Maternity care deserts – increasing in number

Millions of US women don’t have access to maternity care, report warns More than a third of US counties do not have a single medical birthing facility or the services of an obstetric clinician, causing health advocates to warn about the dangers of “maternity care deserts”, a new report says. Read more at The Guardian … Read more

State abortion bans are forcing doctors to provide substandard care – new study

“One question that we had was: were the changes that we were seeing initially related to the initial shock of the Dobbs decisions and the laws that then went into effect? Would clinical protocols kind of adjust and healthcare providers would figure out how to provide high-quality care? Would these poor-quality cases disappear?” said Dr … Read more

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says he wants abortion to be illegal at ‘zero’ weeks in new audio released by Democrats

Robinson replied by saying, “That 12 weeks, exceptions for rape and incest … I’m not going to say it’s reasonable. But my faith allows me to live with that, because that’s where the consensus is. Do I want to continue to lower it? You better know it. I would love to get down to six … Read more

In the GOP alternate universe, JD Vance is charming and popular

There’s been a drumbeat of stories of him endorsing views like hunger is a “great motivation” to work, the “whole purpose of the postmenopausal female” is to provide free childcare, and that progressives are “unhumans” who deserve fascist violence. The seemingly endless number of clips of him condemning childless women as “sociopaths” and “miserable cat ladies” … Read more

Abortion has huge financial consequences in a woman’s life — and in the economy

“We all understand — if we’re parents, or know anybody who’s a parent, or are paying any attention to parents — the ways in which having children impacts the economic lives of families,” says Caitlin Myers, an economist at Middlebury College. “For women in particular, it’s the single biggest economic decision most of them will … Read more

How Ted Cruz’s abortion record could cost him a historic election in Texas

Cruz hasn’t just been a cheerleader on the sidelines of the abortion wars; he was a key player in transforming the judiciary to pave the way for Dobbs and enable his own state to punish and essentially torture pregnant women the way they are doing now. He can avoid questions on the subject, but there’s … Read more

States with strictest abortion laws offer the least support for women and families

“States with the most severe abortion restrictions have the least public infrastructure to support families,” said Dr. Nigel Madden, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who led the study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health. Read more at NBC News  

Trump’s Latest Move to Avoid Abortion Is His Strangest One Yet

With an election looming, activists and providers worry that this could soon change: Under the strange rules governing the capital, Congress can simply ignore the locals and enact municipal laws, meaning a Republican trifecta could quickly lead to a D.C. ban. That’s what some anti-abortion organizations are calling for. And while Donald Trump now says … Read more