The analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families singles out a dozen states lacking even a single workplace protection for new parents–beyond what's required by federal law. These states also severely curb abortion-care access in health insurance.
Neither the U.S. House of Representatives nor the U.S. Senate have finalized the items on the legislative agenda. But if all goes as planned, lawmakers will leave Washington, D.C., by the end of the week and won’t return until at least November—potentially later.
In Malawi and other countries, we've witnessed the human costs of making abortion illegal or inaccessible. And, due to this policy, Peace Corps volunteers experience similar barriers to abortion as the people they serve in developing nations.
"It's more than a little sad that this is what passes for health care. They're just making it up as they go along, and it's replacing actual clinics that were providing health care," Blake Rocap of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas said.
On this Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, we celebrate the millions who make a decision that is the right one for them, their families, and their communities. We celebrate the providers who are committed to truly providing patient-centered care regardless of age, sexual or gender orientation, marital status, reason for abortion, or ability to pay. And we celebrate policymakers and activists who have worked tirelessly to overturn laws that criminalize and penalize women.
Wednesday serves as an important reminder that it is the basic right of every woman to be able to decide on the number and spacing of her children without having to put her health or life at risk—no matter where she lives.
In my work caring for Native American women relying on federally provided insurance in northern Arizona, I meet patients who are shocked when they learn that abortion care is not covered. They are accustomed to receiving care through the Indian Health Service and the centuries-old promise that tribes will have a special government-to-government relationship with the United States.
Equality advocates appealed a ruling that threw out a legal challenge to SB 2, a Republican-supported North Carolina law that allows magistrates and other civil servants to refuse to participate in same-sex marriages.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) characterized abortion care as a “tragedy for any life, no matter what color,” but ultimately found as much fault with Black Americans who make the reproductive health-care decision as those who advocate on behalf of civil rights.
