Abortion

Just because something has been policy for many years doesn’t make it a good policy. I’ve got a whole list I could go through (not letting women vote, not letting gay people marry, the whole “separate but equal” thing). Add to that list the Hyde Amendment.

What’s the Hyde Amendment? It is an amendment added to the yearly federal funding bill that bans Medicaid from covering abortions with federal money except in the narrow cases where a woman is a survivor of rape or incest or when her life is endangered. Added 37 years ago by Representative Henry Hyde, this harmful rider has been hurting low income women ever since. Read more »

What changes after a politician gets caught using a lie as the basis for cruel and extreme policies, there is national outrage, and elections are lost (including his) because of it? 

Apparently, nothing. That's what our new report, ‘Shut That Whole Thing Down:’ A Survey of Abortion Restrictions Even in Cases of Rape, discovered. 

One year ago today, Todd Akin made the statement that would outrage the public and ultimately torpedo his Senate campaign. In explaining his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape, he said, "It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." 

And what has happened since? In our survey of state and federal legislative action, we documented that politicians and political commentators continue to make the same remarks and they continue to introduce and enact legislation to stop women from getting abortion, including women who are pregnant due to rape. Read more »

Way back in 1984, President Ronald Reagan introduced the Mexico City Policy, a policy that would come to be known as the “Global Gag Rule.” The law denied U.S. international family planning funds to any organization that used its own money to provide, discuss, advocate for, or provide referrals to abortion services abroad. The policy even applied in countries where abortion is legal. Read more »

Déjà vu, anyone? Less than two weeks ago, we saw the North Carolina Senate pass HB 695, a sweeping anti-abortion measure that could have left just one clinic in the state. But Governor McCrory threatened to veto the bill after it passed the Senate, citing problems with both the bill’s process and content. So last Thursday, anti-abortion legislators were at it again.

They passed a very similar bill, SB 353, that changed the content only slightly. But the process was still a problem – like the first bill, the new version contains extreme abortion restrictions tacked on to completely unrelated matters. The first one was tacked onto a bill prohibiting the use of sharia law. This one? Tacked onto a bill relating to motorcycle safety. The current bill was introduced in committee on Wednesday without public notice and quickly moved to the floor, where it passed the next day. Now it heads to the state Senate for consideration, where it is expected to pass. Read more »

On Friday, the Texas Senate passed sweeping anti-abortion restrictions, that unconstitutionally ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and will unnecessary require abortion clinics to meet the standards set for hospital style-surgical centers, among other provisions. The bill now awaits Gov. Rick Perry’s signature. Once signed, it will force most of Texas’ 42 abortion clinics to close. This is certainly a sad day for women’s health. Read more »

At 11 years old, I had the privilege to dream up endless possibilities for my future. At 11 years old, I was nose deep in the Harry Potter series, dreamt of being a teacher one day, a news reporter the next, and an author in my spare time. My dreams were not limited but as expansive as my imagination would allow.

This past week, coverage of an 11 year old girl in Chile being forced to carry a pregnancy to term caused by a rape (by her stepfather) has been inducing criticism globally. Abortion in Chile is absolutely illegal even in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s life. What has been even more heart-breaking is the fact that she has been praised for her “depth and maturity” in deciding to go through the pregnancy (not that she was allowed any other option or provided any other choice) by Chilean president Sebastian Pinera. Read more »

Turns out Texas and Ohio are not alone in launching last minute attacks on women’s health care – North Carolina now joins the ranks. In North Carolina, anti-abortion legislators are flying under the radar by tacking on egregious abortion restrictions to a completely unrelated bill. HB 695 was essentially a ban on applying foreign law and in particular Sharia law in North Carolina matters. Yet, overnight this bill was transformed into a sweeping anti-abortion bill, which contains multiple provisions that weren’t otherwise moving through the legislature.

The bill popped up in the State Senate without public notice on Tuesday evening and today the Senate passed the bill. The bill attempts to shut down abortion clinics by imposing unnecessary, costly, and burdensome requirements – just one clinic in the state could meet the requirements. Read more »

Governor Rick Perry has called for yet another special session in an attempt to pass a sweeping abortion ban. In his words, because "Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn." What we’ve seen from Texas in the last week shows just the opposite: that Texans value a woman’s personal decisionmaking and don’t want politicians interfering. In light of his decision to try again to effectively outlaw abortion in Texas, it’s worth looking back on how concerned lawmakers and citizens were able to stop him so far. Read more »

We’ve read the reports and we know the drill. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (“CPCs”) are known for providing women with misleading and deceptive information. Time and time again NARAL [PDF] and others [PDF] have documented these lies. But, it is one thing to read a report, and an entirely different thing to actually hear a counselor blatantly lie to a “client,” shaming her in the process. 

In a secretly recorded video released yesterday by the Crisis Project, pro-choice activist Katie Stack filmed a session she had at Cleveland's Womankind. The session started with “Kate” being asked for information such as her social security number and address. The counselor proceeded to provide blatantly false information about the morning-after pill, saying that it could “really harm” Kate and result in hemorrhaging. 

The pregnancy test is advertised as free, but is it really? While waiting for the results of Kate’s pregnancy test — the same type of urine test that can be performed at home with no medical expertise — the counselor flat out asked Kate: “Why do you have sex?” and told Kate that there has to be meaning behind intercourse. “You don’t have sex to make yourself feel good.” 

I don’t know about you, but the idea of sitting and discussing my personal sexual relationships with an older woman I just met doesn’t sound feel right. Rather than helping a vulnerable woman during a potentially emotional moment, these counselors are judgmental. Sure, no money was exchanged but this encounter comes at a cost. Read more »

Congratulations to Texas lawmakers who stood up for women's health! State Senator Wendy Davis staged a 13 hour filibuster to stop legislation that would have effectively banned abortion in Texas. She was supported by other lawmakers, as well as hundreds of concerned citizens. They are a true lesson in democracy. When anti-abortion Texas legislators tried to subvert the democratic process and ram through a bill that would close clinics and take away women's access to abortion in Texas, these supporters of women's health stepped up. They turned their outrage into action, stopped a terrible bill from moving forward, and inspired a nation. 

While this victory in Texas is important to celebrate, there are two notes of caution. First, the fight in Texas might not be over. There could be another special session of the legislature, in which anti-abortion legislators try again to effectively ban abortion in the state. We must continue to stand with Texas women. 

Second, we must also remember that women in other states haven't fared so well this legislative session. Read more »