Abortion Prepping for the Trump Era

Preserving access to Plan B, misoprostol, and more isn’t just about stockpiling doses. It’s about building circles of trust.

Melissa Gira Grant
December 30, 2024

Trump’s return to the White House, accompanied by allies deeply hostile to anything related to reproductive and sexual health and rights, has sparked panic. As in late 2016 during the first Trump transition period, part of the problem is not knowing how far things could go. Checklists and tips are again circulating online, urging people to update the gender listed on government-issued identity documents, get an emergency supply of birth control pills or hormones, assemble an emergency folder of health documentation, buy a stash of Plan B, get an IUD before Inauguration Day. With access not only to abortion medication or hormones threatened but also a wide array of other drugs and vaccines, discourse over stockpiling medication—in case it becomes hard to access or is even taken off the market by a cowed Food and Drug Administration—has escalated, and in a way that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago.

Continued: https://newrepublic.com/article/189502/abortion-trump-era-plan-b-misoprostol


Abortions are up in the US. It’s a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel

Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly

Geoff Mulvihill and Kevin S. Vineys, Associated Press
Dec 28, 2024

Abortion has become slightly more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over yet.

It's now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to implement bans.

The policies and their impact have been in flux ever since the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/abortions-us-complicated-picture-women-turn-pills-travel-117162421  


USA – Why speech could be a target for the anti-abortion movement in 2025

The anti-abortion movement is looking at ways to control information about how and where to obtain abortions

Carter Sherman
Fri 27 Dec 2024

The next front in the US abortion wars may be what people are allowed to say about it.

More than two years after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in the case Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, US abortions are on the rise, thanks in large part to the spread of abortion pills and travel across state lines. This has infuriated anti-abortion advocates, who have proposed policies to help the incoming Trump administration curtail the mailing of abortion pills and targeted individuals and groups that help women get out-of-state abortions. In a sign of how the issue is pitting states against one another, Texas earlier this month sued a New York-based doctor who allegedly provided a telehealth abortion to a Texan woman.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/27/speech-anti-abortion-movement


In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families

By  LAURA UNGAR and KIMBERLEE KRUESI
December 27, 2024

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she’s infuriated by Tennessee’s meager social services, which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions.

“I was going to have my child no matter what, but for other women, that’s kind of a crappy situation that they put you in,” said Cagnacci, a 29-year-old Kingsport mom who relies on Medicaid and a federally funded nutrition program. “You have to have your child. But where’s the assistance afterward?”

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-tennessee-medicaid-wic-2a67e38c0d523a008ec8e1b173b67297


Nigeria – Organisation intensifies campaign against unsafe abortion

December 26, 2024
by Damola Kola-Dare

Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC, a feminist organization, has amplified its advocacy for safe termination of pregnancy for women who require it including victims of rape and incest, women with physical and mental health condition.

The film was funded by WARDC, with a Yoruba phrase title: “TO BA SE WO” which in English expression means “What if it was you?”

It was aimed at enlightening the society on the harmful effects of unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://thenationonlineng.net/organisation-intensifies-campaign-against-unsafe-abortion/


Gynaecologists Seek Urgent Action To Combat Nigeria’s Alarming Maternal Mortality Rate

By Chioma Umeha
On Dec 25, 2024

LAGOS – Experts in Obstetrics and Gynae­cology have decried Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate even as they identified some contributing factors to the trend and urged the government to demonstrate the political will necessary to address the critical public health issue.

The experts stressed the urgent need for comprehensive strategies and interventions to improve maternal health outcomes and ensure the safety of mothers during childbirth.

Continued: https://independent.ng/gynaecologists-seek-urgent-action-to-combat-nigerias-alarming-maternal-mortality-rate/


Portugal – Abortion deadline extension debate

The PS has scheduled for January 10th the debate on the bill that intends to extend the period for Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (IVG) from the current 10 to 12 weeks.

By TPN/Lusa, in News, Portugal
Dec 24, 2024

To Lusa, an official PS source confirmed this schedule and stated that the party will allow other initiatives on the topic to be carried out.

The socialists propose in their bill to extend the period for IVG at the woman's choice from the current 10 to 12 weeks and ensure that conscientious objection does not put access to abortion at risk.

The BE proposes to extend the period, from the current 10 to 14 weeks, for a woman to undergo an IVG of her choice and eliminates the reflection period.

Continued: https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2024-12-24/abortion-deadline-extension-debate/94400


Gloucestershire woman walks free from court after illegal abortion charges dropped

The judge said the case had been 'traumatic' for the defendants

Dec 24, 2024
By Rod Minchin, Shannon Brown

A woman has walked free from court after prosecutors accepted she did not illegally abort her baby. Sophie Harvey, 25, had previously stood trial accused of procuring her own miscarriage when she was 19.

Prosecutors had alleged she took the medication after learning she was at 28 weeks and five days gestation – meaning she could not get a legal abortion in England as she was beyond the 24-week cut-off. Harvey and her boyfriend Elliot Benham always accepted they had purchased abortion pills online.

Continued https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gloucestershire-woman-walks-free-court-9818612


Abortion rights initiative hits 1 million signatures, prompting EU action

The Citizens' Initiative “My voice, my choice,” calling for safe access to abortion in the European Union, has reached the necessary one million signatures for the EU Commission to issue a response.

By Marta Iraola Iribarren
24/12/2024

'My voice, my choice,' a citizens' initiative advocating for safe and accessible abortion in the EU, has secured 1 million signatures across the bloc and exceeded the required thresholds in 15 countries - more than double the necessary seven.

"We managed to connect the entire EU and build a network across Europe. Most importantly, we clearly demonstrated that the right to freely decide about childbirth is a shared value across Europe," said Nika Kovač, the campaign coordinator, in a press release. 

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/12/24/abortion-rights-initiative-hits-1-million-signatures-prompting-eu-action


“Clearly forbidden”: Religious Leaders in Sierra Leone Oppose Government Plan to Legalize Abortion

By Agnes Aineah
23 December, 2024

The Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) has opposed a draft Bill that seeks to legalize abortion in the West African nation, noting that the Bill “gravely” contradicts religious teachings in the country.

According to IRCSL members, the Bill titled “Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Act 2024” is a violation of the sanctity of life as protected by existing Sierra Leonean laws.

Continued: https://www.aciafrica.org/news/13501/clearly-forbidden-religious-leaders-in-sierra-leone-oppose-government-plan-to-legalize-abortion