National Partnership for Women & Families

In the News

La. gov. signs mandatory delay, provider certification bills into law

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) on Thursday signed into law two antiabortion-rights bills, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.

According to the AP/Bee, both laws take effect on Aug. 1 (AP/Sacramento Bee, 5/20).

Mandatory delay law

One of the new laws (Act 97) will extend the state's mandatory delay before an abortion from 24 to 72 hours. The law, proposed by state Rep. Frank Hoffman (R), will not apply to women who live 150 miles or more from their nearest abortion clinic. However, those women will still be required to delay care for at least 24 hours after the initial visit.

Five other states already have 72-hour mandatory delays in place. Overall, 28 states have enacted mandatory delay laws. According to abortion-rights supporters, the extended Louisiana mandatory delay requirement likely will face a legal challenge (Women's Health Care Policy Report, 5/13).

Provider certification law

Bel Edwards also signed into law a measure (Act 98) that will impose new certification requirements for abortion providers.

Under the law -- sponsored by state Rep. Katrina Jackson (D), an abortion-rights opponent -- abortion providers will be required to be board certified or certifiable in either family medicine or OB-GYN. Medical students in OB-GYN or family medicine residency programs will be allowed to provide abortion care only under the "direct supervision" of a board-certified physician (Women's Health Policy Report, 5/11).

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

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

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

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).

Video Round Up

In this short documentary, filmmaker Dawn Porter profiles Yashica Robinson, one of the few physicians in Alabama who provides abortion care.

Video Round Up

RTV6's Katie Heinz reports on arguments held Tuesday in federal court over an Indiana antiabortion-rights law (HEA 1337) that Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky has challenged.

Video Round Up

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

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."

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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.

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.

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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.