National Partnership for Women & Families

In the News

Catholic groups sue New York over abortion coverage requirement

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany on May 4 filed a lawsuit against New York challenging a state mandate requiring certain employers to provide insurance coverage that includes abortion care, Courthouse News Service reports.

According to Courthouse News Service, the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) on April 26 enacted a mandate that requires all individual and small group employers to provide health insurance for employees that covers abortion care.

Lawsuit details

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and nine other Catholic churches, organizations and dioceses filed the lawsuit in Albany County Supreme Court. The lawsuit lists DFS, Independent Health Association, UnitedHealthCare of New York and five other insurers as defendants (Huffman, Courthouse News Service, 5/12).

According to the complaint, DFS is not authorized to institute the mandate. The lawsuit takes issue with the "model language" DFS provided insurers that requires employee health plans to cover "therapeutic" and "non-therapeutic" abortion care (Virtanen, AP/Sacramento Bee, 5/13). The lawsuit also claims that DFS listed abortion as a form of "medically necessary surgery," which employee health plans are obligated to cover.

The plaintiffs asked the court to block the mandate, claiming that it is a violation of their rights to "religious freedom and liberty of conscience," free speech and freedom of association (Courthouse News Service, 5/12).

Video Round Up

In this clip, WKYC's Maureen Kyle covers a recent decision by a federal judge to grant a permanent injunction against an Ohio law (HB 294) that would cut $1.3 million from abortion providers.

Video Round Up

In an interview with AOL Build's Emma Gray, Tracy Droz Tragos discusses her new documentary, "Abortion: Stories Women Tell," which shares women's perspectives on abortion care and abortion rights.

Video Round Up

In this clip, WJHG's Matt Galka discusses Florida's decision not to appeal a federal court order currently blocking parts of a state omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 1411) from taking effect.

Video Round Up

Marissa Silver, a reporter with Coastal Television's "Your Alaska Link," shares the Alaska Supreme Court's decision to strike down a state law that required a minor's parent to be notified of her decision to seek abortion care.

Video Round Up

Fox 13's Matt McDonald reports on a ruling by a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that blocks Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) from cutting funding to Planned Parenthood.

Video Round Up

Richard Besser, ABC News' chief health and medical editor, discusses a case in which a woman in New York City transmitted the Zika virus to her male partner, the first such occurrence reported in the United States.

Video Round Up

WHNT 19 News' Kristen Conner explains what the Supreme Court's ruling striking down two provisions of a Texas omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2) could mean for two antiabortion-rights measures in Alabama.

Video Round Up

Ryan Braschler of WEHT's "Eyewitness News" covers Indiana University's (IU) lawsuit against fetal tissue restrictions included in an Indiana antiabortion-rights law (HEA 1337).

Video Round Up

KIRO 7's Essex Porter discusses the Supreme Court's decision not to review a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a Washington state regulation requiring pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception (EC).

Video Round Up

In this clip, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow speaks with Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, about the ramifications of the Supreme Court's ruling in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt to strike down two contested provisions in Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2).

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Datapoints

In this infographic, the Guttmacher Institute spotlights the increased proportion of insured visits at 28 Title-X supported family planning centers following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (PL 111-148).

Datapoints

In this infographic, the Texas Observer compiled information from the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Texas Policy Evaluation Project and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide a snapshot of abortion access in Texas.

Datapoints

In this infographic, the Guttmacher Institute tracks recent trends in state abortion laws.

Datapoints

In this map, the Guttmacher Institute highlights the effects of the Hyde Amendment, an appropriations rider that bars federal Medicaid funding from covering abortion care except in the limited cases of rape, incest and life endangerment.

Datapoints

In this chart, Media Matters highlights the findings of a study showing how evening and primetime news programs airing on cable news conveyed more inaccurate than accurate statements about abortion.

Datapoints

In this gif, Cosmopolitan shares research from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project showing that the average distance a woman in Texas must drive to access the nearest abortion clinic in the state has increased following the implementation of the state's omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2).

Datapoints

In this map, the Kaiser Family Foundation spotlights five states and Washington, D.C., which have each enacted policies designed to facilitate access to contraception.

Datapoints

In this map, CDC documents the laboratory-confirmed cases of the Zika virus reported in the United States and U.S. territories.

Datapoints

In this infographic, the Guttmacher Institute highlights research showing how an increasing proportion of women who obtain abortion care in the United States are lower-income.

Datapoints

In this map, the New York Times highlights the regions in the United States where mosquitos carrying the Zika virus -- which has been linked to a fetal brain defect -- are most likely to spread during the upcoming spring and summer seasons.

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At a Glance

"A woman's ability to end her pregnancy too often depends on where she lives, her age and how much money is in her pocket."

— Marcela Howell of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, discussing ongoing disparities in women's access to abortion care on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

At a Glance

"If women are not free to make decisions about their own lives and health, they are not free. And if women are not free, none of us are."

— Abortion provider Warren Hern, in a STAT News opinion piece on why he continues to offer abortion care despite receiving harassment and death threats throughout his 42-year career.

At a Glance

"Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale."

— Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld major portions of a Texas antiabortion-rights law.