Weekly Top 10
Blogs comment on misleading messaging in Zubik v. Burwell, lack of funding for proposed Okla. antiabortion-rights bill, more
Read the week's best commentary from bloggers at Religion Dispatches' "RD Blog," Daily Beastand more.
SCOTUS hears challenge to contraceptive coverage rules
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case challenging an accommodation to the federal contraceptive coverage rules for not-for-profits that hold themselves out as religious and oppose contraception, the New York Times reports.
Tenn. lawmakers reject proposal to extend law criminalizing drug use during pregnancy
In a 3-3 vote on Tuesday, the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee failed to advance an amendment (HB 1660) that would have extended a law (SB 1391) allowing the state to prosecute women suspected of using drugs while pregnant, WATE reports.
Ala. lawmakers advance bill barring abortion clinics near schools
The Alabama Senate on Tuesday voted 27-6 to approve a bill (SB 205) that would prohibit the location and licensure of abortion clinics within 2,000 feet of certain public schools, the Anniston Star reports.
SCOTUS' HB 2 ruling could affect 266K Asian-American, Pacific Islander women in Texas
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling in a case challenging parts of Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2) could affect access to abortion care for more than 260,000 Asian-American and Pacific Islander women of childbearing age in the state, NBC News reports.
Wis. ob-gyn crowdfunds out-of-state abortion care for patient after being barred by state law from providing care
A Madison, Wisconsin, ob-gyn barred from providing abortion care to a patient under the state's 20-week abortion ban (Act 56) has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the patient access abortion care out of state, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
Okla. Supreme Court strikes down petition to criminalize abortion care
The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a petition to amend the state constitution to criminalize all abortion care will not go forward, the Tulsa Worldreports.
Op-ed spotlights new legal team aimed at protecting, advancing rights of women who self-induce abortion
Citing the increase in the number of women seeking information about self-induced abortion, columnist Dani McClain in an opinion piece for The Nation highlights a new legal group, the Self-Induced Abortion (SIA) Legal Team, which is dedicated to "stopping the criminalization of self-induced abortion."
Blogs comment on contraceptive access as a "moral issue," two new types of state abortion restrictions and more
Read the week's best commentary from bloggers at Huffington Post blogs, Care2 and more.
NYT: Contraceptive coverage accommodation process not a 'substantial burden on religion'
A New York Times editorial examines the Supreme Court's upcoming case challenging an accommodation in the federal contraceptive coverage rules, stating, "The question in [Zubik v. Burwell] is a simple one: Do religious objectors get to disobey the laws they dislike, even when that places burdens on others?"
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.


