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Repro Groups Sue Michigan Over Law Denying Pregnant Women Control of Their Bodies in End-of-Life Decisions
Bodily autonomy shouldn’t vanish with a positive pregnancy test—yet in Michigan, it can.
On Oct. 23, a coalition of Michigan women, physicians and patient advocates filed a lawsuit, Koskenojo v. Whitner, challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s pregnancy-exclusion law that forces life support on pregnant women by denying incapacitated pregnant patients the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment. The case relies on a voter-approved 2022 constitutional amendment that explicitly protects “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy.”
One plaintiff—Nikki Sapiro Vinckier of Birmingham, Mich.—explained her objections to Michigan’s pregnancy exclusion law. “As a woman and a mother, it’s infuriating to know that my body can still be regulated more than it’s respected. As a trained OB-GYN physician assistant, I know this law protects no one—it only punishes those who can get pregnant. The pregnancy exclusion clause isn’t about safety or care. It’s about control. There is no place for a law that discriminates against pregnant people in a state that claims to trust women.”
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This FDA Decision Could Transform Menopause Care
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The Politics of ‘Audit’: How Texas Is Using Bureaucracy to Erase Gender Studies
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Why Won’t the U.S. Stop Child Marriage?
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FDA Rewrites the Story on Estrogen: A Win for Women
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‘The Rent Eats First’: 10 Days Without SNAP Benefits Shows How America’s Safety Net Is Failing Its Most Vulnerable
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Shattering the Silence on Domestic Violence (with Lauren Schuster and Chris Negri)
As we mark Domestic Violence Awareness month this October, we know there’s a long way to go when it comes to addressing the domestic violence crisis in our country. From pandemic-era spikes in violence to the Trump administration’s recent budget cuts and their impact on support for women and girls experiencing domestic violence, how are advocates and policy experts addressing the ongoing crisis?
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- Australia Solves the Preterm Birth Crisis: The Prevention Program the US Needs to Adopt
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- A Big Win for Education in Michigan
- Taliban Claim To “Protect” Women, yet Bar Them From Seeing Male Doctors and Pursuing Medical Training
- UN Report Details Deepening Crisis for Afghan Women and Warns Against Normalising Taliban Rule
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Murder, Pardons and Impunity: How Antiabortion Violence Escalated Under Trump [Part 1 of 4]
Her friend Melissa Hortman, a longtime Minnesota lawmaker, was murdered at home in June—shot by a man posing as a police officer who had also wounded two others and left behind a hit list of dozens of abortion-rights supporters. Among the names was Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “It was one thing to get a threat; it’s another to have confirmed threats where you have a friend and colleague who is assassinated,” she told Ms.
This tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of federal retreat: Trump pardoned extremists convicted of clinic blockades and violence, and his Justice Department declared it would largely stop enforcing the FACE Act, the law meant to protect providers. Advocates warn these decisions have emboldened extremists, leaving abortion providers more vulnerable than at any time in decades.
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Two Roommates, Two Governorships—and a Blueprint for Women’s Power
From governors’ mansions to city halls, legislative chambers to ballot measures, voters across the country affirmed a simple but powerful truth: When we design systems that work for women, women lead and democracy strengthens.
This year’s races showcased both the momentum and the mechanics of progress. Record numbers of women ran in state legislative contests. Cities across the country tested reforms like ranked-choice voting to create fairer elections. And two of the most closely watched gubernatorial races in the nation—in Virginia and New Jersey—produced groundbreaking results for women’s representation that will reverberate far beyond their state lines.
