Reproductive Rights News Roundup

DeSantis avoids specifics on future abortion restrictions; Passidomo reiterates a 12-week ban
By Danielle J. Brown and Isaac Morgan
Florida Phoenix
On the abortion front Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked, once again, about his stances on further abortion restrictions. He shied away from specifics at a press conference in Fort Lauderdale.

A Republican Supermajority In Florida Is Ready To Shred Abortion Rights
By Alanna Vagianos
HuffPost
Things were chaotic for Democrat Lauren Book in the hour before she was sworn in as minority leader of the Florida state Senate.

DeSantis Is Showing Strength. He’s Also Vulnerable on His Right Flank.
By Blake Hounshell
New York Times
In April, when Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest, he staked out a position as an unapologetic opponent of abortion rights.

St. Petersburg City Council committee hits pause on abortion funding, resolution
By Colleen Wright
Tampa Bay Times
A move to affirm a right to privacy in women’s health care decisions, particularly abortion care, and provide financial support for a local abortion fund stalled in a City Council committee on Thursday.

Onslaught of new abortion restrictions looms in reddest of states
By Poppy Noor
The Guardian
In Nebraska, a total abortion ban could be on the horizon. In Florida, the gestational limit for abortions could drop from 15 weeks to 12.

Democrats Want To Put Abortion On The Ballot — But Many States Won’t Let Them
By Nathaniel Rakich and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
FiveThirtyEight
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion-rights advocates took their fight to the states — and they won.

Looming ‘Apocalyptic’ Court Decision Could Ban Abortion Pills Nationwide
By Alanna Vagianos
HuffPost
Abortion pills are a vital option for millions of people nationwide following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health this summer.

States with more abortion restrictions have higher maternal and infant mortality, report finds
By Doha Madani
NBC News
New research released Wednesday adds to a growing body of evidence showing a link between more restrictive abortion policies and higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.

Focusing on ‘Exceptions’ Misses the True Harm of Abortion Bans
By Elizabeth Nash
Ms. Magazine
If you’re following the debate around the total bans on abortion in place in states across the country, you might think what makes them extreme and harmful is whether they have certain exceptions, like those for people experiencing life-threatening pregnancy complications.

The New Landscape of the Abortion Fight
By Kate Zernike
New York Times
The Supreme Court’s reversal of the 50-year-old decision in Roe v. Wade transformed the debate and politics around abortion in the United States, shifting battles to state courts and legislatures — and galvanizing a fresh wave of voters in the midterm elections who turned out more forcefully than ever to make abortion rights a winning issue.

Tracking the States Where Abortion Is Now Banned
Staff Report
New York Times
Most abortions are now banned in at least 13 states as laws restricting the procedure take effect following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

How Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers Can Claim to Be Medical Clinics and Get Away With It
By Laura C. Morel
Reveal
Patricia Henderson stood in the parking lot next to the Florida Women’s Center in Jacksonville, wearing a white lab coat and greeting patients as they emerged from their cars.

She Went Undercover to a Crisis Pregnancy Center. They Told Her Abortion Is Reversible.
By Kylie Cheung
Jezebel
In October, investigative reporter Olivia Raisner visited five anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers—clinics that often receive state funding, despite providing no medical services and pushing disinformation to dissuade pregnant people from choosing abortion—in Indiana.

Anti-abortion activists take page from environmentalist playbook to target abortion pills
By Alex Wagner
MSNBC
Caroline Kitchener, reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Alex Wagner about new strategies by anti-abortion activists to attack abortion pills, from banning web sites that sell them to testing wastewater to claim that abortion pills are producing toxic waste.

Research shows higher maternal, infant death rates in states with abortion bans
By Anne Flaherty
ABC News
The Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit research group, found that maternal death rates were 62% higher in 2020 in states that implemented abortion restrictions.

Vermont governor signs amendment protecting abortion rights
By Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Republican Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday signed the document inscribing the Reproductive Liberty Amendment into the Vermont Constitution, formally changing the state’s founding document to protect reproductive rights including abortion.

Iowa judge blocks effort to ban most abortions in the state
By Scott McFetridge and David Pitt
Associated Press
An effort to ban most abortions in Iowa was blocked Monday by a state judge who upheld a court decision made three years ago.