Despite a Possible Agreement on ACA Subsidies, Abortion Lurks as a Hurdle
POLITICO, December 17, 2025
Last week, the Senate failed to pass the Democrats’ multi-year clean extension of the health insurance subsidies or Republicans’ alternative plan that would have funneled money into health savings accounts and imposed new national restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care. The House will vote on dueling health policies this week. Several swing district Republicans broke ranks Wednesday morning to back Democrats’ bill that would extend the subsidies with no additional abortion restrictions. However, the odds of reaching a deal before the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits expire on December 31 remain slim and the unresolved fight over abortion could lower them to zero.
Abortion Patients Most Often Rely on Independent Clinics, But More Closed in 2025, Report Shows
Rewire New Groups, December 15, 2025
A recent report by Abortion Care Network found at least 23 independent clinics have closed this year compared with 12 last year. Most of the independent clinics were in states with abortion-rights protections. Independent clinics provide 58 percent of all abortions nationwide, while Planned Parenthood provides 38 percent, hospitals 3 percent, and 1 percent occur at physicians’ offices. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization forced 100 independent clinics to close between 2022 and 2025.
Preparing for a Wildfire or Hurricane? Don’t Forget Water, Documents — and Your Birth Control
The 19th, December 18, 2025
States typically have a list of items that residents should have on hand in case of a flood, wildfire or other natural disaster. However, according to a new report by the Center for Biological Diversity, only one state – Maryland – does a good job of including sexual and reproductive health supplies into its preparedness checklist. Studies found that after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ike, women experienced difficulty obtaining contraception. Climate change’s impact on the accessibility to reproductive and sexual health care has not been heavily researched in the United States.
The Looming Showdown Over IVF, Explained
Vox, December 18, 2025
President Trump’s support of IVF conflicts with EEOC’s possible rulemaking that would exclude accommodations to IVF. Andrea Lucas, the Trump-appointed chair of the EEOC, signaled that she wants to revisit the Biden-era regulation that implemented the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The regulation required most employers to offer reasonable accommodation for workers’ needs arising from pregnancy related conditions like miscarriage, abortion, lactation, and fertility treatments. Workers’ rights advocates fear the EEOC could revise the rule to exclude accommodations related to IVF, like being allowed to take time off for appointments, potentially forcing people to choose between keeping their jobs and getting pregnant.
Court Rejects Planned Parenthood’s Challenge to Trump-Backed Law Ending Medicaid Funding
Reuters, December 12, 2025
On Friday a federal court held that the provision in Donald Trump’s signature tax and domestic policy bill that deprived Planned Parenthood and local affiliates of Medicaid funding was constitutional. The court overturned a preliminary injunction by a lower-court judge who had concluded that the law likely violated the U.S. Constitution by targeting Planned Parenthood’s health centers as punishment for providing abortions.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Further signaling a grim economy, today’s data also suggest that employers are trimming back hiring and hours. The number of people working part-time involuntarily – because they couldn’t find full-time work or their hours were reduced – increased by almost one million between September and November. Employment in temporary services was down 17,000 between September and November. That makes for an especially difficult environment for newly entering workers, including youth.
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Note: The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
