GOP Officials Eye Restrictions on Pregnant Travelers Following Supreme Court Ruling
MS NOW, July 1, 2026
The ruling wasn’t as lopsided as many legal observers expected, but in Trump v. Barbara, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the idea that a president can override the 14th Amendment to the Constitution with an executive order. Although the 5-4 ruling left in place a status quo that had existed for generations, much of the right did not respond well to the news … Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said Tuesday he’s moving forward with plans for legislation that he’s calling the Anchors Away Act, which would ban certain pregnant foreign women from entering the United States.
The Supreme Court’s Trans Athlete Ruling Is a Threat to Gender Equality
Mother Jones, June 30, 2026
In a widely anticipated defeat for transgender rights, the Supreme Court upheld state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ school sports team. The decision, issued Tuesday, does not impose a nationwide ban on trans athletes. But it does preserve laws passed in 27 states by GOP politicians and anti-trans activists who argued that transgender women threaten safety and fairness in women’s athletics … “What really concerns me about this decision is that he’s not only creating a bad precedent for trans people, he’s significantly lowering the protection all women get under equal protection,” Albany Law School professor Ava Ayers says.
Dobbs’ Dilemma: Abortion and IVF Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
The Hill, July 1, 2026
Both IVF and abortion are essential reproductive healthcare, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine … The states that banned abortion post-Dobbs undermined the first part of those rights, especially for the most disadvantaged. While abortion rates have actually risen since Dobbs, pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related mortality and infant mortality have increased in abortion-ban states. The ability to create families through in vitro fertilization should not become the next reproductive justice casualty in a post-Dobbs world. If we care about reproductive justice and equity, neither abortion nor in vitro should be banned. They are, after all, a flip of the same reproductive coin.
Trump Administration Puts Religious Freedom at Heart of U.S. Health Policy
The Guardian, June 30, 2026
The Trump administration is moving religious freedom to the forefront of its health policies, a move that will likely affect reproductive health, LGBTQ+ healthcare and vaccine policy. “They are very much putting religious freedom front and center,” said Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Law San Francisco. But “it tends to privilege a conservative form of Christianity and, for example, protect discrimination against LGBTQ people”. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Sunday it had reorganized its office for civil rights, bringing conscience and religious freedom to the top. And on Friday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) issued a new report on religious liberty that includes multiple references to abortion, vaccines and gender-affirming care.
Federal Health Agency Cancels Most of Its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants
Stateline, June 26, 2026
A spokesperson for U.S. Health and Human Services confirmed to Stateline on Friday that the agency is canceling 53 out of 67 grants, worth about $68 million, under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, affecting grantees in more than two dozen states. A list obtained by Stateline of canceled grants includes those awarded to universities, community organizations, city and state health departments and Planned Parenthood affiliates in states such as Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Texas and West Virginia. The grants were canceled two years before their expiration dates because the programs did not align with agency priorities, according to one of the grantees who received a termination notice.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Far-reaching federal health funding cuts under the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are exacerbating a maternal health crisis, with rural labor and delivery (L&D) units, free-standing birth centers, and women’s health clinics closing across the country – separate and apart from the implementation of provisions that will cause widespread coverage losses.
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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.
