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

Center sues Trump admin

1. The Center for Reproductive Rights is suing the Trump administration for information on its selective enforcement of the FACE Act.

• The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act was passed with bipartisan support in 1994 to protect abortion clinics, providers, and patients from ongoing violence. Its protections also apply to places of worship.
• Last year, Trump pardoned 23 anti-abortion protestors convicted of violating the FACE Act and his administration discontinued abortion-related FACE Act prosecutions.
• The DOJ has arrested and plans to use the FACE Act to prosecute non-violent ICE protestors demonstrating outside a church in Minneapolis.
• The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit asking a court to order the administration to release all internal communications related to the pardons and its selective refusal to enforce the FACE Act.

Texas sues Delaware nurse

2. Texas sued a Delaware nurse practitioner for mailing abortion pills into Texas.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused another out-of-state health care provider of mailing abortion pills into Texas, continuing the state’s legal intimidation campaign against medical professionals in blue states.
• Politicians in states that ban abortion are increasingly targeting providers across the country in an attempt to cut off access to abortion pills—the last remaining lifeline for many people who cannot travel for care.

Women sue Arkansas

3. Arkansas women are suing the state after being denied abortions.

• Four Arkansas women and an OB-GYN filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s abortion bans violate the state constitution.
• The women were denied abortions despite dire circumstances. One was transported by ambulance to Kansas during a health crisis, another was forced to carry a pregnancy until delivering a stillborn, and another was denied care after becoming pregnant through sexual assault.

Judge blocks removal of abortion pill ads

4. A judge blocked South Dakota’s attempt to remove billboards for abortion pills—for now.

• A federal judge is allowing billboards in South Dakota with information about accessing abortion pills to stay up–for now. The ruling, which is temporary, comes after the state’s attorney general tried to force the nonprofit Mayday Health to remove them.
• The state claims the ads violate a law banning deceptive trade practices. Mayday countersued, claiming the state is violating its First Amendment rights.
• The case is part of a broader effort by anti-abortion politicians to censor public information about how to safely access abortion care.

Abortion policy fights escalate

5. Abortion policy fights escalate across state, federal, and global fronts.

• The Virginia Senate voted this week to let voters decide whether to add the right to abortion to their state constitution. Virginia is now the third state that will vote on an abortion rights ballot measure in 2026 (along with Nevada and Missouri). 
• The Trump administration announced an unprecedented expansion of the Global Gag Rule. It already blocks foreign health organizations that receive U.S. funds from providing, counseling, or referring for abortion services in their own countries—even when those activities are lawful and supported entirely with other funds. The rule now applies to a much wider group, including humanitarian aid organizations that supply food, water, and medicine after natural disasters or conflicts. The policy will also take away U.S. funding from any NGO—domestic or foreign—that provides care to transgender people or participates in DEI initiatives.

Did you know?

Did you know?

Worldwide, roughly 121 million unintended pregnancies occurred each year between 2015 and 2019. Of these unintended pregnancies, 61% ended in abortion. Unintended pregnancy rates are highest in countries that restrict abortion access and lowest in countries where abortion is broadly legal.

The Trump Administration has reportedly charged journalist Don Lemon with violating the FACE Act. Lemon was arrested following a protest of a St. Paul, Minnesota church with alleged ties to ICE, at which he was present in his capacity as a journalist. His attorney called the arrest an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.”

Coming up

Coming up

February 5: Hearing on whether U.S. constitution protects right to abortions for medical reasons

• A federal court in Idaho will hear a case challenging Idaho’s abortion bans. Reproductive rights advocates argue that the 14th amendment protects the right to abortion for medical reasons, including for mental health conditions.
• Last year, an Idaho state court broadened the state’s medical exceptions, allowing abortion access for many pregnancy complications. However, this does not include patients with lethal fetal conditions (unless they face risk of death) or mental health conditions.

February 19: Texas appeals court to hear case against midwife Maria Rojas

• A Texas appellate court will hear arguments in a civil lawsuit accusing midwife Maria Rojas of providing abortions in violation of the state’s total abortion ban and practicing medicine without a license.
• Last year, a lower court blocked Rojas from continuing to provide reproductive health care and shut down several clinics she was affiliated with. The appeals court will hear arguments over whether to reverse this ruling. The lawsuit was brought by the Texas attorney general.

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