Abortion rights

Laphonza Butler (shown here in 2018) is the first woman of color to lead Emily's List. Most recently, she worked at AirBnb and on Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

Politics & Government

A Woman Of Color Will Lead EMILY's List For The First Time

3:40pm September 13, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

Laphonza Butler, the political organization's third president, will be the first Black woman and first mother to lead the group. She is a former senior adviser to Kamala Harris and Airbnb executive.

Activists have taken to TikTok and other platforms to fight a restrictive new abortion law in Texas.

National

TikTok Activists Are Flooding A Texas Abortion Reporting Site With Spam

4:44pm September 03, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

A new law in Texas makes it illegal to have an abortion after six weeks, as well as to help anyone have an abortion. Activists are spamming a website set up to report people for violating the law.

A 21-year-old Romanian woman says she had no one to turn to for help when she got pregnant in 2019.

Activists Say Romania Has Been Quietly Phasing Out Abortion

8:48am September 01, 2021

by Lucía Benavides

Doctors are using conscientious objection to turn down patients. Religious anti-abortion clinics are springing up. Advocates say abortion rights are under threat again in Romania.

Anti-abortion-rights protesters come out in May to the Texas Capitol in Austin in response to a bill that Gov. Greg Abbott signed outlawing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

More Abortion Restrictions Have Been Enacted In The U.S. This Year Than In Any Other

5:11pm July 09, 2021

by Emma Bowman

Legislatures across the country have passed a record 90 abortion restrictions and bans in 2021. Anti-abortion-rights activists hope a conservative Supreme Court will uphold those laws.

How An Anti-Vice Crusader Sabotaged The Early Birth Control Movement

5:44pm July 07, 2021

by Terry Gross

The Comstock Act, which passed in 1873, virtually outlawed contraception. In The Man Who Hated Women, author Amy Sohn writes about the man behind the law — and the women prosecuted under it.

Queue Listen Now

President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, shown here on Jan. 20, 2021, attend Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle during Inauguration Day ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

After Debate On Biden's Abortion Views, Bishops Vote to Rethink Communion Rules

2:18pm June 18, 2021

by Sarah McCammon

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voted to move forward with a process that could call into question the eligibility of politicians like President Joe Biden to receive Communion.

President Joe Biden speaks during the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery Monday. His budget proposal drops a decades-long ban on public funding for abortion.

Biden's Budget Proposal Reverses A Decades-Long Ban On Abortion Funding

1:51pm May 31, 2021

by Sarah McCammon

Biden's budget follows through on a campaign promise to overturn the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding ban on federal funding for most abortions. It's not clear the change will be approved by Congress.

A priest holds a Holy Communion wafer in Washington, D.C.

Vatican Warns U.S. Bishops About Denying Communion To Supporters Of Abortion Rights

6:14pm May 11, 2021

by Sylvia Poggioli

The possible plan could affect President Biden, among other Catholic political figures. The Vatican is calling for U.S. bishops to reach a consensus and says any such move could sow division.

Here's What You Should Know About Biden's New Rules For Fetal Tissue Research

6:15pm April 16, 2021

by Sarah McCammon

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is reversing restrictions on the use of fetal tissue in medical research implemented under former President Trump.

Xavier Becerra, President Biden's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, contended with critics of abortion rights on the first day of his confirmation hearings Tuesday.

'It's a Minefield': Biden's Pick For Health Secretary Faces Abortion Politics

2:32pm February 24, 2021

As California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra fought Trump-era restrictions on reproductive health. If confirmed, he'll navigate an even more difficult legal and political landscape.