Abortion rights

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holds campaign in North Carolina

Harris, who is Biden's voice on abortion rights, is likely to raise the volume

7:54am July 22, 2024

As a candidate, Kamala Harris likely would take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue where Republicans have been vulnerable.

Abortion is becoming more common in primary care clinics as doctors challenge stigma

6:32pm June 21, 2024

More family medicine and primary care doctors are doing abortions and questioning why it’s been separated from other care for decades.

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The abortion debate is headed to the ballot box. Here's where voters will decide

6:04pm May 28, 2024

From Florida to Arizona, reproductive rights supporters seek to add abortion access to state constitutions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in 2022.

Anti-abortion activists who describe themselves as "abolitionists" protest outside a fertility clinic in North Carolina in April 2024.

Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans

6:20pm May 23, 2024

Abortion Rights has been a motivating political issue for generations, and this year might be the most intense for those on both sides of the issue.

NPR's Sarah McCammon reports on the anti-abortion rights activists who want to ramp up restrictions, criminalize patients who pursue abortions, and ban procedures like IVF.

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Map of the United States showing abortion's legal status by state

6 key facts about abortion laws and the 2024 election

11:26am May 22, 2024

State laws on abortion keep changing – with new bans taking effect in some places while new protections are enacted in others. And abortion will be on the ballot in at least four states.

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Politics & Government

Republicans try to soften stance on abortion as 'abolitionists' go farther

7:30pm May 21, 2024

by Sarah McCammon

Activists who describe themselves as "abortion abolitionists" want to charge women who have abortions with homicide and ban the fertility treatment known as IVF, saying life begins at conception.

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Abortion rights activists at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on March 26, the day the case about the abortion drug mifepristone was heard. The number of abortions in the U.S. increased, a study says, surprising researchers.

Despite state bans, abortions nationwide are up, driven by telehealth

4:25pm May 14, 2024

by Elissa Nadworny

Telehealth accounts for 19% of all abortions, new research finds. And while the number of abortions did plummet in ban states, overall abortions across the country are up.

Missouri law requires women seeking divorce to disclose whether they're pregnant — and state judges won't finalize divorces during a pregnancy.

Pregnant women in Missouri can't get divorced. Critics say it fuels domestic violence

5:00am May 03, 2024

by Katia Riddle

The state's law requires women seeking divorce to disclose whether they're pregnant — and state judges won't finalize divorces during a pregnancy. Texas and Arkansas have similar laws on the books.

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President Joe Biden speaks during an event in Virginia on Jan. 23, to campaign for abortion rights, a top issue for Democrats in the upcoming presidential election.

As abortion looks like a key issue in 2024, voters more divided by party than ever

9:51am May 02, 2024

by Sarah McCammon

In a new report, Democrats are increasingly motivated by the issue of abortion - and increasingly supportive, as are independent voters. Republicans views have mostly remained the same.

The medical community dates pregnancy to the first day of a woman's last period, even though fertilization generally happens two weeks after that. It's a long-standing practice but a confusing one.

Why is a 6-week abortion ban nearly a total ban? It's about how we date a pregnancy

9:49am May 01, 2024

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The time a person has to decide whether to have an abortion in Florida and other states with six-week abortion bans is at most two weeks. Why? It's has to do with how we date early pregnancy.