Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization

Demonstrators protest about abortion outside the Supreme Court in Washington, June 24, 2022. In the year since, approximately 22 million women, girls and other people of reproductive age now live in states where abortion access is heavily restricted or totally inaccessible.

Health & Safety

A year after Dobbs and the end of Roe v. Wade, there's chaos and confusion

6:00am June 24, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

With states empowered to regulate abortion, doctors say they're trapped by vague laws that criminalize care. And ongoing court battles make it hard to keep up with the procedure's legal status.

The Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion on June 24, 2022.

New abortion laws changed their lives. 8 very personal stories

5:00am June 23, 2023

by NPR Staff

After the Supreme Court ruled a year ago to overturn Roe v. Wade, more than a dozen states acted to outlaw abortion or severely restrict access. Here's how those laws affected the lives of residents.

Anna drove 40 minutes from her home to pick up free diapers from Tere Haring at Allied Women's Center in San Antonio. Anna, who is pregnant with her seventh child, says she did consider abortion: "All I could think about — like, I need an abortion because there's no way I can deal with everything going on right now and taking care of all the boys by myself and having another baby."

They tried and failed to get an abortion. Texas family grapples with what it'll mean

4:48pm June 22, 2023

by Katia Riddle

Anna and Tony have six kids and are expecting a seventh. They couldn't afford to travel to where abortion is legal. With few places to turn to for help, they're worried about their family's future.

Queue Listen Now

Abortion access in the U.S., 2013 vs. 2023: The number of Americans who live more than 200 miles from a clinic or hospital that provides abortion dramatically grew in the past decade.

Health & Safety

How many miles do you have to travel to get abortion care? One professor maps it

5:26pm June 21, 2023

An economics professor at Middlebury College and her undergrad research assistants have been tracking access to abortion care since 2009. These maps show the dramatic changes in the past decade.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray discusses efforts to protect reproductive rights during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in August 2022. Murray has re-introduced legislation that would require health insurers to cover over-the-counter birth control if the FDA approves it.

With growing abortion restrictions, Democrats push for over-the-counter birth control

8:18am May 22, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

With abortion increasingly restricted in many states, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), hopes to persuade Republicans to back insurance coverage for over-the-counter birth control.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, speaks near the Texas Capitol in Austin during an event to announce that her group is suing the state on behalf of five women and two doctors.

5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger

4:34pm March 07, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

The lawsuit filed on behalf of five patients who said their lives were put at risk and two physicians asks a state judge to clarify exceptions for medical emergencies under Texas law.

A recovery room sits empty at Alamo Women's Reproductive Services, in San Antonio, Texas. The clinic closed its doors following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Health & Safety

66 clinics stopped providing abortions in the 100 days since Roe fell

12:01am October 06, 2022

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

A new report assessed the impact of laws in the 15 states that have banned or heavily restricted abortion since June 24.

Protesters hold signs as they march in opposition to the anti-abortion law S.B. 8 outside the Texas state capitol on May 29, 2021 in Austin.

Poll: One year after SB 8, Texans express strong support for abortion rights

4:45pm September 01, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

One year after a restrictive abortion law took effect, a poll shows a majority of Texans surveyed say they support abortion access in most or all cases. Many say the issue will motivate them to vote.

A scanned photo of Elaine when she was 10 years old.

For one rape survivor, new abortion bans bring back old, painful memories

4:14pm August 26, 2022

The story of a young rape victim in Ohio who had to travel out of state for an abortion this summer is recalling painful memories for an older generation.

Volunteer clinic escorts shield a patient from anti-abortion activists outside the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, last month. Clinics in states like Illinois, which has less restrictive laws, have been reporting an influx of patients fro

Even before the Dobbs ruling, more Americans were traveling for abortions

3:59pm July 21, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

A report from the Guttmacher Institute finds that state abortion restrictions do not necessarily correlate to a lower abortion rate, as more patients travel out of state.