Biden begins to undo Trump-era ban on abortion referrals

Apr 14, 2021
By: Canadian Press

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.

The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services follows through on President Joe Biden's campaign promise to reverse his predecessor's family planning policy, which was branded a “gag rule” by women's groups and decried by medical associations as violating the doctor-patient relationship.

Continued: https://www.bradfordtoday.ca/world-news/biden-begins-to-undo-trump-era-ban-on-abortion-referrals-3630894

Biden rolls back Trump’s anti-abortion curbs on family planning funds

The proposed overhaul erases restrictions on abortion providers that Democrats derided as a "gag rule."

By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN
04/14/2021

The Biden administration on Wednesday moved
to unwind former President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion restrictions on federal
family planning funds.

New rules proposed Wednesday would largely return the Title X program to its
pre-Trump formation, allowing more abortion clinics to participate in a program
that provides free or subsidized contraception and other health services to
about 4 million low-income Americans each year.

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/biden-trump-anti-abortion-family-planning-481395

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/

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

This fight against women's oppression is not just a struggle for women, but for all of humanity.

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

by Alison Bodine, Common Dreams

March 8, 2021, International Women’s Day, is an important day to recognize the
challenges confronted and the great victories made by women around the world,
especially in the past year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the last 12 months, in addition to the health challenges posed by Covid-19
itself, women have faced increasing rates of domestic violence, higher rates of
job loss, as well as a larger burden of the care of children and families
because of the pandemic. In countries like the U.S. and Canada, government
mismanagement of Covid-19 has amplified the health and economic crisis. Black,
Indigenous, and immigrant women and their communities have been
disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
Continued: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/04/06/womens-rights-are-human-rights

USA – Covid Put Remote Abortion to the Test. Supporters Say It Passed.

Medication abortion was briefly available online in some states, but a court ruling blocked it. Advocates want it back.

BY REBECCA GRANT
04.05.2021

LAST SUMMER, Cindy Adam and Lauren Dubey received the news they had hoped for, but hadn’t expected to get so soon. Their new telemedicine clinic would be able to offer remote medication abortion services, at least for the time being.

Medication abortion — which most commonly involves taking two medications, 24 to 48 hours apart, during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy — has been available in the U.S. since 2000. But, despite a growing chorus of advocates and experts who say remote access is just as safe as in-clinic care, the Food and Drug Administration requires providers to dispense mifepristone, the first of the two medications, inside the walls of a clinic, hospital, or medical office, citing the risk of complications. Most abortion providers interpreted this language to mean they could not mail mifepristone to patients’ homes, rendering fully remote abortion care impossible.

Continued: https://undark.org/2021/04/05/digital-abortion-access/

05.04.2021

Commentary

Featured

abortion access during pandemic

abortion pills by mail

ACLU

Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health

Aid Access

American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American Civil Liberties Union

ANSIRH

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Charlotte Lozier Institute

Choix

Covid-19 and abortion

Daniel Grossman

Elisa Wells

Elizabeth Raymond

Food and Drug Administration

Graham Chelius

Gynuity Health Projects

Hey Jane

Ibis Reproductive Health

in-person requirement

Reproductive Freedom Project

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies

Sonia Sotomayor

TelAbortion Study

telehealth

telemedicine abortion

traveling for abortion

2021 Is Already The Year Of Anti-Abortion Legislation

State legislatures with eyes on a Supreme Court showdown have introduced more than 500 bills restricting the procedure.

By Lydia O’Connor
03/26/2021

Fears that a conservative U.S. Supreme Court would inspire a wave of anti-abortion legislation across the country appear to have been warranted, a study of state-level bills introduced this year suggests.

According to a report the Planned Parenthood Federation of America released Friday, legislation limiting abortion in 2021 has skyrocketed in comparison to a similar time frame in 2019. Compared to bills introduced from January through mid-March 2019, medication abortion restrictions and bans have tripled to 33, anti-abortion constitutional amendments have more than tripled to 14, and states have enacted 12 abortion restrictions this year, compared to just one by this point in 2019.

Continued: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/2021-abortion-bills-report_n_605e17fac5b65d1c28154b24

Report details wave of state legislative attempts to restrict abortion in 2021

"This legislative season is shaping up to be one of the most hostile in recent history for reproductive health and rights," said Planned Parenthood's president and CEO.

March 26, 2021
By Chloe Atkins

State legislators across the country are accelerating their efforts to limit access to abortions by fast-tracking a new round of anti-abortion laws this year, according to a report exclusively shared with NBC News.

Over 500 abortion restrictions have been introduced in 44 states this year, compared to around 300 at this time in 2019, according to the report, which Planned Parenthood produced with data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights research organization.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/report-details-wave-state-legislative-attempts-restrict-abortion-2021-n1262070

PETA Does Not Want You to Eat (Human) Babies

PETA's support of anti-abortion activist David Daleiden can only mean one thing: no more cannibalism. We reached out to Armie Hammer for comment.

Mar 16, 2021
Brooke Knisley

It’s official: PETA wants us to stop
consuming the tissue of pre-born babies—and they’re not just talking about
bird, fish, and platypus eggs.

Six years after the 2015 release of an illegal recording of Planned
Parenthood’s senior director of medical services Dr. Deborah Nucatola
discussing the costs associated with donating legally released and obtained
human tissue to researchers, we finally get the input we’ve been waiting for
from the ultimate authority on human rights and privileges: People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2021/03/16/peta-does-not-want-you-to-eat-human-babies/

16.03.2021

eople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Biden administration asks Supreme Court to dismiss abortion counseling case

By Ariane de Vogue and Caroline Kelly, CNN
Fri March 12, 2021

Washington (CNN) The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court late Friday to dismiss a dispute over a Trump era rule barring federally funded health care providers in the Title X family planning program from referring patients for abortions.

In a petition to the court filed after hours
on Friday, Acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the parties had
agreed to dismiss the case that the justices had agreed to hear last month.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/12/politics/biden-administration-supreme-court-dismiss-abortion-counseling-case/index.html

SCOTUS quietly banned the abortion pill from mail — the only mail-in medication barred during the pandemic

Julia Naftulin
Feb 27, 2021

Last month, the Supreme Court voted to ban the abortion pill, which is used to induce a miscarriage in people who are up to 11 weeks pregnant, from mail order during the pandemic.

The move makes the abortion pill the only prescription medication to have such restrictions.

Continued: https://www.insider.com/scotus-ban-abortion-pill-mail-omen-for-roe-v-wade-2021-2