U.S. appeals court upholds Trump administration’s abortion rules

U.S. appeals court upholds Trump administration’s abortion rules

By Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
Posted February 24, 2020

SEATTLE — A U.S. appeals court on Monday upheld Trump administration changes that include additional hurdles for those seeking abortions through a federal program that helps low-income women.

The 7-4 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned decisions issued by judges in Washington, Oregon and California. The court had already allowed the administration’s changes to begin taking effect while the government appealed those rulings

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/6589509/trump-abortion-us-appeals-court/

The Trump Administration Wants Health Insurance Companies to Drop Abortion Coverage from Your Insurance Plan

The Trump Administration Wants Health Insurance Companies to Drop Abortion Coverage from Your Insurance Plan
The administration passed a new rule that would impose more than $1 billion in unnecessary costs in an effort to coerce insurance companies to stop offering coverage for abortion.

Meagan Burrows , Staff Attorney, ACLU
February 11, 2020

From denying access to abortion for unaccompanied immigrant minors, to gutting the Title X family planning program, to trying to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers and universities cover contraception in their health plans, the Trump administration has spent the last three years waging an unrelenting, targeted campaign against reproductive freedom. And the administration does not appear to be losing steam. Indeed, just last month, Donald Trump became the first president to address the annual anti-abortion march in D.C.

Well, we aren’t losing steam either. We have sued the administration time and time again over its policies, including those detailed above. Today, we filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s latest (and possibly most under-reported) attempt to undermine reproductive rights to date: a new rule that would push abortion further out of reach for millions of people across the country by coercing insurance companies to drop abortion coverage from individual insurance plans.

Continued: https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/the-trump-administration-wants-health-insurance-companies-to-drop-abortion-coverage-from-your-insurance-plan/

USA – Abortion advice should be as safe as abortion itself

Abortion advice should be as safe as abortion itself

By Tracey Allyson Wilkinson
January 31, 2020

It’s completely reasonable for people to disagree about the morality of abortion. It’s completely unreasonable — and unethical — for medical professionals and those masquerading as them to give potentially life-endangering misinformation about it.

Abortion by medication has been available in the United States since 2000, when it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The regimen consists of two pills taken 24 to 48 hours apart. The first pill, mifepristone, blocks the hormone progesterone, which is required for pregnancy. The second pill, misoprostol, causes the uterus to empty. This two-pill approach is currently used in 39% of all abortions in the U.S., a proportion that has been increasing over time.

Continued: https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/31/abortion-advice-should-be-as-safe-as-abortion-itself/

The US health secretary is making anti-abortion speak official government language

The US health secretary is making anti-abortion speak official government language

By Annalisa Merelli
January 24, 2020

The mission of the US Department of Health & Human Services is “to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans,” according to its website. Yet its leader, Alex Azar, seems to believe the mission is to promote anti-abortion values and actions within the health system.

Today, Donald Trump became the first sitting president ever to attend the March for Life — a large anti-abortion gathering that has occurred annually for 47 years — just after his health secretary made a remark that equally showed the government’s commitment to oppose full reproductive rights. In a statement published last night, Azar, who also participated in the event, proudly shared all the moves made by his department to restrict access to abortion, including curtailing Title X funds and pushing back against the provisions of an international right to safe abortion.

Continued: https://qz.com/1790503/the-us-health-secretary-is-making-anti-abortion-speak-official-government-language/

24.01.2020

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USA – ‘Game on’: Republicans ramp up efforts to restrict abortion in 2020

'Game on': Republicans ramp up efforts to restrict abortion in 2020

By Caroline Kelly, CNN
Sat January 4, 2020

Abortion laws around the globe (2018) 01:33

(CNN)Abortion has resurfaced as a major issue in American politics with a flurry of measures making their way through state legislatures around the country -- just as the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the first reproductive rights case since Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed.

In addition to passing bans on abortion earlier in pregnancy, Republican lawmakers and activists in states from Alabama to Utah have looked to further regulate the procedure, sometimes beyond what is medically possible, according to medical experts.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/politics/abortion-policy-changes-2020/index.html

USA – Indie Abortion Clinics Can’t Be Replaced, but They’re Dying Out

Indie Abortion Clinics Can’t Be Replaced, but They’re Dying Out
Abortion clinics that aren't connected to large national organizations like Planned Parenthood provide more than half of all abortions.

by Marie Solis
Dec 23 2019

Laurent Delli-Bovi is used to operating her Brookline, Massachusetts, abortion clinic in a state of financial precarity. Women's Health Services, which has been around for almost 28 years, has been in the red for the last 13 of them.

Delli-Bovi, the clinic's medical director, said those years have mostly consisted of "robbing Peter to pay Paul": putting off paying some bills in favor of more urgent ones. The independent clinic runs on a "day-to-day" basis, its future never guaranteed.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdp4x/independent-abortion-clinics-are-closing-thanks-to-abortion-restrictions

A new chain of Christian pregnancy centers will provide a controversial service: Contraception

A new chain of Christian pregnancy centers will provide a controversial service: Contraception

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey
November 7, 2019

AUSTIN — When a low-income woman searches for reproductive care, she often goes to a Planned Parenthood clinic, where she’s treated as a patient with an array of medical options. Or she might go to a Christian pregnancy center, where she is counseled to carry a pregnancy to term.

But some Christians now see an opening for a third way to reach women — before they become pregnant — that also enables them to compete for federal money Planned Parenthood has decided to relinquish.

continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/a-new-chain-of-christian-pregnancy-centers-will-provide-a-controversial-service-contraception/2019/11/07/7b89bd14-f458-11e9-ad8b-85e2aa00b5ce_story.html

USA – Nearly 900 clinics have lost federal funding after Trump administration abortion rule, report says

Nearly 900 clinics have lost federal funding after Trump administration abortion rule, report says

Kristin Lam, USA TODAY
Published Oct. 22, 2019

Nearly 900 clinics have lost funding from a federal family-planning program since a Trump administration rule banned recipients from referring patients to abortion services, according to a new report.

Power to Decide, an unplanned pregnancy-prevention organization, estimated 876 clinics nationwide lost Title X funding after recipients refused to comply with the rule.

Continued: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/22/abortion-clinics-lose-federal-funding-trump-title-x-rule-report/2452450001/

22.10.2019

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USA – Planned Parenthood Plans to Spend a Huge Amount of Money to Defeat Anti-Abortion Candidates in 2020

Planned Parenthood Plans to Spend a Huge Amount of Money to Defeat Anti-Abortion Candidates in 2020
They want to mobilize communities who have the most to lose.

Oct 9, 2019
Jessica Washington

As abortion rights continue to be under attack by the Trump administration and in states across the country, Planned Parenthood announced a new campaign on Wednesday focused on the 2020 elections. In their most ambitious electoral push ever, the organization plans to spend $45 million backing 2020 candidates in local, state and national elections. This is $4 million more than nation’s largest anti-abortion group the Susan B. Anthony List pledged to spend in the 2020 cycle back in June and $15 million more than it deployed during the 2016 elections.

Continued: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/10/planned-parenthood-plans-to-spend-a-huge-amount-of-money-to-defeat-anti-abortion-candidates-in-2020/

The Democratic debate ignored abortion. That’s a loss for voters.

The Democratic debate ignored abortion. That’s a loss for voters.
Reproductive rights are key for a lot of Democratic voters. They didn’t get a mention Thursday night.

By Anna North
Sep 13, 2019

Abortion rights are shaping up to be a key issue for Democratic voters going into 2020.

But you wouldn’t know it from the third Democratic debate on Thursday night.

The moderators didn’t ask a single question about abortion or reproductive health more generally, and candidates didn’t bring it up. At least one candidate complained about the absence: Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted Thursday night that the debate “was three hours long and not one question about abortion or reproductive rights.”

Continued: https://www.vox.com/2020-presidential-election/2019/9/13/20863699/september-2019-democratic-debate-abortion-reproductive-health