Latest News On Reproductive Health

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Aspirantes demócratas culpan a los republicanos en las bancas por sus antecedentes antiaborto en el Congreso

KFF Health News Original

A medida que se acerca el día de las elecciones, los aspirantes demócratas están haciendo todo lo posible para vincular a sus oponentes republicanos en distritos congresionales disputados con sus antecedentes antiaborto.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Punts to a Looming Lame-Duck Session

Podcast

Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Deadly High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Is on the Rise

KFF Health News Original

More pregnant women are being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure, which risks the life of the parent and child. Montana is one of the states improving screening and treatment as health facilities work to match care with best practices.

She Was Accused of Murder After Losing Her Pregnancy. SC Woman Now Tells Her Story.

KFF Health News Original

Amari Marsh, now 23, was a student at South Carolina State University when she lost her pregnancy in 2023. She was charged with murder and faced at least 20 years in prison. A grand jury cleared her in August. Now she’s sharing her story.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American Health Under Trump — Past, Present, and Future

Podcast

Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes — including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump’s work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join KFF Health News senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.

Las clínicas de abortos, y sus pacientes, se movilizan a medida que cambian las leyes estatales

KFF Health News Original

El fallo de la Corte dejó en manos de los estados las políticas sobre el aborto. Desde entonces, 14 estados promulgaron prohibiciones a la práctica que contemplan unas pocas excepciones, mientras que otros han restringido el acceso.

Abortion Clinics — And Patients — Are on the Move, as State Laws Keep Shifting

KFF Health News Original

Clinics in states where most abortions are legal, such as Kansas and Illinois, are reporting an influx of inquiries from patients hundreds of miles away — and are expanding in response. Despite the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal protections in 2022, abortions are now at their highest numbers in a decade.

Arkansas’ Governor Says Medicaid Extension for New Moms Isn’t Needed

KFF Health News Original

Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump-Harris Debate Showcases Health Policy Differences

Podcast

As expected, the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris offered few new details of their positions on abortion, the Affordable Care Act, and other critical health issues. But it did underscore for voters dramatic differences between the two candidates. Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued rules attempting to better enforce […]

UCSF Favors Pricey Doctoral Program for Nurse-Midwives Amid Maternal Care Crisis

KFF Health News Original

UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master’s program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university’s motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.

Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.

KFF Health News Original

Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don’t know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.

Cuando la aseguradora se niega a pagar un aborto que es médicamente necesario

KFF Health News Original

En el país, la cobertura para la atención del aborto es laberíntica. A menudo, los pacientes no saben cuándo un procedimiento, o las píldoras abortivas, están cubiertas, si es que lo están; y la proliferación de prohibiciones ha exacerbado la confusión.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let the General Election Commence

Podcast

Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.

Los contrastes de las fórmulas Harris-Walz y Trump-Vance en la atención de salud

KFF Health News Original

La elección de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris del gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, como su compañero de fórmula está poniendo el tema de la atención médica en primer plano en la recta final hacia las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre.

Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care

KFF Health News Original

As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.

Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood

KFF Health News Original

Anti-abortion groups and their allies secured a generational victory in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned “Roe v. Wade.” A lawsuit in Texas demonstrates how those same forces threaten access to other health services, including birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Walz Record

Podcast

Vice President Kamala Harris this week officially became the Democratic nominee for president and named Minnesota governor and former U.S. congressman Tim Walz as her running mate. Meanwhile, a new study finds the number of abortions taking place since the overturn of “Roe v. Wade” continued to rise into early this year, despite the imposition of abortion bans around the country. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Inside Project 2025: Former Trump Official Outlines Hard Right Turn Against Abortion

KFF Health News Original

Former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from a Heritage Foundation document that outlines positions on abortion and a range of other social issues. But Democrats view it as a window into the far right’s to-do list and a clear opening for political attack.