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

Center defends TX midwife

1. The Center for Reproductive Rights is representing a Texas midwife sued for supposedly performing illegal abortions.

• Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit accusing midwife Maria Rojas of violating the state’s abortion ban, and a court shut down the three clinics where she worked. Maria was the first Texan to be charged with violating the state’s abortion ban.
• Representing her current appeal, Center attorneys argued that the state’s allegations are politically motivated and part of a broader strategy to intimidate reproductive health providers. 

ICE activity disrupts care

2. ICE activity in Minnesota is scaring patients out of going to their Planned Parenthood appointments.

• ICE activity near clinics in Minnesota has led to an 8% spike in no-show appointments for contraception, abortion, STI testing and cancer screenings, according to Planned Parenthood.
• Last year, the Trump administration announced that ICE could make arrests at medical facilities, churches, and schools, ending a policy that had been in effect for over a decade.
• Learn more about ICE’s treatment of pregnant, postpartum and lactating women here.

Lawsuit threatens abortion pill access

3. A critical case could make the abortion pill harder to access nationwide.

• Since 2023, FDA regulations have allowed the use of telehealth for prescribing and mailing abortion pills. Louisiana is asking a federal court to block this regulation and prevent patients from getting abortion pills via telehealth.
• Currently, 1 in 4 abortions in the U.S.  are provided via telehealth. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, telehealth access to abortion pills is a lifeline for women living in states where abortion is banned.
• The FDA (the defendant in the case) has asked the court to pause the case as they conduct their own politically-motivated investigation into the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone, despite its decades-long safety record and use by more than 7.5 million women.

TX sues more abortion providers

4. Texas sued more health care providers under its abortion ban.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a California doctor for allegedly providing abortion pills to Texans. The suit also names nonprofit Aid Access and its founder Rebecca Gomperts.
• Paxton has also taken legal action against a Delaware nurse practitioner, Debra Lynch, for allegedly sending abortion pills to Texans.
• These lawsuits are part of a coordinated national effort to intimidate healthcare providers and cut off access to abortion pills—one of the last remaining lifelines for people living in states that ban abortion.

IN court permits abortion for religious objectors

5. An Indiana court ruled people with religious objections can’t be banned from accessing abortion.

• An Indiana judge permanently blocked the state’s abortion ban for people with sincere conflicting religious beliefs. The lawsuit argued that the ban violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
• Plaintiffs said their faith supports abortion access in certain circumstances, such as protecting the pregnant person’s health or well-being.
• The ruling means the state cannot enforce its abortion ban against patients whose religious beliefs conflict with the law. But the ban remains in place otherwise.

Lawsuit seeks to block VA amendment

6. A lawsuit seeks to block an abortion rights amendment from going to Virginia voters.

• The case was filed by a Florida-based conservative legal group seeking to prevent Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment, which would safeguard the right to abortion as well as contraception and IVF, from appearing on the November ballot.
• This is part of a larger trend of government officials attempting to subvert the will of voters. In Missouri–where voters passed an abortion rights amendment in 2024–state officials are trying to reverse the will of voters with a new intentionally confusing ballot measure this November.

Ohio court blocks abortion restrictions

7. An Ohio appeals court upheld a block on an abortion restriction designed to shame patients.

• The law would have required abortion clinics to bury or cremate fetal tissue. The law served no purpose other than to shame people who get abortions and make it harder for clinics to operate.
• An Ohio appeals court agreed with a prior ruling striking down the law as unconstitutional under the voter-approved amendment enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution.
• In its ruling, the court wrote: “Ohio voters said what they meant…The State may not burden, penalize, or discriminate against those who have an abortion and those who assist them in obtaining one.”

Nationwide battles over reproductive health care

8. Legislatures nationwide are ramping up efforts to restrict and protect access to reproductive health care.

• Lawmakers in Tennessee and Kentucky are attempting to charge people with murder for getting an abortion. In Tennessee, this would mean patients found guilty could face the death penalty. Meanwhile, Tennessee lawmakers voted down legislation that would have clarified that doctors can provide abortion care in cases of rape, incest, and serious medical emergencies without facing criminal penalties.
• The South Dakota House passed a bill that would ban the dispensing, distribution, sale, or advertisement of abortion pills. This comes amid a battle between the state’s attorney general and health group Mayday Health over abortion pill ads in the state.
• Maine lawmakers are considering a measure that would allocate $5 million to reproductive health clinics, including Center client Maine Family Planning. The funding would help offset recent federal Medicaid cuts that forced MFP to close its primary care practice.
• Wyoming legislators are considering a bill that would ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The proposal comes after the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two previous abortion bans as unconstitutional. Lawmakers are also pursuing a constitutional amendment that could give the legislature greater authority to restrict abortion.
• Anti-abortion advocates in Connecticut are promoting legislation that would require minors to notify a parent at least 48 hours before obtaining an abortion.
• New Hampshire legislators recommended rejecting a bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Did you know?

Did you know?

Violet Zulu, a Zambian single mother-of-two, was freed last month from a seven-year prison sentence after the Center for Reproductive Rights fought for her release. She was imprisoned for procuring her own abortion after being denied one through the health care system. While abortion is legal on paper in Zambia, it is highly stigmatized and difficult to access. Violet’s case illustrates a widespread problem across Africa, where lawful abortion services are often inaccessible, and women must turn to unsafe and illegal alternatives. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 75% of all abortions in Africa are deemed unsafe.

More pregnant people are starting prenatal care later or skipping it entirely. New data shows that access to early prenatal care is declining, in part due to widening maternity care deserts. Over 35% of U.S. counties are maternity care deserts. Hospitals have been closing their labor and delivery units, especially after federal Medicaid cuts, worsening access to maternity care. Abortion bans are also compounding this crisis, as OB-GYNs are leaving states with strict abortion bans. Some doctors who have stayed report delaying prenatal visits to avoid treating miscarriages, for fear that it could be misconstrued as an abortion.

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