Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale

States use coronavirus to ban abortions, leaving women desperate: ‘You can’t pause a pregnancy’

Eight US states have worked to try and halt abortions entirely during the pandemic as clinics report a rise in demand

Jessica Glenza
Thu 30 Apr 2020

A woman in Texas was isolating with her family. She was frightened and carried a secret: she was eight weeks pregnant.

Even under normal circumstances, obtaining an abortion in Texas is described as “mostly impossible”. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians in Texas and seven other states have worked to try to halt abortions entirely. They have undertaken costly lawsuits to restrict abortion in the name of health and safety, even as doctors lined up against them.

Continued https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/us-states-ban-abortions-coronavirus-leave-women-desperate

Violence against abortion clinics hit a record high last year. Doctors say it's getting worse.

By Kate Smith
Updated on: September 17, 2019

For one of the last abortion doctors in Missouri, harassment, stalking and death threats are a part of regular life. But this year, it's been worse than ever.

Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, is one of many providers who told CBS News they've seen an uptick in violence this year, both against themselves and their clinics. They say the increased harassment has coincided with newly enacted state laws restricting legal abortion and polarizing rhetoric surrounding the procedure.

Continued: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/violence-against-abortion-clinics-like-planned-parenthood-hit-a-record-high-last-year-doctors-say-its-getting-worse/