America’s anti-abortion agenda is also anti-trans

As far-right organizers rack up victories on the anti-abortion front, they are zeroing in on their next target: trans communities

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle
November 3, 2021

“What was the feeling like of being in Ohio? It was like being in a pressure cooker,” says Laurel Powell, the former director of media relations for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. “I felt like we were kind of one of the last lines of defence before it all started to go apart.”

Powell, who now lives in Washington, D.C., spoke to me in her personal capacity. Her story, though, made it clear why the job had been terrifying. As the “the openly trans spokesperson for a red state abortion provider throughout most of the pandemic,” Powell regularly dealt with crises like violent and enraged anti-abortion protesters forcing their way into clinics. She very much doubts that violence will dissipate if and when abortion becomes illegal across the U.S.

Continued: https://xtramagazine.com/power/anti-abortion-anti-trans-america-211706

FDA Allows Telemedicine Abortion During Pandemic

4/19/2021
by CARRIE N. BAKER

Last Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued long-awaited guidance lifting a restriction on the abortion pill mifepristone for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The move permits telemedicine abortion, a combination of medication abortion—using pills to end a pregnancy—and telemedicine, which allows health providers to supervise the use of abortion pills via videoconferencing or telephone consultations.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, wrote in a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine that the FDA will waive a requirement that clinicians dispense the abortion pill mifepristone to their patients in a clinic or hospital setting. The letter said research studies on telemedicine abortion “do not appear to show increases in serious safety concerns occurring with medical abortion as a result of modifying the in-person dispensing requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2021/04/19/fda-telemedicine-abortion-pill-mifepristone/

USA – Why Abortion Pills Are the Next Frontier in the Battle Over Reproductive Rights

BY ABIGAIL ABRAMS
APRIL 13, 2021

The Biden Administration is removing restrictions on mailing abortion pills during the COVID-19 pandemic, a reversal from the Trump Administration’s policy that marks a new phase in the national debate over abortion rights.

The move temporarily changes longstanding Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules governing mifepristone—one of two drugs used to terminate early pregnancies—that required patients to pick up the pills in-person from a medical provider. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock sent a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine on Monday saying that her agency reviewed recent evidence and found that using telemedicine to provide abortion pills would not increase risks and would help patients avoid potential exposure to COVID-19.

Continued: https://time.com/5954429/fda-biden-abortion-pills/

How the Hyde Amendment Hearing Can Affect the Future of Abortion Rights

Reproductive rights and justice organizations weigh in on the historic House hearing.

BY CHELSEY SANCHEZ
DEC 9 2020

Over the course of more than four decades, Congress has annually renewed the Hyde Amendment, a highly controversial measure that reproductive rights activists say keeps abortion inaccessible to marginalized communities. That could all change, however, as the House Appropriations Committee held a historic, virtual hearing yesterday on the disproportionately negative impacts of the amendment.

Simply put, the Hyde Amendment broadly bars federal funding for abortion costs, meaning Medicaid recipients—who overwhelmingly come from communities of color or low-income communities—lack abortion coverage.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a34906333/hyde-amendment-facts/

USA – There’s a New Playbook for Securing Abortion Access

There’s a New Playbook for Securing Abortion Access
Recent wins suggest that we are more effective when we proudly proclaim our support for abortion access for all—and defend that position when the attacks come.

By Andrea Miller
Jan 22, 2020

Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide 47 years ago today, anti-choice lawmakers have passed more than 1,200 legal restrictions on abortion at the state level, each more manipulative and deceptive than the last. Anti-abortion extremists have been hailed as master strategists for their focus on seating anti-abortion ideologues in state legislatures across the country. From 2010 to 2017, Republican control of state legislatures grew from 14 states to 32; during those years alone, anti-choice lawmakers passed more than 400 restrictions on abortion. Anti-abortion hysteria reached a fever pitch in 2019, as states across the South and Midwest passed abortion bans, including six-week bans in Georgia and Ohio and a total ban on abortion in Alabama and the far right—from Donald Trump down to state legislators—adopted a strategy of lies to buoy their extreme agenda.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/abortion-democrats-roe-anniversary/

22.01.2020

Featured

Opinion

All*Above All

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

National Institute for Reproductive Health

NIRH

pro-choice legislation

Reproductive Health Act

USA – The Ban on Abortion for Low-Income People Is Now a Litmus Test for Congress

The Ban on Abortion for Low-Income People Is Now a Litmus Test for Congress
People have started calling out Democratic members of Congress for supporting the Hyde Amendment.

by Katelyn Burns
Oct 1 2019

Forty-three years ago this week, Congress first enacted the Hyde amendment, which banned federal funds from covering abortion care. The amendment is now standard rider, or bill language, on all applicable federal spending bills. It primarily affects low-income people who depend on Medicaid for healthcare coverage.

Repealing Hyde has emerged as a flashpoint for Democrats as they enter the 2020 primary season in the wake of repeated GOP attacks on abortion access at both the state and federal level. While the current House of Representatives boasts its first pro-choice majority in more than 45 years, there are still a few anti-choice Democratic holdouts who continue to support Hyde, including Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Henry Cuellar (D-TX). On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) endorsed Cuellar over Jessica Cisneros, a pro-choice progressive primary challenger. All three anti-choice Democrats face primaries against more progressive candidates.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/kz4n7w/the-ban-on-abortion-for-low-income-people-is-now-a-litmus-test-for-congress