Trump Reinstates the ‘Global Gag Rule’ on Abortion
The 19th, January 24, 2025
President Donald Trump has directed his administration to block global aid recipients from telling patients about abortion – a move that could weaken reproductive health care worldwide. The move, announced in a presidential memorandum Friday, revives a policy known as the “global gag rule” that Trump and many other Republican presidents have implemented. Already, contractors that receive U.S. foreign aid money cannot use it to directly support abortion services. But they can tell people the option is available. The gag rule’s wide reach means that its implementation could weaken global efforts to prevent the spread of HIV, to promote contraception, and to fight diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. In the past, similar gag rules have resulted in family planning clinics in other countries shutting down and fewer people receiving contraception. Some health centers have dropped contraception offerings in response to the policy, leaving people with no local options for birth control. The rule has also been associated with a higher rate of unintended pregnancy and abortion, including in countries where the procedure is not legal.
Access to Abortion Medication Could Be in Jeopardy, RFK Jr. Testimony Suggests
The 19th, January 29, 2025
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suggested he is open to significantly limiting access to mifepristone if confirmed to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing “safety issues” to a drug that is used in most abortions and that research has shown is very safe and effective. “President [Donald] Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone,” Kennedy said at Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate’s Committee on Finance, which shares jurisdiction over HHS with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies.” Mifepristone has been heavily studied and the data is unequivocal in showing its safety and effectiveness in terminating pregnancies. The drug is taken in conjunction with misoprostol, a two-medication regimen that constitutes the majority of abortions in the country. About one in five of all abortions are initiated over telehealth, with health care providers prescribing and mailing the pills to patients – including, in some cases, patients who live in states where abortion is banned. The two-drug regimen is recommended by major international bodies because of its safety and effectiveness, including the World Health Organization. Still, abortion opponents have targeted mifepristone as part of their campaign to further reduce access to the procedure.
Justice Department Curtails Prosecutions for Blocking Access to Reproductive Health Centers
Associated Press, January 24, 2025
President Donald Trump’s new Justice Department leadership issued an order Friday to curtail prosecutions against people accused of blocking access to abortion clinics and reproductive health centers, calling the cases an example of the “weaponization” of law enforcement. Prosecutions and civil actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or “FACE Act” will now be permitted only in “extraordinary circumstances” or in cases presenting ”significant aggravating factors,” attorney general chief of staff Chad Mizelle said in a memo sent to the head of the department’s Civil Rights Division. Mizelle also ordered the immediate dismissal of three FACE Act cases related to 2021 blockades of clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The memo signals a sharp departure from the Justice Department under the Biden administration, which brought cases involving dozens of defendants accused of violating the law. The act prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services, and prohibits damaging property at abortion clinics and other centers.
The Population Exodus From Anti-Abortion States Is Underway and May Be Picking Up Steam
Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2025
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to allow states to regulate abortion access, support for expanded access to abortion pills has significantly increased, including among those living in states with abortion bans, according to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. A sample of more than 7,000 women nationwide between the ages of 15 and 49 answered surveys in December 2021 prior to the Dobbs decision, and a random sampling of half the same population was surveyed again in June 2023 after the decision. The surveys gauged support for two models of expanded access to medication abortion: advance provision – when medication is obtained before a pregnancy and reserved for future use if necessary – and over-the-counter access at a local pharmacy or other retailer without a prescription. Those who favored both models increased from about 49% in 2021 to 55% in 2023, while those who were opposed dropped from about 35% to 32%.
Court Rules North Dakota’s Overturned Abortion Ban Won’t Be in Effect During Appeal
PBS News, January 24, 2025
North Dakota’s abortion ban will not be enforced while the state appeals an earlier decision that found it unconstitutional, the state’s highest court ruled Friday. That appeal has yet to fully play out in the state Supreme Court after a judge struck down the law in September. North Dakota has had no abortion providers since the only one moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022. The only scenarios in which North Dakotans can currently obtain an abortion in the state would be for life- or health-preserving reasons at a hospital. The case has had a winding road since the Red River Women’s Clinic initially challenged the state’s previous abortion ban in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. In 2023, North Dakota’ Legislature revised the state’s abortion laws. That law criminalized the performance of an abortion as a felony, with the only exceptions to save the life of a mother or to prevent a “serious health risk” to her. The ban also allowed for abortions in cases of rape or incest but only up to six weeks gestation, which is often before many women know they are pregnant. The plaintiffs said the law was unconstitutionally vague and its health exception too narrow.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
In 2023, the wage gap widened for the first time in a generation. @anwesha_m_ breaks down why this is the result of many policy choices over the decades and how policymakers can act to reverse this trend. https://t.co/KYMzFz0420
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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.
