U.S. Repro Watch provides periodic updates of news of interest on U.S. reproductive rights. Here are six recent updates you won’t want to miss:

Arizona doctors testify

1. In a case brought by the Center, Arizona doctors testified that laws banning telemedicine abortion care violate the state constitution. 

• Though Arizonans voted to protect abortion in their state constitution last year, some abortion restrictions still remain on the books. 
• At a hearing this week, Arizona abortion providers asked a judge to block those restrictions, including: a law that requires patients to visit a clinic multiple times before having an abortion, and a ban on telemedicine for abortion pills.  

Shield laws are working

2. Shield laws are working: a New York judge dismissed Texas’s attempt to enforce its abortion ban across state lines. 

• The court ruled that a New York clerk had properly followed New York’s shield law by refusing to file a Texas court judgment fining a New York-based doctor more than $100,000 for allegedly sending abortion pills to patients in Texas. 
• Eighteen states and D.C. have passed shield laws, though only eight of those states explicitly protect the mailing of pills into other states. 

Unlawful abortion pill restrictions

3. A federal court ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider its excessive restrictions on abortion pills. 

• The court ruled that the FDA’s current restrictions on mifepristone violate federal law by disregarding evidence of mifepristone’s safety and benefits, and ordered the FDA to reconsider the restrictions.  
• This is in stark contrast to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s investigation into mifepristone, based on a bogus pseudo-study. The Center is suing HHS and the FDA for withholding information about the review. 

Anti-abortion nominees

4. Congress is pushing anti-abortion nominees through amidst the government shutdown. 

• The Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing for Thomas March Bell, who is nominated for Health & Human Services Inspector General. Bell has deep ties to anti-abortion groups and has said he would not shy away from investigating abortion clinics, raising concerns about politicized oversight. 

• The Senate also confirmed Chad Meredith, an anti-abortion lawyer, to a federal judgeship in Kentucky. 

• Casey Means is under consideration for U.S. Surgeon General. Means–who would be the chief medical officer for the U.S. government–has no medical license and once called birth control pills a “disrespect for life.”

Texas suing Tylenol manufacturers

5. The Texas Attorney General is suing the makers of Tylenol over autism claims.  

• Texas AG Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, claiming, without evidence, that Tylenol use during pregnancy increases autism risk and that the companies tried to hide this. 

• The suit follows Trump’s unfounded public warnings against Tylenol use during pregnancy. Just this week,  RFK Jr. admitted there is “not sufficient” evidence to support this claim. 

Voters protect repro rights

6. Voters protected abortion rights in key races nationwide, but undermined minors’ rights in Texas. 

• Pennsylvania: Voters retained Supreme Court Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht, securing a court majority supportive of abortion access. 

• Virginia: Abigail Spanberger was elected governor and has pledged to protect reproductive rights. 

• New York City: Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor and has committed to doubling support for the city’s Abortion Access Hub and Abortion Access Fund. 

• New Jersey: Mikie Sherrill was elected governor and has pledged to protect and improve access to reproductive health services.  

• Texas: Voters passed a ballot measure affirming that parents have the “fundamental right to exercise care, custody, and control” over their child and “to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.” The measure is dangerously vague and could be used to prevent young people from getting birth control or gender-affirming care. 

Did you know?

Did you know?

Many states prohibit young people from having an abortion without notifying their parents. A new report shows that requiring parents to be notified has effectively the same impact as requiring parental consent. In one example, clinic staff scheduled an abortion for a teen too afraid to notify her parents. She never showed up, and the staff lost contact. These laws can delay care, expose youth to abuse, and force them into pregnancy against their will. The researchers urge states to repeal these policies and protect young people’s right to make decisions about their own bodies. 

Across the U.S., families are increasingly choosing to have fewer children, due to soaring housing and childcare costs. Many cite financial strain as the reason to stop at one child—or forgo parenthood altogether. At the same time, abortion bans are leaving people with fewer options, forcing some to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. The Turnaway Study found that women denied an abortion are four times more likely to live below the federal poverty level in the future. Together, the rising cost of living and restrictions to reproductive rights are reshaping how people plan for their futures. 

Coming up

Coming up

November 18: South Carolina lawmakers to vote on abortion ban with homicide charges  

• An all-male subcommittee of South Carolina legislators will convene to discuss (and likely vote on) a bill that bans abortion entirely and charges the pregnant person with homicide (S.B. 323) on November 18 at 2PM ET.  
• Women could face up to 30 years in prison. 
• The bill also threatens access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) by defining an embryo as a “human being”—a move that, in Alabama, led to many IVF clinics suspending care. 

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