U.S. Repro Watch: Nine Updates You Won’t Want to Miss, 8.11.26

US Repro Watch

August 11, 2026

6 min. read

The Center won two cases; the Trump administration continued its anti-abortion agenda; and more news on U.S. reproductive rights.

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

1. A Texas appeals court ruled in favor of a midwife represented by the Center.

Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, accused Center client Maria Rojas of violating the state’s total abortion ban and practicing medicine without a license.
This is one of several cases filed by Texas in an effort to intimidate reproductive health providers.
A three-judge panel ruled in Rojas’s favor, reversing an injunction which effectively shut down the three clinics where she provided maternal health care as a midwife.
While the decision represents a significant step towards justice for Rojas, it will be nearly impossible for her to re-open the clinics.

2. The Center won a case striking down abortion restrictions in Kansas.

A Kansas state court permanently struck down a litany of laws designed to deter patients from getting abortion care. The court found that the laws violate the right to abortion and free speech–both protected by the state constitution.
The laws struck down included: a law forcing abortion providers to find out their patient’s reason for getting an abortion and report it to the state; a law requiring providers to give patients false and stigmatizing information about abortion; and laws that intentionally delayed patients’ abortion care.

3. A Virginia federal court ruled the abortion pill is safe and ordered the Trump administration to reconsider its restrictions.

The court ruled that Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) existing restrictions on the abortion pill, mifepristone, are excessive and unjustified.
U.S. District Judge Robert S. Ballou wrote, “The FDA has steadfastly found, over the past quarter century, that mifepristone is a safe and effective medication.”

Learn more about threats to abortion pill access in the U.S.

4. A federal judge blocked South Dakota’s ban on abortion pill advertisements.

A federal judge ruled that part of a new South Dakota law criminalizing abortion pill ads is unconstitutional.
The law, which took effect on July 1, bans the dispensing, distribution, sale, or advertisement of abortion pills. The ad provision is blocked while a lawsuit against it proceeds.

5. The Trump administration was sued again over new Title X requirements.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit over changes to the Title X program, which requires applicants to align with the agency’s political positions. This is the second lawsuit filed in response to the new grant criteria.
The new requirements include advocating for fertility tracking over contraception, counseling patients towards “family formation,” and discriminating based on marital status.
The organization argued that these requirements would devastate access to family planning services for low-income patients across the country.

6. The Trump administration awarded a 7-figure settlement to an anti-abortion extremist.

In 2024, Paul Vaughn was convicted of violating the FACE Act after he attacked and physically blocked access to a Tennessee abortion clinic. He was one of 23 people President Trump pardoned last year.
After Vaughn pursued legal action for his prosecution, the DOJ agreed to give him a taxpayer-funded check of $1 million.
Earlier this year, a judge blocked President Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” that sought to reward people who claim they were targeted with politically motivated prosecutions. However, the Trump administration is continuing to payout people like Vaughn with public funds.

7. New Attorney General, Todd Blanche, vowed to restrict access to abortion pills.

In leaked audio of a call with faith groups, Todd Blanche said he was “putting practices and policies in place” to restrict access to abortion pills, and that the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade should be made “permanent in every state.”
Blanche has been confirmed as attorney general, making him responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act was passed in the 1990s to protect abortion clinics from harassment and violent protestors. In the leaked audio, Blanche suggested he would weaken the FACE Act so it could no longer be used to protect abortion clinics.
In his confirmation hearings, Blanche also pledged to “carefully review” how the DOJ interprets the Comstock Act—a 150-year-old anti-sex law mentioned in Project 2025 to potentially block the mailing of abortion pills nationwide or ban abortion altogether.

8. A new national poll found Americans overwhelmingly agree maternal health must improve.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America released polling showing that over 80% of Americans support policies to improve maternal health outcomes.
Those policies include training more maternal healthcare professionals, more postpartum support, and expanding insurance coverage throughout the first year after delivery.
One in five polled know someone who has been unable to afford prenatal care, and more than one in four know someone who has experienced childbirth complications.
These findings come as the Trump administration dismantles federal maternal health programs and lawmakers refuse to enact legislation like the Momnibus Act to address the country’s maternal health crisis.

9. The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill expanding access to abortion later in pregnancy.

The Massachusetts Senate adopted a measure allowing abortions later in pregnancy “based on the professional judgment of the physician.” The bill now goes to Gov. Maura Healey to sign into law.
Current Massachusetts law only allows for abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy if it’s necessary to preserve the patient’s life or health, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis, or because the fetus is unlikely to survive outside the uterus.
The new bill would remove that list of specific circumstances and give the doctor more discretion, a change supporters say is crucial because hospitals have turned away patients who needed abortion care later in pregnancy.

Did you know?

Thousands of lawmakers, former government officials, medical organizations, and human rights groups filed briefs with the Fifth Circuit, urging the court to protect access to the abortion pill mifepristone. The briefs were filed ahead of a September 9 hearing in a case brought by Louisiana, seeking to end access to abortion pills via telemedicine. Over 400 state lawmakers pointed to the importance of telehealth for rural Americans who already struggle to access healthcare. Many pharmaceutical companies warned that restricting mifepristone could have far-reaching, damaging consequences on drug development and approvals overall.

More advocates are calling for greater transparency and accountability around anti-abortion centers, also known as “crisis pregnancy centers.” A recent analysis shows that most of these facilities do not identify a verifiable medical director on their websites. Less than half of identified medical directors were OB-GYNs. Still, many of these centers, which often receive hundreds of millions of dollars and operate with little government oversight, advertise medical services such as ultrasounds. Some even advertise free ultrasounds to help patients “rule out” an ectopic pregnancy—a diagnosis that can only be made by licensed medical professionals. The lack of transparency around these centers’ medical services and credentials raises serious concerns for patient safety.

Medicaid covers 41% of all births and nearly half of rural births, meaning Medicaid cuts and denied reimbursements are especially destabilizing for hospitals and clinics already operating under financial strain. Since the passage of President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” 65 labor and delivery units, emergency departments, women’s health clinics, and freestanding birth centers have closed across the country. This leaves countless women and families without essential health services.

Coming up

August 12: Oklahoma bill takes effect criminalizing possession of abortion pills

Earlier this year, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a bill that makes the possession of abortion pills a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
While the person intending to take the pills cannot be charged, anyone else can be, including parents, friends, siblings, or doctors.

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