Democrats push to protect the data privacy of people seeking abortions

Data brokers say the data they collect is anonymized. But some researchers have found vulnerabilities in that data that could make it possible to see who has gone to an abortion clinic. The startup Atlas Privacy obtained access to a tool used by the U.S. government and law enforcement agencies that draws on commercially available … Read more

“It’s going to create fear”: Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law shows that free speech is a target

“Upholding the parts of the law that allow Idaho to criminalize and punish people who harbor or transport — that is going to have a chilling effect,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s going to create confusion, and it’s going to create fear.” “You’ve already seen women having to get [airlifted] out of the … Read more

Missouri GOP already trying to roll back abortion rights passed by voters

Missouri abortion rights in legal limbo after constitutional protections take effect The day after Missouri voters supported the measure to amend the constitution, Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state filed a lawsuit asking the court to strike down the state’s near-total abortion ban as well as a raft of other restrictions that, Planned Parenthood said, … Read more

Court rules Idaho can partially enforce its ‘abortion trafficking law’

“Simply protecting speech doesn’t address the criminalization of essential acts of support,” she said. “It doesn’t address the broader chilling effects on speech by people who might be afraid of potential misinterpretation or prosecution.” “This idea of surveilling citizens and trying to track their movements, where they’re going, what they’re doing. These are not American … Read more

Arizona says it will not enforce abortion ban until related lawsuit plays out

The lawsuit marks the latest effort by advocates to make good on the pro-abortion rights ballot measures passed by seven states in the November elections. While these measures amended states’ constitutions to protect or expand abortion rights, they did not actually rewrite pre-existing state laws. Abortion restrictions must now be knocked down through litigation or … Read more

The Next Abortion Battlefront

In the Dobbs decision, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that U.S. citizens have a “constitutional right to interstate travel,” including for abortions. But abortion opponents are nonetheless trying to prevent people from crossing state lines for care that they see as a threat to unborn life. In Alabama, for example, Attorney General Steve Marshall has said … Read more

Conservatives Want to End ‘Exceptions’ for Women’s Lives

The short version is that they’ve been strategically redefining ‘abortion’ across law, culture and medicine, while pushing the false claim that abortion is never necessary to save a person’s life. The end game is legislation that bans abortion in all cases, mandating that doctors only end life-threatening pregnancies using c-sections or induced vaginal birth, no … Read more

Republicans don’t care if women die from abortion bans – but they don’t want you to know about it

This censorship effort doesn’t just impact the data about abortion ban-related deaths, either. Before 2022, both Texas and Georgia had some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. There’s been an eye-popping 56% rise in pregnancy-related deaths in Texas over the past few years. Anyone who actually cared about women or “life” would want … Read more

Is it safe to have a child? Americans rethink family planning ahead of Trump’s return

On 6 November, the number of people booking vasectomy appointments at Planned Parenthood health centers spiked by 1,200%, IUD appointments by more than 760% and birth control implant appointments by 350%, according to a statement provided to the Guardian by Planned Parenthood. Traffic to Planned Parenthood’s webpages on tubal ligation, vasectomies and IUDs has also … Read more