200+ Women Faced Pregnancy-Related Charges After Roe’s Fall
Just one charge was tied to an abortion ban — a state law that was subsequently overturned — and four others were abortion-related. Many stemmed from allegations of substance use that might affect the health of a growing fetus.
Los Angeles Times:
Study: More Women Charged With Pregnancy-Related Crime Since Roe's End
In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in its Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, at least 210 women across the country were charged with crimes related to their pregnancies, according to the report released by Pregnancy Justice, an advocacy organization. That’s the highest number the group has identified over any 12-month period in research projects that have looked back as far as 1973. (Mulvihill, 9/25)
NBC News:
Birth Control Access Fell In States With Abortion Bans. It’s Different In South Carolina, One Group Says
South Carolina’s most vulnerable women are asking for and getting birth control in record numbers — even in parts of the state without any doctors who specialize in women’s reproductive health, according to a new report. The findings — from New Morning, a nonprofit organization based in Columbia, South Carolina, that works to provide free or low-cost contraception access in the state — stand in contrast to what’s been happening in other states that enacted abortion restrictions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. (Edwards, 9/25)
Reuters:
Washington State's Abortion Pill Stockpile Is Insurance Against Trump Win, Governor Says
Washington state's first-in-the-nation stockpile of abortion drugs will serve as insurance against future lawsuits seeking to ban the procedure nationwide or a second presidential term for Republican Donald Trump, Governor Jay Inslee said. Last year, with a federal lawsuit seeking to restrict access to abortion medication nationwide, Inslee, a Democrat, ordered the state's Department of Corrections to use its pharmacy license to purchase 30,000 doses of the abortion drug mifepristone. (Mcknight and Ax, 9/25)
KFF Health News:
In Montana Senate Race, Democrat Jon Tester Misleads On Republican Tim Sheehy’s Abortion Stance
In a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is attacking his challenger, Republican Tim Sheehy, for his stance on abortion. Montana’s Senate race is one of a half-dozen tight contests around the country in which Democrats are defending seats needed to keep their one-seat majority. If Republicans flip Tester’s seat, they could take over the chamber even if they fail to oust Democrats in any other key races. (Jacobson, 9/26)
Mother Jones:
Big Tech Would Be Key To Delivering Project 2025’s Anti-Abortion Plans
Last week, 15 civil liberties groups sent a letter to the CEOs of eight of the biggest tech companies—including Meta, Apple, TikTok, and Google, among others—demanding they explain how they would protect users’ data and privacy, as well as combat abortion-related misinformation on their platforms if Project 2025’s anti-abortion recommendations were set in motion. “As written, Project 2025 would rely heavily on your companies to further its extreme agenda,” states the letter, which Mother Jones is the first to report. The signatories—which include Accountable Tech, GLAAD, and The Tech Oversight Project—warn that Project 2025’s anti-abortion policies would lead to “heightened surveillance and an increase in the trend of law enforcement using criminal subpoenas to weaponize the consumer data your companies collect and store.” (McShane, 9/25)
