Developments in Abortion, Autonomy, and Access:
This week’s Digest goes through legal developments in state ballot measures, access to medication abortion, minors’ ability to access care, and a potential total abortion ban in South Carolina. We also discuss trends in abortion rates, student activists filling a gap in need for contraception, and how abortion bans impact crime. As always, please read on to the end for the news that you need to know.
We also invite you to read two blog posts published by L4GG this week. The first covers the politics around mifepristone, and the second calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a slate of critical health laws.
Want access to a detailed analysis of the abortion law in every U.S. state and territory? Please view our free Policy Resource Hub for Reproductive Health, an exclusive legal database where we update the state of the law every single day - so you’re always up to speed.
Reproductive Rights and Health Equity News:
This Week’s Must-Read: This week’s Must-Read comes from the Guardian and details a new Report from Pregnancy Justice finding that over 400 pregnant people have been charged with pregnancy-related crimes post-Roe. The majority of these cases involve allegations of substance abuse, and the cases are highly concentrated in the South, where abortion bans are in place in nearly every state. The kinds of charges described in the Report raise concerns about pregnancy surveillance, fetal personhood, and criminalization over care.
Legislation & Litigation:
Overview:
A Nevada court has ruled to allow the state’s parental notification law to go into effect, requiring minors to involve their parents or obtain a court order prior to obtaining care;
Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana have closed their doors after over 40 years, resulting in thousands of residents losing access to cost-effective reproductive healthcare;
After a protracted legal battle, Missouri has settled on ballot summary language for a measure that would reinstate a total abortion ban;
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk transferred the case challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone out of his court and to the Eastern District of Missouri, finding that the state-plaintiffs lacked venue in Texas.
Last week, South Carolina lawmakers heard testimony on a proposed total abortion ban that would be the most severe in the nation if enacted; and
A California doctor is facing criminal charges for mailing abortion medication into Louisiana; the same doctor faces a civil claim out of Texas.
Nevada’s Parental Notification Law Allowed to Stand:
In late September, Nevada District Court Judge Erika Mendoza denied Planned Parenthood’s request to pause the state’s parental notification requirement. The law in question requires either notification to a parent or guardian prior to a minor receiving an abortion, or a court order finding that the minor is sufficiently mature and parental involvement is not in their best interest. The law was passed in 1985, and it has never been enforced; however, following the overturn of Roe, a federal court lifted the injunction blocking it. Planned Parenthood sued, alleging a number of constitutional arguments. In declining to pause the law, Judge Mendoza found that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits. Planned Parenthood has appealed this ruling.
Although the majority of pregnant minors do choose to involve a parent, advocates for reproductive rights argue that laws requiring such involvement create medically unnecessary barriers to minors making decisions about their own care – particularly for individuals who cannot safely involve a parent or guardian. Judicial bypass procedures also create obstacles by requiring a minor to navigate an intimidating and confusing legal process in a short window of time. The logic underlying the judicial bypass system has also been called into question, as it creates a paradox wherein a court that finds that a minor lacks the maturity to choose abortion has effectively decided that the minor possesses the maturity to parent a child.
Planned Parenthood Clinics Close Their Doors and Stop Offering Care:
Planned Parenthood’s two Louisiana clinics have been forced to shut their doors following a federal court ruling allowing the government’s efforts to defund the organization to move forward. The President of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast stated that the decision to close the clinics came about because of “compounding political attacks that have dismantled public health infrastructure, [and] blocked patients from care.” The clinics were in operation for over 40 years. Louisiana is already enforcing a total abortion ban, and federal funding is blocked from going towards abortions. Instead, the services most commonly accessed included “STI testing and treatment, birth control and HIV prevention,” as well as cancer screening and hormone replacement therapy. Thousands of primarily low-income patients will now lose access to cost-effective reproductive healthcare. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is also closing two of Houston’s six clinics.
Clinics operating in states where abortion is legal and protected are also having to make difficult decisions about continuing care. Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin announced that it would stop providing abortions while it attempts to navigate the federal funding landscape. If the federal funding prohibitions stand, Planned Parenthood estimates that it will have to close 200 clinics, the majority of which operate in healthcare deserts.
Missouri Politicians Continue to Fight Over Anti-Abortion Ballot Measure Language:
In Missouri, where lawmakers are attempting to reinstate a total abortion ban via ballot initiative, a Cole County judge has approved summary ballot language. Previously, Judge Daniel Green had twice rejected proposed language that failed to directly inform voters that the measure would repeal the abortion rights constitutional amendment that they passed last year. The summary language now states the following:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
Guarantee women’s medical care for emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages;
Ensure women’s safety during abortions;
Ensure parental consent for minors;
Repeal Article I, section 36, approved in 2024; allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;
and Prohibit sex-change procedures for children?”
Although the summary language now explains that the prior amendment would be repealed, advocates for abortion rights in the state argue that it is still insufficient and fails to fully notify voters of the consequences of a ‘yes’ vote.
The Case Challenging FDA’s Approval of Mifepristone Has Been Transferred to Missouri:
The case challenging FDA’s approval of mifepristone and regulations for its use has been transferred from a Texas court to Missouri. As a reminder, the lawsuit was originally filed in notoriously anti-abortion Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s court in the Northern District of Texas by a group of anti-abortion doctors and organizations. Last year, the Supreme Court dismissed the case for lack of standing. Following that dismissal, Idaho, Missouri and Kansas joined as plaintiffs in an attempt to keep the dispute alive, and Texas, Florida and Louisiana all recently sought to intervene. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration argued that the case should once again be dismissed on the grounds that Missouri, Idaho and Kansas do not have standing in a Texas federal court.
Last week, rather than allow the states to move forward in his court, Judge Kacsmaryk transferred the case to the Eastern District of Missouri, finding that the state-plaintiffs lack proper venue in Texas and cannot piggyback on the original plaintiffs’ venue arguments. His Order was explicit in its disagreement with the Supreme Court’s finding that the original plaintiffs lacked standing, but conceded that the lower court was bound to follow that decision. As Mother Jones points out in its reporting on the case, Judge Kacsmaryk’s selection of the Eastern District of Missouri was likely an intentional move to stack the odds in favor of the anti-abortion plaintiff states. Of the nine judges presiding over the Eastern District of Missouri, 8 are Republicans, and 4 are Trump appointees.
South Carolina Lawmakers Heard Testimony Last Week on a Draconian Total Abortion Ban:
Last Wednesday, the South Carolina legislature heard hours of public testimony on SB 323, the “Unborn Child Protection Act.” If passed, the draconian abortion ban would be the strictest in the nation. It would ban abortion at all gestational ages and eliminate exceptions for rape, incest and lethal fetal anomalies. It would also criminalize aiding and abetting in unlawful abortions and levy severe criminal penalties on the abortion patient themselves. During testimony, South Carolina lawmakers heard impassioned pleas from both sides of the issue. Testimony in favor of the bill tended to rely on religious interpretations of when life begins, with several individuals arguing that the bill does not go far enough because it caps potential prison time at 30 years. Conversely, testimony in opposition focused on framing abortion as a part of reproductive health care and included arguments from advocates for reproductive rights and stories from women who had suffered miscarriages, faced agonizing fetal diagnoses, or encountered medical emergencies during pregnancy. Notably, the Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee–the body hearing testimony–was composed entirely of men. South Carolina’s legislative session will convene again in January 2026.
A California Doctor is Facing Criminal Charges For Mailing Abortion Medication Into Louisiana:
Louisiana has issued an arrest warrant for California doctor Remy Coeytaux as a part of its ongoing crusade to end the flow of abortion pills into the state. California’s shield laws seek to protect clinicians who mail the drugs over state lines, including into ban states like Louisiana. Dr. Coeytaux has allegedly been providing medication abortion under protection of these laws. Texas has also filed a wrongful death suit against Dr. Coeytaux in federal court in connection with a Texas resident’s medication abortion, and both Louisiana and Texas have initiated legal proceedings against a New York shield provider. New York has thus far stood behind its shield laws and refused to cooperate with the cases. Each of these proceedings creates an opportunity for the courts to test and weigh in on the legal strength and enforceability of post-Roe interstate shield laws. The question of how and to what extent one state can enforce its abortion laws across its border is likely to end up before the Supreme Court in the coming years.
Trend and Policy Watch:
The FDA Has Approved a New Generic Version of Mifepristone:
The FDA has quietly approved a new generic version of mifepristone as advocates on both sides of the issue fiercely fight over access to medication abortion. FDA approved the first generic version, manufactured by GenBioPro, in 2019, and GenBioPro is currently a party in the federal lawsuit challenging the agency’s approval of mifepristone and its terms of use. The approval of the new generic version is largely a matter of procedure and does not appear to reflect the administration’s position on access to abortion. Regardless, anti-abortion groups have reacted with outrage, particularly as FDA and HHS recently committed to conducting a review of the safety of mifepristone.
Preliminary Data Shows a Decline in Abortion Numbers:
New data from Guttmacher appears to show a decline in abortion numbers in states without total bans. The research is preliminary, but it does mark the first time post-Roe that abortions appear to be decreasing, rather than slightly increasing. A full breakdown of the research can be found at the accompanying Policy Analysis.
At Some Catholic Universities, Students Rely on Student Networks to Obtain Prohibited Birth Control:
At DePaul University in Chicago – the largest Catholic university in the United States – distribution of any kind of contraception on campus is prohibited. Students in need of resources are turning to student-run ‘womb-service’ operations that provide emergency contraception and condoms just off campus. DePaul is not the only school in the country where student activists are working to fill gaps left by restrictive institutional policies. As the federal administration and certain states work to defund access to cost-effective care and tighten restrictions on contraception, these networks will take on increasing urgency.
Research Shows the Relationship Between Abortion Bans, Poverty and Crime:
Research published in the National Bureau of Economic Research and reported on by the 19th appears to show a link between abortion bans and increases in property crime. The study looked at Texas and controlled for how far individuals now needed to travel in order to access care; it found that property crimes increased the most in areas where the travel distance was greatest. This relationship between crime and abortion bans can likely be explained by the increased financial strain that an unplanned pregnancy places on a family.