Tag: Anti-Abortion Laws

The Anti-Abortion Movement Is Coming for Fertility Treatments

The availability of in-vitro fertilization in Alabama may now be in question after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that embryos kept in clinic freezers are considered persons under the law, and protected by the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. It’s a shocking and jarring decision that radically extends the bounds of legal personhood, tosses any claims to originalism aside, and seems primed to make a variety of fertility treatments either extremely costly for patients, or extremely legally risky for clinicians.

IVF is, unfortunately, not safe from the anti-abortion movement. Many of the movement’s leaders have indicated that they would like to outlaw it, and while right now they have bigger fish to fry, abortion opponents have never stopped at simply (“simply”) banning abortion. They want full control over reproduction, and over women specifically. And Alabama just put us all one step closer to their ultimate goal.

Abortion Funders in the Southeast Are ‘Helping People Decide What They Want to Do With Their Lives’

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Abortion funds are local nonprofits that pay for someone’s abortion, plus extra costs, like transportation or lodging. Their role in the abortion access movement has increased since the fall of Roe. Ms. will feature interviews weeks with fund representatives across the U.S. Each installment will focus on a distinct region—beginning in the Southeast, where every single state in the region has implemented abortion restrictions.

“No human being should ever feel like, ‘Well, I’ve got to figure out what I want to do with this pregnancy by midnight tonight, or else.'” “I enter the work in rage. I am doing abortion access work in sheer rage and spite.”

Our Abortion Stories: ‘I’m a Registered Nurse, a Wife and a Mother. This Story Is Personal and Painful.’

“Everything was progressing normally until I went for my anatomy scan at 12 weeks. … I was a victim of Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws. Virginia’s Republican Governor Bob McDonnell had signed these regulations into law on July 1, 2011. I got the worst news of my life on Sept. 7, 2011. When I needed compassionate healthcare the most, I was left out in the cold to fend for myself. … I am most grateful for the beautiful, healthy daughter I conceived one year later. She changed my life in all the best ways and healed my wounded and broken heart. She is here because I had a federally protected right to make my own reproductive decisions.”

“Women and healthcare providers need Congress to do what many states have failed to do: Protect their reproductive rights by voting in support of HB 12, The Women’s Health Protection Act.” (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

Arizona’s Near-Total Abortion Ban from 1860s Can Take Effect, Rules State Supreme Court

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled to let a law banning almost all abortions in the state go into effect. The justices ordered the state to wait 14 days before beginning to enforce the ban, to give advocates time to ask a lower court to pause it again.

Voters may be able to weigh in on the issue this November: Last week, Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of abortion rights organizations, announced it had gathered enough signatures for a ballot measure that would ask voters to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.

Project 2025: The Right’s Dystopian Plan to Dismantle Civil Rights and What It Means for Women

Wealthy right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation has published a detailed plan for the next Republican president to use the executive branch of the federal government to attack the rights of women, LGBTQ people and the BIPOC community, by eliminating the agencies and offices responsible for enforcing civil rights laws and placing trained right-wing ideologues in staff positions throughout the federal government. 

To develop this plan, the Heritage Foundation organized a broad coalition of over 90 conservative organizations—a who’s-who of groups that have led attacks on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, gender studies, the Equal Rights Amendment and #MeToo initiatives.

Keeping Score: E. Jean Carroll Wins Defamation Case; 64K Pregnancies from Rape in Abortion Ban States; U.S. Congress Members Urge SCOTUS to Protect Abortion Pill

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: E. Jean Carroll wins defamation case; over 64,000 pregnancies from rape in abortion ban states; Taylor Swift targeted by deepfake attack; House passes CTC expansion; states implement anti-trans laws; abortion rates have risen since 2020; Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed the first anti-LGBTQ bill of the year into law; more than three in five Americans support Congress passing a law guaranteeing the right to an abortion; and more.

Abortion Bans Increase the Need for Survivor Support

The best thing that we as physicians can do is to believe women, holding their hands and offering our unconditional support as we guide them through the pain and connect them to the healthcare resources that suit their best interests. This includes access to safe, legal abortion, a narrow avenue for recourse that recent and current GOP candidates threaten to narrow further.

But I am one doctor. There is only so much that I can do. I cannot single-handedly change our society.

A Tale of Two Americas: The Deepening Crisis of Reproductive Rights for Marginalized Communities

With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, the U.S. is facing a pivotal moment in its ongoing struggle for reproductive rights. The escalating conflict, now at the forefront of national debate, reveals a profound and disproportionate impact on Black, brown, Indigenous, Latinx and other marginalized communities.

This was the focus of “Landscape for Abortion Access in 2024,” a briefing hosted by Conway Strategic held ahead of what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Jan. 14. The event brought together experts and advocates to discuss the challenges and realities of abortion access in the current political climate.

The War on Women Report: SCOTUS Allows Idaho to Deny Emergency Abortions; Taylor Swift Subjected to Online Sexual Abuse

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report: The Supreme Court will hear its second major abortion case; Pope Francis called for a ban on surrogacy; three new anti-trans bills were introduced in West Virginia; Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his presidential campaign after a second-place finish in Iowa; Texas has a higher number of pregnancies resulting from rape than any other state; and more.