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

Republican senators published biased report

1. Republican senators released a biased report claiming that abortion pill manufacturers have not held online providers in compliance with federal safety requirements.

• The report urges the FDA to restore in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone and asks the Justice Department to consider legal action.
• Two federal court rulings—including a case in July won by the Center—have already decided that FDA restrictions on mifepristone are unjustified. Neither ruling is mentioned in the Republican senators’ report.

NJ updated shield law

2. New Jersey updated its shield law protecting reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

• The shield law bars state officials from assisting with out-of-state investigations or extradition efforts involving care that is legal in New Jersey; revises licensing and insurance protections for healthcare providers; and criminalizes blocking access to facilities or intimidating people away from care.
• Penalties for violating the shield law include up to 10 years in prison.
• This comes as states with abortion bans increasingly attempt to extend their reach beyond their borders and penalize providers for legal care in other states.

MO attorney general spent taxpayer money on anti-abortion ads

3. Missouri’s attorney general spent $167,000 in taxpayer dollars on a statewide anti-abortion ad, ahead of a November vote that could reinstate the state’s near-total abortion ban.

• The ad was developed with help from an anti-abortion organization and echoes messaging from the campaign supporting Amendment 3.
• Amendment 3 would overturn the reproductive rights protections approved by Missouri voters in 2024 and reinstate a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions.

Federal judge limited protections for ID abortion providers

4. A federal judge narrowed an earlier injunction against Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, so now the injunction only protects the physician who challenged the law.

• Idaho’s abortion ban will remain in effect for all other doctors in the state attempting to treat patients when a pregnancy threatens a patient’s health, but not the patient’s life.
• The earlier injunction blocking the ban was the first ruling since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to find that the U.S. Constitution protects abortion access in certain circumstances.
• The state appealed this ruling and the appeals court agreed to pause protections for abortion access in certain circumstances while it considers the case. This case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
• This fall, Idaho voters will decide whether to overturn the state’s extreme abortion ban. That ballot measure is currently the subject of a lawsuit arguing the language is misleading.

Federal judge paused lawsuit against FDA approval of mifepristone

5. A federal judge paused a lawsuit seeking to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone until after the midterm elections.

• This case is one of several ongoing threats to abortion pill access. Revoking FDA approval of mifepristone could restrict access to abortion nationwide.
• The judge granted the Department of Justice’s request to delay the case, putting it on hold until December 1 or the completion of the FDA’s politically motivated “safety review” of the pill–whichever comes first. The drug manufacturers’ request to dismiss the case was denied.
• The lawsuit was paused by Judge Reed O’Connor, chief judge of the Northern District of Texas. This district has an unusual system of case assignment and is a favored venue for many cases brought by the Trump administration.

Did you know?

Did you know?

A new study shows how the overturning of Roe v. Wade transformed abortion access in the South. In the first year after Roe was overturned, the number of out-of-state patients traveling to North Carolina for abortion care more than tripled—from 5,596 to 17,703. The average distance traveled for care increased by more than 100 miles—from 156 to 258 miles. Many patients came from neighboring states with severe abortion restrictions, including Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. More than four years after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, patients across the South continue to face long-distance travel and significant burdens to access essential care.

Abortion pills have been a lifeline for millions of people across the country seeking to end their pregnancies. About 2 out of every 3 abortions in the U.S. use medication abortion, most commonly a combination of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol. The Center for Reproductive Rights recently launched the Medication Abortion Defense Portal, a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about ongoing threats to abortion pill access—and how to fight back.

Coming up

Current events and coming up

September 9: Fifth Circuit heard arguments over telehealth access to abortion pills in LA v. FDA.

September 20-26: 6th Annual Telehealth Awareness Week.

September 30: 50 years ago, Congress first passed the Hyde Amendment blocking federal money from paying for abortions except in rare exceptions.

Learn more