National Partnership for Women & Families

In the News

La. gov. signs bill banning medically proven method of abortion

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) on Tuesday signed into law a bill (HB 1081) that bans a medically proven method of abortion, the AP/Franklin Daily Journal reports.

The law will take effect Aug. 1 (AP/Franklin Daily Journal, 5/31).

Law details

Under the law, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Johnson (R), the method will be prohibited unless used to prevent a "serious health risk" to the pregnant woman.

A physician who violates the law could face a $1,000 fine per incident, lose his or her medical license and/or receive up to two years in prison. Further, a woman who obtained such an abortion and certain other individuals may seek civil damages from the physician (Women's Health Policy Report, 5/19).

Comments

Abortion-rights supporters have said that by criminalizing a medically proven method of abortion, the ban endangers a woman seeking abortion care (AP/Franklin Daily Journal, 5/31).

Ellie Schilling, an abortion-rights supporter and attorney, said in May that the law likely will be struck down as unconstitutional if challenged in court. Similar bans in other states have been blocked by the courts, including one (SB 95) in Kansas and another (HB 1721) in Oklahoma (Women's Health Policy Report, 5/19).

Video Round Up

In this clip, the New York Times explores the experiences of pregnant women in Brazil during the ongoing Zika outbreak, which "has been blamed for thousands of neurological birth defects across the country."

Video Round Up

The Wichita Eagle spotlights an abortion clinic set to open in Oklahoma City this summer.

Video Round Up

In this clip, 13 WJZ's Alex DeMetrick covers a new Maryland law (SB 848) that aims to help residents access contraception.

Video Round Up

This Fusion clip spotlights medical professionals' experiences providing abortion care to women in the face of harassment and threats of violence from abortion-rights opponents.

Video Round Up

NJTV News' Briana Vannozzi reports on New Jersey legislation (S 1073, S 2060) that would allow pharmacists to dispense oral contraception to a woman without a doctor's prescription.

Video Round Up

KJRH's Brian Sanders discusses an Oklahoma bill (SB 1552) that "would prohibit any doctor who performs an abortion from obtaining or renewing [his or her] medical license, essentially eliminating legal abortions in the state."

Video Round Up

In this clip, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health draws on the Global Turnaway Study to profile women's challenges accessing abortion care in six countries: Bangladesh, Columbia, Nepal, South Africa, Tunisia and the United States.

Video Round Up

WILX News 10's Faith Miller reports on new legislation (SB 897, SB 898) in Michigan aimed at ending the so-called "tampon tax."

Video Round Up

WCCO's Pat Kessler reports on Planned Parenthood's recent response to a slate of antiabortion-rights legislation in Minnesota, which Planned Parenthood is calling "the most aggressive attack against [the] organization in years."

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.

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

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.

Datapoints

This map, from the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), spotlights abortion laws around the world.

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.

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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.