Tag: Maternal Health

This OB-GYN Was Terrified For Her Patients Who Needed Abortions. Then She Became One.

Dr. Austin Dennard is an OB-GYN in Dallas. After Texas banned abortions after six weeks’ gestation (before many women even know they’re pregnant), Dennard’s patients began coming to her with concerns. Then, in 2022, she became a patient who needed an abortion. Now, she is fighting back against the state that’s become a hell on earth for pregnant women—and the extreme Republicans working to make it a reality for every state in the nation.

“There are patients who will choose to continue a pregnancy with anencephaly, and that is okay. But in the state of Texas, there is no choice but to continue. … It didn’t matter in my state that we found this diagnosis early. It did not matter that this baby was never going to survive outside my womb. It didn’t matter that I was a doctor. It didn’t matter that I was a sixth-generation Texan.”

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.)

Our Abortion Stories: ‘I Knew Something Was Wrong, But My Doctor Wouldn’t Listen’

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Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

Two women detail their experiences with miscarriage and abortion healthcare in this edition of Our Abortion Stories: “It was one blow after another. It turned out the doctors there wanted me to have a hysterectomy. I laughed at them.”

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.

Hispanic and Teen Fertility Rates Increase After Texas’ Abortion Restrictions

More Texas women had babies after the state banned nearly all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, leading the state’s fertility rate to increase for the first time since 2014. The 2022 fertility data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed by the University of Houston, offers the first concrete look at how many more women ended up carrying pregnancies to term as a result of the 2021 law.

This fertility data offers the first accounting of how many of those pregnancies were actually carried to term and delivered in Texas. And it confirms advocates’ predictions that the impact of these abortion bans would not be felt evenly across all communities.

Experts Concerned for Plight of Women and Children Civilians in Gaza

In a 15-2 ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—which is the U.N.’s high court—ordered Israel to do more to help civilians and to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ also ordered the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas militants during the invasion of Israeli territory on Oct. 7.

U.N. Women recently released a report documenting the gendered impact of the crisis in Gaza. During the 100-plus days since the Oct. 7 attack, “women and girls make up the majority of those killed, wounded and displaced,” said U.N. Women executive director Sima Bahous. “Some 1 million women and girls are displaced in Gaza, two mothers killed every hour, while around 10,000 children have lost their fathers. … These are people, not numbers, and we are failing them. That failure, and the generational trauma inflicted on the Palestinian people over these 100 days and counting, will haunt us all for generations to come.”

What Is the Path Forward to Securing U.S. Abortion Access?

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Abortion is currently banned in 14 states and highly restricted in an additional 10, and the average American lives 86 miles from an abortion provider. This leaves many pregnant people with the complex task of traveling across state lines—spending substantial amounts of money and time—to receive essential medical care. 

Ahead of the Roe anniversary, a panel of Senate Democrats and activists discussed a range of issues related to abortion rights—including state abortion bans and their desire to pass the Women’s Protection Act to restore abortion rights nationwide.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: France’s Second-Ever Woman PM Resigns; Threats to Nutrition Program for Low-Income Women and Children

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week:the potential risk to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); France’s prime minister Élisabeth Borne resigns after less than two years in office; St. Paul, Minn., elects an historic all-women city council using ranked-choice voting; and more.

An Open Letter to Women’s Magazine Editors: It’s Time to Save Reproductive Rights

Right-wing politicians like Ron DeSantis are ranting about the “woke” media, yet most women’s sites today stick to “traditional” female topics: beauty, shopping, fashion, shopping, relationship issues and more shopping.

Perusing the happy headlines featured on women’s media sites, their readers would have no idea that abortion bans have demolished the rights of women in 21 states, nor that the maternal mortality rate has spiked in those states. Are women’s digital media site editors living in a Barbieland bubble?