Press Releases

In The Spotlight

Victory for Women in the Military: Senate Committee Passes Amendment to Allow Some Abortion Coverage for Servicewomen

05.24.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) The Senate Armed Forces Committee voted today to ease insurance coverage restrictions for military servicewomen and allow coverage of abortion for servicewomen who are victims of rape or incest, passing with bipartisan support an amendment to the 2013 National Defense…

Barrage of Lawsuits Challenging Women’s Health Care is Just a “Political Stunt”

05.22.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) More than 40 Catholic groups filed 12 separate lawsuits across the country yesterday challenging the Affordable Care Act's copay-free birth control benefit for all women—a move the Center for Reproductive Rights has called a clear political stunt based on precarious legal grounds…

Romanian Officials to Consider New Abortion Law Requiring Five-Day 'Reflection Period' and Biased Counseling

05.21.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Nearly 40 international and European human rights organizations have joined together to urge Romanian officials to reject a proposed law that would create significant barriers for women seeking an abortion—including forcing women to endure biased counseling at “pregnancy crisis…

Center for Reproductive Rights Calls on House Judiciary Committee to Reject Cruel and Unconstitutional D.C. Abortion Ban

05.17.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee will consider a bill today to ban abortions…

Over 700,000 Petitioners Demand Honduran Congress Reject Law Criminalizing Emergency Contraception

05.16.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Over 700,000 people have signed a petition demanding the Honduran Congress reject the latest attempt to criminalize the use or sale of emergency contraception…

Judge Permanently Blocks Oklahoma's Ban on Medication Abortion and Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancies

05.14.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) In an unprecedented ruling recognizing bodily integrity and reproductive choice as fundamental rights under the Oklahoma state constitution, an Oklahoma state judge has found that a law severely and arbitrarily restricting medical care for women seeking an abortion is…

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules “Personhood” Initiative “Clearly Unconstitutional”

04.30.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that a proposed ballot initiative to define a fertilized egg as a person was “clearly unconstitutional” and cannot be added to the state ballot in November…

Arizona Sets Dangerous New Standard for Hostility to Women, Doctors, and Reproductive Rights

04.13.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the country’s most extreme anti-reproductive rights law of its kind—banning abortion procedures before the time most women undergo critical prenatal testing to evaluate their own health and the health of their pregnancy…

Brazil Supreme Court Allows Abortion in Cases of a Severe Fetal Condition

04.13.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Brazilian women now have a right to access abortion if they are carrying pregnancies suffering from anencephaly—a severe fetal anomaly causing the fetus to lack parts of the brain and to have no chance of survival after birth—and the state is obligated to provide them with…

Federal Judge Overturns Louisiana’s Strict Liability Law, Denial of Malpractice Coverage for Abortion Providers

03.29.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) A federal judge entered a permanent injunction today against Louisiana’s strict liability law — which allowed legal action against doctors who performed abortions regardless of whether they committed any fault or negligence in the abortion procedure — and declared that the law is…