Daily Women's Health Policy Report
Ariz. gov. signs three antiabortion-rights bills
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday signed into law three antiabortion-rights bills, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Medical college association protests subpoenas issued by House panel investigating fetal tissue research
Citing safety concerns, medical schools and universities in a letter on Thursday protested subpoenas issued by a House subcommittee investigating abortion providers and fetal tissue research and asked the subcommittee to enact rules protecting any identifying information, The Hill reports.
Investigative report highlights deceptive tactics used to make CMP videos
Abortion-rights opponents who released misleading videos targeting Planned Parenthood last year used tactics that "were geared more toward political provocation than journalism," according to an investigative analysis of court documents and unpublished footage, the Investigative Reporting Program/Los Angeles Times reports.
Alaska antiabortion-rights bill likely unconstitutional, Planned Parenthood says
The Alaska Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Wednesday held a hearing on an antiabortion-rights bill (SB 179), the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Blogs comment on FDA's updated label for medication abortion, the 'big business of Catholic nonprofits' behind Zubik v. Burwell, more
Read the week's best commentary from bloggers at the Center for American Progress' "ThinkProgress," Huffington Post blogs and more.
FDA updates medication abortion drug label
FDA on Wednesday approved a new label for a drug used in medication abortion, the New York Times reports.
House subcommittee targeting abortion providers subpoenas eight more groups
A special House subcommittee investigating abortion providers in the United States on Wednesday issued subpoenas to eight medical organizations, drawing criticism from liberal lawmakers and medical groups, the New York Times reports.
NYT op-ed: Challengers to contraceptive coverage accommodation seek to 'hijack' religious freedom law
In a New York Times opinion piece, columnist Linda Greenhouse writes about the recent oral arguments in a Supreme Court case challenging the federal contraceptive coverage rules' accommodation for not-for-profits that hold themselves out as religious and oppose contraception, noting that contrary to plaintiffs' claims about the government "hijacking" not-for-profits' insurance plans, "[w]hat's being hijacked is not the religious objectors' insurance plans, but the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA] [PL 103-141] itself."
Miss. Senate approves abortion ban, bill targeting funding for abortion providers
The Mississippi Senate on Tuesday approved two antiabortion-rights bills, the Jackson Free Press reports.
Colo. Assembly advances contraceptive coverage bill
The Colorado General Assembly on Tuesday voted 35-30 to pass a bill (HB 16-1294) that aims to improve insurance coverage for and facilitate access to contraception, the Pueblo Chieftain reports.
Video Round Up
Broadly shares a behind-the-scenes clip from "Across the Line," a virtual reality documentary that uses video and audio recordings from antiabortion-rights protests at U.S. clinics to show viewers what many women experience when trying to access abortion care.
Video Round Up
In this clip, RTV6's Katie Heinz discusses a new social medial campaign launched in reaction to a harmful Indiana law (HB 1337) that bans abortion care based on the sex of the fetus or a fetal disability diagnosis, among other restrictions.
Video Round Up
In this clip, Fox 17 News' Michele DeSelms covers legislation (HB 4787, HB 4830) passed last week in the Michigan House that would penalize individuals who coerce a woman into receiving an abortion.
Video Round Up
In part of a longer clip covering multiple topics, Reuters TV reports on an omnibus antiabortion-rights measure (HB 1411) recently signed into law by Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) that bars local health departments from distributing funds for non-abortion-related care to organizations affiliated with abortion providers, among several other provisions.
Video Round Up
WTVF's Chris Conte reports on the outcome of a Tennessee House subcommittee hearing, which advanced one antiabortion-rights bill while deferring or withdrawing several others.
Video Round Up
In this clip, Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske hears from Kristeena Banda -- a clinic administrator at Whole Woman's Health, an abortion clinic in McAllen, Texas -- about what is at stake in a legal challenge to parts of Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2).
Video Round Up
13 News WOWK reporter Alyssa Meisner interviews several women in West Virginia about Nurx, a smartphone application that helps women access birth control.
Video Round Up
In a segment on HB 2, comedian Samantha Bee interviews Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Texas Rep. Dan Flynn (R), one of the bill's authors, for TBS' "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," Vox reports.
Video Round Up
John Oliver on HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" discusses the proliferation of attacks on abortion rights in the United States and comments on how such restrictions affect a woman's access to abortion care.
Datapoints
This map, from Bloomberg Business, highlights the rapid decline in abortion access in the United States since 2011.
Datapoints
These maps, compiled using data from the New York Times and the Guttmacher Institute, underscore findings from a recent Times investigation, including that there were more than 700,000 searches for how to self-induce an abortion in 2015.
Datapoints
This chart, compiled by NPR, shows how the majority of countries affected by the Zika virus, which might be linked to a severe birth defect, curb access to contraception and abortion care.
Datapoints
In this map, Center for American Progress' "ThinkProgress" spotlights the 12 states that have cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing after launching investigations into the organization.
Datapoints
In its latest report card, the Population Institute provides a snapshot of the condition of reproductive rights and health in each state in 2015.
Datapoints
The Guttmacher Institute in this graph shows the rapid increase in the number of state abortion restrictions over the past few years.
Datapoints
In this map, the Kaiser Family Foundation shows how widely abortion coverage varies from state to state in insurance plans sold through the Affordable Care Act's (PL 111-148) insurance marketplaces.
Datapoints
This infographic, released with a new Guttmacher Institute study, shows the increase in use of long-acting reversible contraception among U.S. women between 2002 and 2012.
Datapoints
This map, released with a study from the University of Michigan Health System, shows how an increasing number of state Medicaid programs over the last three years are providing reimbursement for immediate postpartum LARC provision.
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.


