California is now the front line of America’s maternal mortality crisis

By Sylvia Ghazarian
April 19, 2026

California has become a refuge for reproductive care, but it’s now absorbing the consequences of a national public health failure. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries, and it’s only getting worse.

A growing body of research shows that abortion bans are driving this crisis, increasing preventable deaths, especially among communities already burdened by systemic inequities. The Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP), a national abortion fund headquartered in Los Angeles, is witnessing this surge firsthand, as more patients cross state lines and require financial support to access even the most basic, time-sensitive care.

Continued: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-04-19/california-maternal-mortality-crisis

19.04.2026

Commentary

black maternal mortality

Gender Equity Policy Institute

maternal mortality

Sylvia Ghazarian

Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project

USA – A New Normal for Abortion Funds Without ‘Roe’

Despite a constantly shifting legal landscape and donations tapering off, abortion funds are helping as many people as they can with limited resources.

JUL 22, 2024
SUSAN BUTTENWIESER

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, people have been reaching out to abortion funds for help in historic numbers. In the first year after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the National Network of Abortion Funds, a nationwide network of 100 abortion funds, financially supported more than 100,000 people seeking abortion care. NNAF disbursed over $36 million to people seeking abortions, and an additional $10 million in practical support funding, which includes transportation, lodging, and child care.

The decision also resulted in abortion funds receiving unprecedented amounts in donations. An influx of donations to Indigenous Women Rising, an abortion fund dedicated to Native and Indigenous people in the United States and Canada, allowed the organization to double its staff and expand employee benefits.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2024/07/22/a-new-normal-for-abortion-funds-without-roe/

USA – One year after Dobbs, getting an abortion is much more expensive

June 26, 2023

(Bloomberg) — While the long-term consequences of the end of Roe v. Wade could take years to tally, one outcome is already clear: a year after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, the costs associated with ending a pregnancy have soared.

The Brigid Alliance, which provides logistical support to people seeking abortion care, estimates that the average cost of traveling for care has increased 41% since the first half of 2022, when it was just over $1,000. The average spend for patients that need to fly has jumped 17% to $994; while a hotel stay — usually three nights — is up 29% to $919, according to the group.

Continued: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/abortion-much-more-expensive-one-year-after-dobbs

Abortion care access is essential to support military personnel and their families | Opinion

May. 27, 2023
By Sylvia Ghazarian

The United States military is one of the largest employers in the world, with over 1.3 million active-duty personnel and millions more veterans and their families. It is important that military personnel, who have bravely served the country, have access to comprehensive healthcare, including abortion care, regardless of where they are stationed or deployed. This is especially crucial given the barriers to accessing abortion care that military personnel often face due to restrictive policies on abortion funding.

Tricare, the military health insurance program, currently does not cover all abortions, and in cases where the pregnancy poses a risk to the health or life of the pregnant person, a physician must certify that an abortion is necessary. This policy undermines the reproductive rights and privacy of military personnel and puts their health and well-being at risk.

Continued: https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2023/05/abortion-care-access-is-essential-to-support-military-personnel-and-their-families-opinion.html

27.05.2023

Opinion

Sylvia Ghazarian

Tricare

U.S. military and abortion

Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project

United States

Health

Human Rights

‘Necessary to Disobey Harmful Laws’: These ‘Abortion Pirates’ Want Equal Access to Abortion Pills Worldwide

A colorful crowd of doctors, researchers and women’s activists convened in the Latvian capital to explore ways to use pills to circumvent anti-abortion laws.

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS
11/26/2022

RIGA, Latvia — For two sunny, crisp autumn days in mid-September, Riga’s Stradiņš University felt like the epicenter of a self-styled global civil rights movement: to give every person, in every culture or country, regardless of laws, access to abortion pills.

In the hallways, women pored over posters showing the latest research on the effectiveness of abortion pills and other developments in abortion and contraception care. Representatives from pharmaceutical companies enthusiastically pitched their medications and products to doctors sipping coffee and tea during a break between panels. There were graphic novels about an at-home medical abortion and T-shirts printed with women’s self-stated reasons for ending a pregnancy; there were slogans printed on T-shirts like “Make Abortion Legal Again” and a video promoting abortion rights to the tune of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/11/26/global-abortion-rights-movement-latvia-00069224

26.11.2022

abortion pills at home

abortion pirates

Abortion Support Network

Abortion Without Borders

Family Planning Advisory Service

National Network of Abortion Funds

Plan C

Rebecca Gomperts

self-induced abortion

self-managed abortion

Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project

After Roe, abortion’s underground railroad gains steam

A network of activists is helping women terminate pregnancies in countries where the procedure is banned.

BY CARLO MARTUSCELLI, EMILY SCHULTHEIS, MANDOLINE RUTKOWSKI AND JAKUB KORUS
OCTOBER 29, 2022

RIGA — If you want to get an abortion in Poland, Kinga Jelinska is happy to help. Legally terminating your pregnancy is almost impossible in the Eastern European country. Abortion is only allowed in the case of rape or incest, or when it threatens the life of the woman.

That’s where Jelinska comes in. She’s the co-founder and executive director of Women Help Women, an Amsterdam-based nonprofit that helps provide women with the pills needed for an at-home medical abortion. The service Jelinska’s group provides falls into a legal grey zone; self-induced abortion is illegal in a number of countries, but in Poland, it’s not explicitly banned.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/roe-v-wade-europe-abortion-pill-illegal-underground-network/