Courts and Judges

Judge Rules FDA Abortion Pill Restrictions Unlawful, Citing Political Interference

PUBLISHED 11/4/2025 by

Following eight years of litigation, a federal trial court in Hawaii ruled the FDA violated federal law by imposing medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone, which is used for early abortion. Ruling in Purcell v. Kennedy, the court held that the FDA has a legal obligation to fairly evaluate and weigh the decades of extensive research affirming mifepristone’s safety, noting the agency had failed to justify its restrictions on access to mifepristone.

The court’s ruling requires the agency to consider the peer-reviewed evidence proving mifepristone’s safety, including its use via telemedicine, and to assess how the agency’s restrictions burden patient access. The ruling does not immediately change access to the medication, but it puts pressure on the FDA to follow the science rather than be swayed by political pressure.

“The FDA’s needless restrictions on mifepristone make our jobs harder without any safety benefit,” said Dr. Lisa Folberg, chief executive officer of the California Academy of Family Physicians. “We appreciate that the court recognized how FDA failed to consider the toll its restrictions take on physicians trying to provide a safe and effective medication to their patients.”

Election Results: Historic Gender Gaps Shape 2025 Outcomes in Virginia, New Jersey and Beyond

PUBLISHED 11/3/2025 by , , , and | UPDATED 11/10/2025 at 12:28 P.M. PT

We’ve curated the results of all the state-by-state election results that feminists most care about.

Together, the early data from this week’s elections paints a clear picture: Women voters were the decisive force in the 2025 elections, driving sweeping Democratic victories across key states. Women turned out at higher rates than men and made up a majority of voters. Support for women’s rights, reproductive freedom, gender equality and fair immigration policies powered a Democratic sweep this election season.

Historic gender gaps reshaped the political landscape:
—In Virginia, 65 percent of women voted for Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, compared to just 48 percent of men, a 17-point gender gap. 
—In New Jersey, women backed Democrat Mikie Sherrill by 62 percent, compared with 49 percent of men, a 13-point gap that proved decisive in her win. 

Yearning to Breathe Free [Part 1 of 3]

PUBLISHED 10/15/2025 by

In the matter of K-E-S-G-, a Salvadoran woman stalked and threatened by gang members was denied asylum by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals on July 18, even though her persecution stemmed from her gender in a country that treats women as property. Advocates warn that this ruling could make it much harder for women fleeing violence to prove gender-based claims and may embolden immigration judges to discount their stories.

“This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has singled out women seeking asylum, and we know where this path leads,” said Neela Chakravartula of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. “More judges denying protection to women who qualify for it. More refugees being deported to danger.”

The decision highlights the ongoing struggle to recognize gender as a protected basis for asylum. Afghan and Salvadoran women, among others, may now face even steeper barriers to protection—a chilling effect that experts say could deter survivors from seeking safety in the U.S.

The Trump Administration Is Paying Children $2,500 to Give Up Their Rights

PUBLISHED 10/7/2025 by

The Trump administration’s latest immigration scheme offers unaccompanied children $2,500 to “voluntarily” give up their legal rights and return to the very countries they fled. Officials are calling it a resettlement stipend, but in reality, it’s a disingenuous and dangerous form of coercion. Children in federal custody—many without attorneys—are being asked to make life-altering decisions under duress, with money dangled as an incentive to abandon their claims. Far from empowering them with choice, this program undermines the legal protections Congress established to keep children safe.

It’s one more example of the administration’s incremental intimidation of children—this time, with a price tag attached.

‘We Heard You’: Judge Addresses Victims After Handing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a Four-Year Sentence

PUBLISHED 10/6/2025 by

A federal judge sentenced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday to 50 months in prison—just over four years—marking an end to a trial against one of the most influential names in entertainment. Combs must also pay a $500,000 fine.

“To Ms. Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you,” Judge Arun Subramanian said after he pronounced the sentence.

The Antiabortion Movement’s Decades-Long Goal Achieved: Planned Parenthood Defunded

PUBLISHED 9/24/2025 by

Republicans have finally achieved a decades-long goal: defunding Planned Parenthood. In July, President Trump signed a spending bill that blocks Medicaid reimbursements and federal grants for nonprofit health centers that provide abortions—including Planned Parenthood—even though federal law already prohibits Medicaid from covering abortion. The result is that more than a million low-income and disabled patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for contraception, STI testing, and cancer screenings can no longer use their insurance there. Hundreds of clinics across the country are expected to close, and in many communities, there are no alternatives waiting to replace them.

What does this mean in practice?

It means people like Colleen—who discovered she had breast cancer because of an affordable visit to Planned Parenthood—will face new barriers to care.

It means patients who already struggle to cover basic expenses will be asked to pay out-of-pocket for lifesaving services.

And it means thousands of people living in rural or medically underserved areas may have no nearby provider at all.

The political fight over Planned Parenthood has always been framed as a battle about abortion, but the immediate impact is much broader: fewer clinics, fewer screenings, and fewer chances to catch disease before it’s too late.

The Push to Eliminate New York State’s Voluntary Intoxication Loophole: ‘You Should Be Allowed to Get Drunk and Not Be Taken Advantage Of’

PUBLISHED 9/19/2025 by

Under current New York law, if someone was drinking by choice when they were assaulted, prosecutors can decide not to pursue the case. This law provides prosecutors with an out when it comes to sexual assault, and statistics show they take it. In 2019, prosecutors dropped nearly half of all sexual assault cases in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A bill proposed in the state legislature is looking to make it harder for prosecutors to throw out sexual assault and rape cases by prohibiting the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense. 

Nevada Just Made Teen Abortion Way Harder—Even in the Worst Situations

PUBLISHED 9/12/2025 by

Imagine you’re a teen in foster care, and you’re pregnant. The father is your abusive foster parent. Nevada’s newly enforced parental notification law means you can’t get an abortion without telling him. 

“The assumption that a parent is always the safest and most trusted person in an adolescent’s life is a falsehood,” said Dr. Laura Dalton. “Sometimes parents are abusive. Sometimes the parent is the perpetrator of sexual assault. For these patients, requiring parental involvement can be dangerous.”

Memory, Medicine and Law: Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina @ Washington, D.C., Sept. 11-13

PUBLISHED 9/3/2025 by | UPDATED 9/9/2025 at 10:53 A.M. PT

This fall marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, leaving more than 1,800 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Katrina was not just a natural disaster—it was a political, legal and public health catastrophe that exposed deep inequities in the United States. Women, low-income communities and communities of color were hit hardest, and the failures of government response left lasting scars that continue to shape policy and memory today.

To reflect on these legacies, Georgetown University will host a three-day symposium, “Memory, Medicine and Law: Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” from Sept. 11-13, 2025, at its Capitol Campus and adjoining Law Center, located at 125 E Street NW in Washington, D.C.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

How Texas Abortion Restrictions Are Driving Doctors Away: ‘By Following the Law, I Was Doing the Wrong Thing Medically’

PUBLISHED 9/2/2025 by

Texas’ abortion bans have driven hundreds of physicians to leave the state, retire early, or avoid practicing and training there altogether. Dr. Lou Rubino is one of many doctors forced out, unable to provide not only abortion care but also life-saving emergency treatment.

“I remember very clearly the moment I knew I was done. I could no longer practice as a women’s healthcare doctor in Texas.

“I had a patient, probably 18 or 19 years old. I was doing an ultrasound, and she told me she needed an abortion for her safety. She said, ‘I’m too young. I don’t feel safe with my partner. I’m scared. I need an abortion.’

“When a patient tells me they feel unsafe with a partner, I take that very seriously. Pregnant people are at high risk of harm from abusive partners. It’s a dangerous time. She knew what she needed, and I knew it was wrong for me to say no. … I asked myself: Am I the kind of doctor who does the wrong thing? I’m not. And Texas couldn’t force me to be.

“Not long after, my husband and I moved to Virginia, where I now practice.”