USA – The House Just Passed Federal Spending Bills Without Abortion Restrictions for the First Time in Decades

BY ABIGAIL ABRAMS
JULY 29, 2021

The House of Representatives passed a package of spending bills this week without provisions banning federal funding for most abortions in the U.S. and abroad, marking the first time in decades that the restrictions have not been included.

The changes face long odds in the evenly divided Senate, where moderate Democrats and Republicans have said they oppose removing the abortion limits, but the House’s move represents a milestone in the national battle over abortion access.

Continued: https://time.com/6085444/hyde-amendment-spending-bills-congress/

USA – Why Congress must abolish the most destructive abortion restriction ever passed

By KATHRYN KOLBERT AND JULIE F. KAY
JUNE 5, 2021

Three years after the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade in 1973, Congress made it significantly harder for low-income women to access the procedure by passing the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal Medicaid funding for abortions. It was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1980 — and remains in effect.

In our view it is the most destructive abortion restriction ever passed.

Continued: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-06-05/biden-hyde-amendment-budget-abortion

USA – The EACH Act would overturn a “blatantly racist” abortion rule. Will it pass?

By Clare Busch
May 12, 2021

When Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro was 17, she found out she was pregnant. Loraine Piñeiro decided to have an abortion, but because she was Medicaid recipient — like more than 72 million other Americans — her insurance wouldn’t cover the costs of the procedure. So, Loraine Piñeiro picked up extra shifts at her restaurant job, earning $2.17 per hour in base pay, to earn the necessary $450. She was still in high school.

She was in that position thanks to the Hyde Amendment, a policy dating back to 1976 that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. “When I learned about the Hyde Amendment, I realized how much it affected my life,” Loraine Piñeiro tells Mic. “I had no idea how I would figure out how to pay for an abortion. Those types of resources aren't easily available.”

Continued: https://www.mic.com/p/the-each-act-would-overturn-a-blatantly-racist-abortion-rule-will-it-pass-77726691

Abortion Access Challenges during the Pandemic Highlight Need for EACH Act

March 30, 2021
Anna Berstein

One year into the pandemic, ensuring access to abortion is more critical than ever. Being able to decide whether and when to give birth has always been central to women’s economic security, and is of particular importance now: women—especially women of color—are bearing the brunt of the job loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, because of restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion, abortion services are already inaccessible for many low-income women, including many women insured by Medicaid. The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, reintroduced in Congress March 25 by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), would take a crucial step in making affordable abortion care a reality for these women.

Continued: https://tcf.org/content/commentary/abortion-access-challenges-pandemic-highlight-need-act/?agreed=1

Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Abortion and Reproductive Rights?

Breaking down the VP nominee's policy.

BY ERICA GONZALES
OCT 7 2020

As Election Day inches nearer, eyes aren't just on the presidential nominees, they're on the vice president picks too. And as a history-making vice presidential candidate on the ballot, Kamala Harris is especially in the spotlight—and so are her policies. Here, we look into the Democratic senator's stance on abortion access and reproductive rights, major issues that may be on voters' minds in light of President Donald Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee.

In 2019, as a Democratic nominee for president, Senator Harris shared her plan to protect abortion access, which was modeled after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, according to Politico. In it, she proposed that states that tend to restrict abortion would have to obtain preclearance by the Department of Justice before enforcing laws affecting access to the procedure.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a34284404/kamala-harris-stance-on-abortion/

07.10.2020

Brett Kavanaugh

Donald Trump

EACH Woman Act

Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act

Hyde Amendment

Kamala Harris

Mike Pence

Naral Pro-Choice America

Planned Parenthood

Roe v. Wade

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Women’s Health Protection Act

USA – States Lead the Way in Promoting Coverage of Abortion in Medicaid and Private Insurance

States Lead the Way in Promoting Coverage of Abortion in Medicaid and Private Insurance

Adam Sonfield, Guttmacher Institute
Elizabeth Nash, Guttmacher Institute
First published online: June 24, 2019

Advocates and policymakers working to ensure that everyone can afford an abortion scored a number of important victories within just a few days of each other: On June 13, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a law expanding abortion coverage in private insurance and Medicaid. Just one day earlier, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had signed a law expanding private insurance coverage of abortion as part of a broader abortion rights law. The same week, New York City allocated $250,000 to a nonprofit abortion fund to directly assist patients, including patients traveling from other states.

This burst of action builds on a nationwide push to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which currently bans abortion coverage under Medicaid and other federal health coverage programs. Expanding coverage will help people overcome one substantial barrier to abortion—the cost of abortion services—and will be particularly important for people with low incomes, people of color and people with disabilities.

Continued: https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2019/06/states-lead-way-promoting-coverage-abortion-medicaid-and-private-insurance