Gretchen Borchelt, Senior Counsel & Director of State Reproductive Health Policy

Happy birthday Roe! If you’re turning 40 this year, it means that I am too. Given that we share this significant milestone, let’s take a look back at how we’ve fared over the last 40 years. Both of us are a little worse for wear. The Supreme Court weakened you in subsequent decisions. Your opponents have repeatedly chipped away at you – passing new restrictions on abortion and thinking up creative new ways to attack you.

As for me, well, let’s just say that I think I’ve held up pretty well for someone who grew up in the pre-sunscreen era and has two kids under the age of 4. Still, there’s no doubt I have more wrinkles, more aches and pains, and less flexibility than I used to.

Think the holidays were just a time for joy, merry making, and generosity? Think again. This holiday season, state politicians continued their attacks on women's reproductive health. Here's a wrap up of from the past 2 weeks.

• Michigan Governor Snyder signed into law unnecessary and burdensome requirements on clinics that provide abortions and a ban on the use of telemedicine for medication abortion, threatening access for women in rural areas.
• In Virginia, Governor McDonnell signed off on burdensome and unnecessary regulations on abortion clinics, which could shut down as many as half of the state's clinics and threaten access for thousands of Virginia women. 
• A state court judge ruled that Texas can exclude Planned Parenthood from its state health program for now, leaving 48,000 women without care.

Importantly, the holidays also brought a few victories for women's reproductive health:

• A Georgia judge temporarily blocked a state law that would criminalize virtually all abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy, with only an extremely narrow exception for the woman's health.