This Week in Abortion: PEPFAR, Maternal Health, and More

A collection of good reads, events from the week, and policy insights.

Welcome back to your weekly roundup of good reads, legal updates, and legislative tracking on abortion. Last week put us into a creative tailspin. So, shaking up the formatting again! You’ll also see some expanded focus on general maternal health. Enjoy, and if you do click the ❤️ button!

State by State by Nation Updates

• ⏰ August 8 is the last chance for Ohio voters to SAY NO to an amendment that would make passing a pro-access ballot initiative in November more difficult. As the official date for the special election in Ohio draws near, a new lawsuit attempts to stop the pro-access November ballot initiative. 

• 👎 PEPFAR - a major global public health program aimed at preventing HIV/AIDs - is under threat from anti-access groups that insist funds are being used to support abortion. Their concern is based on a not-super-convincing report from the Heritage Foundation. For context, PEPFAR was started by President GW Bush in 2003, with a mandate that a third of funds be spent on abstinence-until-marriage education. In fact, in 2006 Rachel investigated PEPFAR as part of a team at the Center for Public Integrity. The investigation confirmed that there was plenty of funding going to quasi-religious programming that even questioned the use of condoms. She doesn’t remember the Heritage Foundation being concerned about the misuse of funds back then. Funny how things change.

• 👎 Abortions in Indiana are still legal, but Planned Parenthood stopped providing procedures this week. A ban that was supposed to take effect this week isn’t technically law yet thanks to a last-minute legal move. But it seems like many are treating the ban as a done deal. 

• 👍 Illinois Gov. Pritzker announced millions in new investments to support the reproductive health sector and help patients access care including an innovative specialty consultation program - in addition to a new hotline - that will streamline access and support services for high-risk patients.

• 👍 ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Alabama AG seeking to protect clinics (and others) from prosecution in the event they help someone access abortion services outside the state. Also this week, a judge in Idaho issued an injunction in a similar case which will prevent Idaho’s AG from taking  “legal action against medical providers who refer patients across state lines for abortion care,” with the assertion that such referrals are free speech.

• 👍 Louisiana joined Rhode Island, as the second state in the country to require that private insurance cover doula care. As the article in the Louisiana Illuminator explains, it’s one of the few (maybe only) good things to come out of a bad year for maternal health in the state.

• 👍 Connecticut passed a law meant to support the growth of free-standing birth centers as a way to address the disappearance of these services from hospitals and the already existing gaps in rural care. It’s true, these are problems even in pro-access states. 

Trends and Reports

• If you liked WINN, the short film we shared last week, Victoria Law (in The Nation)  describes the struggles incarcerated women face trying to get an abortion.

• A new study found that  23.6% of women (15–49 yrs) do not have access to an abortion clinic within a 90-minute drive. Most of these women, predictably, are in states that have abortion bans. The study does not look at pre-Dobbs access, although it’s pretty guaranteed to be worse than previously. Louisiana and Mississippi safely nestled in anti-access regions win the prize, with 0% of women having access to a clinic in 90 minutes, Oklahoma and Texas aren’t far behind.

• Speaking of, according to a recent CDC report (2021 data) Mississippi again has the highest rate of stillbirths in the country. The silver lining in the report is that the national rate did not increase and fetal mortality for Black women decreased by 4% - still the highest in the country at nearly 10 deaths per 1000 births, but improving. You can read more about how Mississippi is trying to help pregnant women. 

• A team of high school students, “designed a pad that detects cervical diseases like cancer, when someone's on their period.” Yes, there is hope for the future!