Accessibility links
abortion abortion
Stories About

abortion

Wednesday

Tuesday

Restrictions On Abortion Medication Deserve A Second Look, Says A Former FDA Head

Mifepristone is a medication used to end early pregnancies and to relieve the symptoms of miscarriage. It's heavily restricted by the FDA. Adria Malcolm hide caption

toggle caption
Adria Malcolm

Shots - Health News

Restrictions On Abortion Medication Deserve A Second Look, Says A Former FDA Head

The FDA heavily restricted mifepristone — a drug that ends early pregnancies — when it approved it 19 years ago. A former FDA commissioner asks whether the current restrictions should be revisited.

Monday

Planned Parenthood Withdraws From Title X Program Over Trump Abortion Rule

Abortion protesters attempt to hand out literature as they stand in the driveway of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Indianapolis on Aug. 16. Michael Conroy/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Conroy/AP

National

Planned Parenthood Withdraws From Title X Program Over Trump Abortion Rule

The organization says it is leaving the federal family planning program because of rule changes that prohibit its grantees from providing or referring most patients for abortion.

Planned Parenthood Withdraws From Title X Program Over Trump Abortion Rule

Listen · 4:09
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/752438119/752529477" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Arkansas Abortion Restrictions

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at a National Governors Association meeting last year. A federal judge late Tuesday temporarily blocked abortion restrictions signed into law by the governor in March. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jose Luis Magana/AP

Law

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Arkansas Abortion Restrictions

The restrictions would have required physicians performing abortions to be board-certified and prevented abortions after 18 weeks or for the sole reason that the fetus has Down syndrome.

Sunday

Some Title X Recipients Will Have More Time To Comply With New Abortion Rules

Anti-abortion-rights advocates gather outside a St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic in June. Title X recipients have been given more time to comply with new regulations. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jeff Roberson/AP

National

Some Title X Recipients Will Have More Time To Comply With New Abortion Rules

The rules block recipients of federal grants from referring patients for abortion. The Trump administration says groups working in "good faith" will have until Aug. 19 to provide written assurance.

Wednesday

Planned Parenthood Officials Say They've Halted Use Of Title X Family Planning Funds

Supporters of Planned Parenthood demonstrated at New York's City Hall against the Trump administration's Title X rule change in February. Planned Parenthood now says it clinics nationwide will stop using federal Title X family planning funds. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

National

Planned Parenthood Officials Say They've Halted Use Of Title X Family Planning Funds

The move follows an announcement this week by the Trump administration that it will enforce new rules forbidding groups that receive the funds from counseling patients about abortion.

Tuesday

American Medical Association Wades Into Abortion Debate With Lawsuit

The American Medical Association is suing North Dakota over two laws relating to abortion. Cultura RM Exclusive/Sigrid Gomb/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Cultura RM Exclusive/Sigrid Gomb/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

American Medical Association Wades Into Abortion Debate With Lawsuit

KFF Health News

After decades on the sidelines, the medical trade group is taking a more aggressive stance by fighting two North Dakota laws it says interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

American Medical Association Wades Into Abortion Debate With Lawsuit

Listen · 4:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/738100166/738146548" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Newly Blue, Maine Expands Access To Abortion

Alison Beyea of ACLU of Maine speaks during an abortion-rights rally at Congress Square Park in Portland, Maine, in May. Democrats elected last November have pushed through two laws that expand access to abortion in the state. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Newly Blue, Maine Expands Access To Abortion

Maine Public News

Maine elected a wave of Democratic women to state office in 2018. They've pushed Maine to join a handful of other states shoring up the right to an abortion ahead of expected Supreme Court challenges.

Newly Blue, Maine Expands Access To Abortion

Listen · 3:50
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/737046658/738146554" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Georgia Abortion Providers File Federal Suit Against State's 'Fetal Heartbeat' Law

The ACLU, Planned Parenthood and several abortion providers in Georgia are asking a federal court to stop the state's new abortion restrictions from taking effect. Here, a woman is seen during protests last month after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Politics

Georgia Abortion Providers File Federal Suit Against State's 'Fetal Heartbeat' Law

"This is a constitutional challenge" to Georgia's law, the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit, in which they call the abortion restrictions "an affront to the dignity and health of Georgians."

Thursday

Study Looks At Impact Of Trump Policy On Abortion Rate In Sub-Saharan Africa

A 19-year-old woman talks with nurse Valeria Zafisoa at a traveling contraception clinic in eastern Madagascar run by the British nonprofit group Marie Stopes International. Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Samantha Reinders for NPR

Goats and Soda

Study Looks At Impact Of Trump Policy On Abortion Rate In Sub-Saharan Africa

Remarks at the U.N. this week reinforced the Trump administration's anti-abortion stand. But a study this summer found that cutting aid to groups that "promote" abortion may have an unintended effect.

Tuesday

'Patients Will Die': One County's Challenge To Trump's 'Conscience Rights' Rule
Caiaimage/Sam Edwards/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

'Patients Will Die': One County's Challenge To Trump's 'Conscience Rights' Rule

California's Santa Clara County argues that if the rule goes into effect in July, the county will suffer irreparable harm in terms of patient care and staffing costs.

'Patients Will Die': One County's Challenge To Trump's 'Conscience Rights' Rule

Listen · 3:52
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/730659035/731795240" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
CEOs Becoming More Active On Political Issues, Including Abortion

Tyler Haney, CEO of Outdoor Voices, is one of more than 180 business leaders who signed a letter opposing restrictive abortion laws. Rick Kern/Getty Images for Inc hide caption

toggle caption
Rick Kern/Getty Images for Inc

Business

CEOs Becoming More Active On Political Issues, Including Abortion

Historically, CEOs spoke out on political issues relevant to their bottom lines, but as the fight over abortion escalates, some say their employees and customers expect them to take a stand.

CEOs Becoming More Active On Political Issues, Including Abortion

Listen · 2:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/731594754/731795228" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Univ. Of Alabama Returns $21.5 Million Gift; Donor Urged Boycott Over Abortion Law

University of Alabama employees remove the name of Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. from its law school's sign in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday, after the board of trustees voted to return $21.5 million to longtime donor Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. Blake Paterson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Blake Paterson/AP

Education

Univ. Of Alabama Returns $21.5 Million Gift; Donor Urged Boycott Over Abortion Law

The move comes after Hugh Culverhouse Jr. urged students and businesses to boycott Alabama over its restrictive new abortion law. The school says its rejection of the money isn't related to that law.

Poll: Majority Want To Keep Abortion Legal, But They Also Want Restrictions

Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas speaks during a protest against recently passed abortion-ban bills at the state Capitol on May 21 in Atlanta. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Politics

Poll: Majority Want To Keep Abortion Legal, But They Also Want Restrictions

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey found that three-quarters of Americans want the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade. But there is also complexity — and contradiction — in respondents' views.

Wednesday