Abortion access

A gavel, book and stethoscope.

Arizona abortion access initiative to start signature gathering

BY: - September 22, 2023

This story first appeared in the Arizona Mirror. The initiative seeking to make abortion a fundamental right in Arizona has officially launched the signature gathering effort necessary to land on the 2024 ballot. Reproductive rights advocates gathered Thursday to urge Arizonans to support the campaign for the Arizona Abortion Access Act, which aims to enshrine the […]

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Ohio Supreme Court approves abortion rights amendment Ballot Board summary for voters with a tweak

BY: - September 20, 2023

This story first appeared in the Ohio Capital Journal. The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered one tweak to summary language approved by Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board for voters to see in November on a proposed reproductive rights amendment. The split state supreme court rejected using the full text of the proposed amendment and declared […]

Abortion signs at a rally.

New initiative petitions seek to add rape, incest exceptions to Missouri abortion law

BY: - August 31, 2023

This story first appeared in the Missouri Independent. Six new initiative petitions were filed with the Missouri secretary of state’s office Wednesday seeking to add exceptions to the state’s abortion ban for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and the health and safety of the mother. Three of the six initiative petitions would also legalize abortion in […]

A gavel sculpture in Ohio.

Abortion rights amendment petition writers sue Ohio Ballot Board for ‘deceptive’ summary

BY: - August 28, 2023

This story first appeared in the Ohio Capital Journal. The group supporting a constitutional amendment on reproductive rights will take its arguments against a “deceptive” summary approved and written by the Ohio Ballot Board to the state’s highest court. Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights announced Monday afternoon that it plans to file a lawsuit Monday […]

A baby clothing shop.

Abortion-ban states pour millions into pregnancy centers with little medical care

BY: - August 24, 2023

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Louisiana Republican state Sen. Beth Mizell looked for a way to address her state’s abysmal record on infant and maternal mortality, preterm births and low birth weight. Louisiana has one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Mizell […]

Women look on as another addresses the media.

Texas AG appeals judge’s order that allows women with complicated pregnancies to get abortions

BY: - August 7, 2023

This story originally appeared in The Texas Tribune. A Texas judge on Friday issued a temporary exemption to the state’s abortion ban that would allow women with complicated pregnancies to obtain the procedure and keep doctors free from prosecution if they determined the fetus would not survive after birth. But hours later, the attorney general’s […]

Women speaking about abortion.

Lawsuit over Texas abortion ban could be a model in other states

BY: - August 1, 2023

Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. AUSTIN, Texas — A lawsuit in Texas asserting that the state’s abortion ban imperils women by dissuading doctors from ending dangerous pregnancies could provide a template for similar challenges across the country. Texas is one of 14 states that banned abortion after […]

Iowa Capitol special session.

Iowa lawmakers pass legislation to outlaw most abortions after 6 weeks

BY: and - July 12, 2023

The Republican-controlled Iowa legislature, in a daylong special legislative session, passed legislation late Tuesday to outlaw most abortions in Iowa after six weeks of gestation. The House adjourned just after 9 p.m. Tuesday after sending House File 732 to the Senate with a vote of 56-34. Rep. Zach Dieken, R-Granville, and Rep. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, […]

2022 Kansas abortion amendment

Positive polling, past successes don’t guarantee victory for abortion rights at the ballot box

BY: - June 30, 2023

Polls show that most Americans, even in red states, oppose the strict abortion bans Republican state lawmakers have enacted in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Emboldened by that fact, abortion rights advocates in multiple states might propose ballot initiatives for voters to consider in next year’s election, if […]

First State Law to Criminalize Abortion ‘Trafficking’ May Inspire Others

BY: - April 7, 2023

Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. Amid a flood of residents fleeing states that ban abortions to seek legal procedures or medication elsewhere, Idaho has become the first state to try to stem that exodus — at least for minors. Abortion is illegal at all stages of pregnancy […]

Texas Abortion Ruling Nears, But Blue States Aren’t Waiting to Protect Pill Access

BY: - March 10, 2023

Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. A federal judge in Texas soon could make one of the two pills used in medication abortions harder to come by, even in blue states that support abortion rights. Officials and advocates in those states aren’t waiting for the judge to rule. […]

Activists Aim for Supreme Court With Local Abortion Bans in Blue States

BY: - February 27, 2023

Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. Nearly 70 cities and counties across rural America have banned abortion in the past few years as part of a slow-burning conservative campaign to outlaw the procedure everywhere. The ordinances, debated in states from California to Ohio, aim to prevent health clinics […]