase access to the procedure.
A call, a text, an apology: How an abortion arrest shook up a Texas town
By Caroline Kitchener, Beth Reinhard and Alice Crites
The Washington Post
The arrest and since-dropped murder charge against a 26-year-old woman stoked widespread outrage and confusion.
Charges being dropped against Texas woman arrested for ‘illegal abortion’ in Rio Grande Valley
By Wire Reports
Dallas News
In a sudden turn of events, Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez announced in a news release Sunday that his office is dismissing the indictment against Lizelle Herrera, who was arrested Thursday and charged with murder on accusations of a “self-induced abortion.”
Abortion-Murder Charge Against Texas Woman Spurs Calls for HIPAA Lawsuit
By Andrew Stanton
Newsweek
Texas abortion laws are brushing up against federal legislation designed to protect medical privacy. Calls mounted on Sunday for Lizelle Herrera, a Texas woman charged with murder for self-inducing an abortion, to take legal action against the health-care providers who allegedly reported her to state authorities.
RESTRICTIONS AIMED AT YOUNG PEOPLE
A Common Abortion Restriction You’ve Probably Never Heard of Targets Teens
By Caroline Reilly
Rewire
So-called parental involvement laws exist in 37 states. So why isn’t more being done to help teens access abortion?
CONTRACEPTION ACCESS
Hormonal birth control may help lower depression symptoms, but more research is needed
By Beth Ellwood
PsyPost
A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry suggests that hormonal birth control may reduce symptoms of depression among young women. Women taking hormonal birth control had fewer depressive symptoms but higher scores for cannabis use and alcohol use.
Plan B cost, where to buy, and how to save
Medical News Today
Plan B One-Step is one type of emergency contraception. A person can take it after having sex that might lead to pregnancy without using an effective form of birth control.
PATIENT PROTECTION
‘Keep Listening to My Voice.’ What It’s Like to Be an Abortion Clinic Escort
By Lauren Rankin
Time
“You cannot block the car,” I told the bodies amassed in front of the cab. “That is against the law!”
“We don’t have to listen to you!” a man yelled back as he elbowed past me. “You’re not better than us!”
NATIONAL
What’s Happening With Abortion Legislation in States Across the Country
By Sophie Kasakove
The New York Times
A cascade of restrictive abortion legislation is being proposed in Republican-led states.
Yelp to cover travel expenses for workers seeking abortions
By Staff
The Associated Press
Yelp will cover the travel expenses of employees who must travel out of state for abortions, joining the ranks of major employers trying to help workers affected by new restrictions in Texas and other states.
As anti-abortion laws pop up across the US, Mexican activists are helping Americans access free abortions
Andréa Becker
Insider
Americans have begun looking south of the border to Mexican activists for help in filling the ever-growing gaps in abortion access in the US.
What Americans Can Expect If Abortion Pills Become Their Only Safe Option
By Maggie Koerth and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
FiveThirtyEight
Access to abortion pills could undermine the coming wave of abortion bans, and everyone knows it.
Abortion Costs Are Increasing as U.S. States Add More Restrictions
By Kelsey Butler
Bloomberg News
The two most common ways to get an abortion in the U.S. — via pill and a first-trimester procedure — cost patients 13% and 21% more, respectively, in 2020 versus 2017, according to research published this month in the peer-reviewed healthcare journal Health Affairs.
Escaping an Abortion Desert Isn’t as Simple as Crossing State Lines
By Ella Ceron
Bloomberg
Delays in care are linked to long-term health and financial consequences
MomsRising Leads New Bill to Protect Reproductive Rights
By Kalyn Womack
The Root
To continue elevating the voices and experiences of women and mothers, MomsRising is bringing the fight for reproductive rights to the Senate.
Maryland lawmakers expand who can perform abortions after overriding governor’s veto
By Ayana Archie
NPR
Maryland lawmakers voted over the weekend to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that would allow health practitioners outside of physicians — including nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants — to perform abortions.
Restrictions vs. protections: How states are taking sides on abortion
By Gabriella Borter
Reuters
Conservative states are swiftly passing abortion restrictions in anticipation of the court’s decision, while liberal states are seeking to protect and expand abortion rights. Here are some bills gaining traction this year.