Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he would not attempt to ban abortion on the federal level, a claim that earned instant skepticism from reproductive rights groups. Johnson’s remarks came as part of an interview published by Politico on Friday, as Johnson responded to questions from Politico’s Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade: In response to Johnson’s answer, Reproductive Freedom for All... Source ..read more

Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access — and, by extension, abortion training — is likely to remain protected, like California, Colorado... Source ..read more

On Thursday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed a bill into law that effectively cuts off Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds in the state, making Missouri the fourth state in the country to ban Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. The bill, HB 2634, is expected to go into effect later this year, and makes it illegal to allocate public funds to any abortion facility or... Source ..read more

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as an OB-GYN deficit looms and the high rates of pregnancy... Source ..read more

A state legislative committee in Louisiana has blocked the advancement of a bill that was designed to allow young people who are pregnant as the result of rape or incest to obtain abortions. Louisiana has a near-total ban on abortion, only allowing the procedure in instances where a pregnant person’s life is at risk — exceptions that are rarely implemented in practice due to providers’ fears of... Source ..read more

A federal judge declined Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s (R) request to dismiss two lawsuits, filed by an abortion fund and health care providers, challenging his threat to prosecute organizations that “aid and abet abortions.” “The right to interstate travel is one of our most fundamental constitutional rights,” U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson wrote in a preliminary ruling on Monday. Source ..read more

A coalition of abortion rights advocates in Missouri moved one step closer to putting abortion rights on the ballot despite legal challenges, delays and a grassroots “decline to sign” campaign waged by anti-abortion groups. The coalition, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, submitted over 380,000 signatures on Friday for a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to... Source ..read more

In November, a study revealed how easily foreign governments could use companies known as data brokers to purchase personal information about U.S. military personnel. In some cases researchers paid less than a quarter per record for information that included home addresses, cell phone numbers and sensitive health data. Congress reacted quickly; the House passed legislation this year that seeks to... Source ..read more

When its six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1, 2024, Florida joined nearly two dozen other U.S. states that ban abortion or greatly restrict it. These laws came into effect after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ended nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Florida health officials in 2023 reported more than 84,000... Source ..read more

On Thursday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed a bill into law that repeals a 160-year-old anti-abortion statute that was first enacted when the state was just a territory. The 1864 law was re-implemented last month after the state Supreme Court ruled that it was still enforceable. The law forbids abortion at any stage of pregnancy and makes no exceptions for rape, incest, or to protect a... Source ..read more