Women's Issues

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The only five women in South Carolina's 46-member Senate have vowed to resist new abortion restrictions up for debate after the group filibustered a near-total ban last month. But it remains to be seen whether the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman had to carry her baby, missing much of her skull, for months knowing she'd bury her daughter soon after she was born. Another started mirroring the life-threatening symptoms that her baby was displaying while in... Read More

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s Republican-led Legislature voted Tuesday night to ban most abortions after 12 weeks, overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s previous veto of the measure. In a pair of party-line votes, the North Carolina General Assembly voted 72-48... Read More

Edna Adan Ismail, a nurse-midwife, hospital founder, and health care advocate who for decades has combated female circumcision and strived to improve women’s health care in East Africa, was named Tuesday as winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize, one of... Read More

WASHINGTON — A panel of federal health advisors voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the first over-the-counter sale of a medical contraceptive. The vote came at the end of a two-day meeting during which the panel, which offers nonbinding recommendations... Read More

Abortion providers in three states filed a lawsuit Monday aimed at preserving access to the abortion pill mifepristone, even as the drug is threatened by a separate Texas lawsuit winding its way through U.S. court system. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District... Read More

Courts this week blocked abortion restrictions from taking effect in two states, while lawmakers in a third are forging ahead with a plan for a new ban that's less stringent than most. Those are some of the latest developments in... Read More

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro made a little history on Monday, not only signing his first bill into law, but also signing a first-of-its-kind in the nation bill eliminating all costs for preventative breast cancer screenings for women... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found. The findings, revealed... Read More

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abortion bans in deeply conservative Nebraska and South Carolina each fell a single vote short of passing in their legislatures amid heated debates among Republicans, yet another sign that abortion is becoming a difficult issue for the GOP. As the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — She swaggered, she jabbed, she inspired. She even joked. Anyone looking for a glimpse of what Vice President Kamala Harris could bring to the campaign trail would have found it this week at Howard University, where she... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and drug company Danco Laboratories asked the Supreme Court on Friday to continue to afford women access to a popular abortion drug, while the legal battle rages on concerning its use. Mifepristone was approved... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone can still be used for now but reduced the period of pregnancy when the drug can be taken and said it could not be dispensed by mail. The... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Texas case that could cut off access to the most commonly used abortion medication has started on a path through the legal system that could quickly lead to the Supreme Court. The drug, mifepristone, was approved... Read More

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., hosted a Facebook Live discussion this past week to discuss disparities in treatment and health outcomes for women suffering from cardiovascular disease and during cardiac events.  Joining Sherrill in conversation was Dr. Linda... Read More

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — After years of setbacks, abortion-rights supporters in Republican-leaning Kentucky thought they achieved a breakthrough in November, when voters defeated a measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion. But their hopes that the state's sweeping abortion ban... Read More

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — A new group of National Women's Hall of Fame inductees includes social justice pioneers, groundbreaking physicians and women who have championed Jewish feminist theology and the financial well-being of Native Americans, the institute announced Wednesday.... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A new abortion provider is opening this year in Democratic-controlled Maryland — just across from deeply conservative West Virginia, where state lawmakers recently passed a near-total abortion ban. The Women’s Health Center of Maryland in Cumberland,... Read More

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump. But in the early days of the 2024 presidential contest, no Republican has worked harder to avoid the issue than the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion for women's rights whose death ahead of the 2020 election allowed the Supreme Court to become more conservative, will be remembered during ceremonies Friday at the high court. Ginsburg, who served as... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Doctors in California who mail abortion pills to people in other states would be protected from prosecution under a new bill to be unveiled Friday in the state Legislature. The bill would not let California extradite... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Deaths of pregnant women in the U.S. fell in 2022, dropping significantly from a six-decade high during the pandemic, new data suggests. More than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth,... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — Endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, has been dubbed the “missed disease.”  It can take up to a decade for people to get diagnosed, and yet,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday updated its regulations on mammography in an effort to strengthen the agency’s oversight and detect and treat breast cancer earlier. The rule that went into effect March 9 amended regulations... Read More

MADRID (AP) — Demonstrations, conferences and artistic events around the world Wednesday marked International Women's Day, an annual observance established to recognize women and to demand equality for half of the planet's population. While activists in some parts of the... Read More

In announcing her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination this week, Nikki Haley made a subtle reference to the historic nature of her candidacy. “I don't put up with bullies,” Haley said in a video that launched her bid to become the first female... Read More

CHICAGO (AP) — Emboldened anti-abortion activists are looking to the 2024 presidential election as an opportunity to solidify their influence over the Republican Party. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, the most influential group in the anti-abortion movement, is telling each potential GOP... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Senate Democrats defeated several bills Thursday that would have restricted abortion access in the state, including a proposed 15-week ban with exceptions that was a priority for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The Senate Committee on... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Most registered voters in Tennessee want exceptions for rape or incest in the state's sweeping abortion ban, but they largely don't know the specifics of what's in the law as it stands today, according to new Vanderbilt... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme... Read More