The Repro Rundown — Repro Rights in the Courts and on the Ballot

 The Repro Rundown — Repro Rights in the Courts and on the Ballot

• Population Connection Action Fund 

  From:action@populationconnection.org

  To:m.mk@...

  Sat, Sep 12 2026 at 11:00 AM

  September 12, 2026 #Fight4HER's Repro Rundown Hello Mark M, Attacks on reproductive health and rights by the White House, Republicans in Congress, and GOP-controlled state legislatures continue unabated. While they push for more births and antiquated gender norms for women here at home, the Trump-Vance administration has destroyed decades of US leadership on global health and international family planning programs.   Meanwhile, The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals began hearing oral arguments this week in Louisiana v. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We're watching closely because this case could determine the fate of telehealth access to abortion medication nationwide.   During Covid, the Biden administration expanded access to mifepristone by mail so that people could take it in the comfort of their own homes. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the FDA made that rule change permanent.   Despite anti-abortion extremists’ success in gutting the constitutional right to abortion, abortion rates in the US have only increased since the fall of Roe, primarily due to increased use of mifepristone by mail, including in states with abortion bans.   The Fifth Circuit initially sided with Louisiana and 22 other states to restrict mailing of mifepristone across state lines, but the Supreme Court stepped in and reversed the lower court’s decision, causing the case to head back to the Fifth Circuit Court for oral arguments.  Mifepristone by mail is still available nationwide. But this legal battle is a clear example of why we can’t sit out this year’s midterm election on November 3. The people we elect to represent us at the local, state, and federal levels write our laws and confirm the judges and justices who rule our courts.    If you’re looking to take action right away, good news! National Voter Registration Day is on September 15. We must do all we can to defend reproductive freedom this year. Take a moment today to register to vote and make a plan to participate in the upcoming election.   Register to vote today! Thank you for your ongoing support for reproductive rights, freedom, and health care around the world.      The Rundown Abortion Abortion providers in states without gestational limits are seeing more patients seeking abortions later in pregnancy. Rising health care costs, Medicaid cuts, and abortion bans that require patients to travel across state lines have delayed many patients’ access to care, dramatically raising procedural costs. (The Guardian, 8/30/2026)   Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway took $167,000 from a state consumer protection fund to pay for an anti-abortion ad just weeks before Missourians head to the polls to vote on a proposed near-total abortion ban in the state. (KSDK-TV, 8/31/2026)    Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields Festival donated 100% of net proceeds to 10 charities working on reproductive rights, maternal health, gender-based violence, and other women’s empowerment initiatives. Including a matching $10 million donation from Melinda French Gates, the festival raised and gave away $20 million. Abortion rights activist Jessica Valenti attended the festival with her teenage daughter and wrote afterward, “for at least a day, we weren’t just fighting for freedom—we were enjoying it.” (Abortion, Everyday, 9/1/2026)  Mike Mazzei became the Republican candidate in Oklahoma's gubernatorial race on August 25. During a debate with other Republican contenders in April, he expressed support for pressing criminal charges against abortion patients. If he wins the governor’s race in November, as he is expected to do, he will be the first governor to openly condone this extremist position. (Abortion, Everyday, 9/2/2026)   Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who famously said, “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament,” died at age 92 last week. In 1972, she testified before the New York State Legislature against a bill to repeal the state’s 1970 law that granted the right to abortion without restriction up to 24 weeks. The bill passed but was soon overridden by Roe v. Wade. Ms. Steinem remained an activist for reproductive freedom throughout the rest of her life. (CBS News, 9/3/2026)  The Idaho Supreme Court ruled in favor of revised language for a ballot initiative that would repeal Idaho’s draconian abortion ban. Supporters of the initiative, Proposition 1, along with one justice, dissented on the approved language, arguing it excludes key aspects of the ban, such as penalties and prison time for doctors who perform abortions. (Idaho Capital Sun, 9/8/2026)   ProPublica’s new investigative report found that nearly 200 women in the US died from ectopic pregnancies between 2020 and 2025—twice the number of deaths from ectopic pregnancies recorded during the previous six years. While this was a nationwide trend, the increases in states with abortion bans were much more dramatic. (ProPublica, 9/9/2026) Domestic Health Care The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) currently has the highest number of political appointees (which don’t require Senate confirmation) in a federal agency. Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS has hijacked vaccine guidance, canceled research grants, and blocked external communication between the agency and the public. (Politico, 8/28/2026)   Despite Trump’s efforts to be known as the “fertilization president,” Americans are increasingly going abroad for IVF because of high costs for treatment in the US. One couple in Florida spent just $12,000 in Greece for IVF, a huge savings even after travel costs. (KFF Health News, 8/28/2026)  The Trump-Vance administration has been championing hormone therapy for cisgender people dealing with perimenopause, menopause, and low testosterone levels, while working to deny access to these same therapies for trans and gender-diverse people. (The 19th, 9/2/2026)   Hospitals serving low-income Americans risk losing hundreds of billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding if two new proposed Trump-Vance administration rules are finalized. These hospitals have already lost billions due to Medicaid cuts under the GOP’s “Big Ugly Bill.” (Politico, 9/2/2026)   Hospitals are increasingly bearing the brunt of more Americans losing health insurance after the Republican-controlled Congress cut Medicaid funding and refused to renew Affordable Care Act subsidies. Many of these hospitals will have no choice but to reduce the services they provide or close their doors altogether. (TIME, 9/8/2026)  International Reproductive Health A growing number of men in Lesotho are training to become midwives. While midwifery is typically seen as “women’s work,” health authorities in the small southern African country are recruiting male nurses to work toward reducing Lesotho’s high maternal mortality rate. (The Washington Post, 8/30/2026)  Sweden ended its foreign assistance for Liberia on August 31, after nearly two decades of supporting health and development initiatives in the West African nation. As Liberia’s second-largest donor (before the Trump-Vance administration shuttered USAID and Sweden briefly became the country’s largest donor), Sweden’s withdrawal will have dire and immediate consequences. (The Guardian, 8/31/2026)