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:

Medicaid funds restored

1. Medicaid funds were restored for a Center client and other abortion providers.

• A provision to block federal Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood and Center client Maine Family Planning (MFP) has expired.
• The Trump administration’s funding cuts left millions without access to healthcare. Planned Parenthood was forced to close nearly 30 health centers; while MFP, which serves a rural state with extremely limited access to healthcare providers, was forced to stop primary care services. Last July, the Center sued the Trump administration on behalf of MFP.
• As of July, 5 2026, the providers can once again receive reimbursements for non-abortion services for Medicaid patients–although the clinics forced to close due to funding cuts are unlikely to re-open.

TX abuser re-files case

2. A Texas man dropped his lawsuit against a Center client, then refiled a nearly identical case.

• Last year, Jerry Rodriguez sued a California doctor represented by the Center, accusing the doctor of mailing abortion pills into Texas in violation of the state’s new “bounty hunter” law, HB 7.
• The Center argued that Rodriguez is a convicted abuser and therefore ineligible to sue under HB 7, which bars those with domestic violence convictions from suing.
• Rodriguez subsequently dropped the original lawsuit and filed a nearly identical case with his adult daughter as a co-plaintiff, to get around his conviction.
• This is one of several cases brought by anti-abortion lawyer Jonathan Mitchell on behalf of abusive men angry about their partners’ abortions.

Blanche threatens mifepristone access

3. Todd Blanche signaled potential action against the abortion pill mifepristone.

• In 2022, the Department of Justice under the Biden administration asserted that doctors could not be prosecuted for mailing abortion pills under the Comstock Act, an antiquated anti-obscenity law.
• During his Senate confirmation hearing, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would review that opinion, potentially opening the door for restrictions on mailing mifepristone.
• Blanche also said he would commit DOJ resources to try to “stop” access to abortion pills via telemedicine, despite its 25+ years of safety.

Total abortion ban ballot measure fails

4. Efforts to enact a total abortion ban in Nebraska failed.

• A proposed Nebraska ballot measure enshrining a total abortion ban into the state constitution failed to make it onto the November ballot. Organizers were unable to obtain enough signatures.
• In 2024, a measure enshrining Nebraska’s 12-week ban into the state constitution passed. Many Nebraskans reported being tricked into signing by anti-abortion organizers, who made them believe it was a petition to protect abortion rights.

ID ballot measure to protect abortion

5. A measure to protect abortion rights in Idaho will appear on the November ballot.

• A legislative amendment to restore abortion rights in Idaho qualified for the November ballot, after supporters submitted more than 110,000 signatures. Idaho lawmakers have already called on the legislature to repeal the amendment if it passes.
• Idaho has one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country, as women continue to be denied emergency abortion care.
• Idaho is one of four states that will be considering measures to protect abortion rights. In Missouri, legislators have put forth an initiative to reinstate a total ban just two years after residents voted to protect abortion rights.

Women sue Live Action for defamation

6. Several women who needed emergency abortions threatened legal action against an anti-abortion group for defamation.

• Abortion rights group Amplify Legal sent a cease-and-desist letter to anti-abortion group Live Action, demanding they stop publishing “false and defamatory” statements about several women who sought abortions for unviable pregnancies.
• The women—including previous Center clients Kate Cox, Jennifer Adkins, and Samantha Casiano—accused the anti-abortion group of exploiting and lying about their stories. They have experienced harassment, and even death threats, as a result.
• The women are demanding Live Action retract its statements within two weeks or they will pursue legal action.

Did you know?

Did you know?

Physicians are warning about a new wave of bills that could restrict access to fertility care. Lawmakers in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma are currently considering legislation that would force fertility clinics to report private embryo-related decisions, adding language that defines “life” as beginning at fertilization. Doctors warn that these measures could give legal rights to embryos and make it harder to access IVF.

Records obtained through the Center’s lawsuit against the U.S. State Department reveal chaos and confusion over $10 million worth of contraception blocked from going to developing countries by the Trump administration. Emails show the circulation of false claims that some of the contraceptives are “abortifacients,” which led to internal confusion among senior officials. The Trump administration, which claims to be fighting fraud and waste, has spent more than $400,000 storing the supplies—most of which have since expired and still remain in a Belgian warehouse.

Coming up

Coming up

July 25: World IVF Day

• World IVF Day, celebrated annually on July 25th, recognizes the advancements in fertility medicine since the birth of Louise Brown in 1978–the first baby to be conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
• IVF is a widely used and crucial method for helping people build their families. Despite this, anti-abortion advocates are increasingly attacking IVF access.

August 4: Kansas vote on ballot measure to change state judicial system

• On August 4, Kansans will vote on a ballot measure regarding the public election of state supreme court representatives. If it passes, it would gravely impact abortion rights.
• After Kansans rejected efforts to remove state constitutional protections for abortion, state attorney general Kris Kobach urged the legislature to put this amendment on the ballot.
• Kobach said electing supreme court representatives would allow the state to “slowly and quietly” place anti-abortion justices on the court, to eventually overturn a 2019 ruling in the Center’s case, which affirmed that the state constitution protects the right to abortion.

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