Pregnancy Criminalization

Idahoans Launch Ballot Initiative to Safeguard Reproductive Rights

On Saturday, June 28, hundreds of reproductive freedom advocates gathered on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol for the “Rise & Sign Rally” to support a citizen-led initiative to put the Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act on the November 2026 ballot. The law would restore the right to abortion, ensure access to healthcare care in cases of pregnancy complications or emergencies, and safeguard birth control, emergency contraception and IVF in Idaho. 

“Today’s rally is just the beginning,” said Melanie Folwell, executive director of Idahoans United for Women and Families, which organized the rally to launch a statewide grassroots campaign to collect signatures needed to put the Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act on the ballot. “Across the state, Idahoans are ready to rise, sign, and take back the right to make deeply personal medical decisions without interference from politicians.”

War on Women Report: MAGA Republicans Hope to Turn Miscarriage Into a Crime and Gut Planned Parenthood

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MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—On June 14, between 4 and 13 million people attended No Kings rallies nationwide to protest President Trump’s immigration and economic policies.
—Four states—California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey—have petitioned the FDA to undo restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.
—Some good news out of Montana: This month, the state supreme court struck down three abortion restrictions that Republican lawmakers passed in 2021.

… and more.

$133 Billion in Economic Loss. Tens of Thousands Forced to Flee. This Is Post-Roe America.

It has been exactly three years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent abortion rights back to the states. Amid myriad reflective headlines this week—what the ruling has meant for real people’s lives, for the trajectory of the Court and other established liberty rights and for our democracy—are numerous reports detailing in stark numbers the nationwide impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling.

The number of abortion patients who traveled out of state for care is nearly twice the pre-Dobbs baseline. New data released by the Guttmacher Institute shows that in 2024 the number dropped from the prior year—155,000 patients versus 170,000 in 2023—but still reflects a massive jump from 2020, when 81,000 abortion patients traveled out of state.

How a Liberal DA in Louisiana Is Fighting for Reproductive Rights in a Post-Roe South

In a post-Roe America, where reproductive freedom depends not just on where you live but who your prosecutor is, New Orleans District Attorney represents a growing number of local officials refusing to criminalize care. His goal: to protect bodily autonomy and keep women out of prison.

As one of the few progressive prosecutors in the Deep South, Williams operates under intense pressure—from conservative lawmakers, a hostile state government and a legal landscape increasingly tilted against reproductive rights. But he’s doing so with clear priorities: decriminalize pregnancy outcomes, defend healthcare providers and prioritize the health and dignity of Black and low-income women in his parish.

‘Behind Every Ban Is a Body’: Idaho Activists Bring Abortion Truths to NYC Theater

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On June 2, a new play, One Body: Dispatches from Idaho, brought the harrowing reality of Idaho’s abortion ban to the New York City stage. Performed at Theater 555 in midtown Manhattan, the one-woman show explores the devastating consequences of Idaho’s extreme abortion ban, drawing on over 30 interviews with women, doctors, lawmakers and activists.

“With One Body, we’re not just telling stories; we’re building infrastructure for change,” said Jen Jackson Quintano, an abortion activist and co-writer of the play. “By placing rural Idahoans’ experiences front and center—elevating stories too often silenced—we not only humanize the stakes of reproductive rights, we create a blueprint for community-centered activism that can travel anywhere.”

Organizers hope to spark momentum—and raise funds—for a nationwide tour and an off‑Broadway production of One Body in the future.

What Comes After Roe? Fear, Surveillance and Felony Charges

A new survey reveals that a majority of likely voters oppose policies that grant legal rights to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. They also oppose the criminalization of pregnancy loss, denial of emergency medical care and broader threats to reproductive freedom.

Yet here we are, with bills to codify those rights brewing in a quarter of U.S. states this year.

Even when they do not succeed, we cannot simply ignore them or hope their proponents call it quits. Rather, this is a prime opportunity to double down on educating people and harnessing public opinion.

Lawsuit Challenges Kansas Law That Voids Living Wills for Pregnant Women

Reproductive freedom advocates filed a lawsuit, Vernon v. Kobach, on May 29 challenging the constitutionality of a Kansas law that automatically invalidates a person’s end-of-life treatment decisions in their living will if they are pregnant. The case argues that this law violates pregnant patient’s constitutional rights to bodily autonomy, privacy and equal treatment under Kansas law. The complaint asks the court to permanently prohibit the state from enforcing the pregnancy exclusion—restoring pregnant women’s’s right to have their end-of-life decisions honored, just like anyone else.

Kansas is one of 28 states that restrict advance directive during pregnancy—16 based on the potential of fetal survival and 12 regardless of fetal survival.

“Across the country, people are shocked and horrified to learn that their end-of-life directives might be invalidated because they are pregnant,” said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director at If/When/How. “Everyone deserves to be able to make decisions about their body and their life; pregnancy is no excuse to deny someone’s fundamental rights.”

War on Women Report: Texas Woman Jailed for Miscarriage; Maine Advances Law to Protect Abortion Pill Prescribers’ Identities; Louisiana Intensifies Legal Attacks on N.Y. Abortion Provider

and

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—A judge struck down federal regulations that required U.S. employers to give workers paid time off for abortions.
—Catholic cardinals elected the first American pope, Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. He has strongly opposed abortion and expressed hesitancy over IVF.
—Some good news out of North Carolina: After a six-month legal battle, Republican Jefferson Griffin has conceded the North Carolina Supreme Court race to Democrat Allison Riggs.
—Earlier this month, the FDA approved the first at-home replacement for Pap smears.

… and more.