This week on The Situation Womb, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, Dr. Chris Ford, and Dr. Erin Stevens open with the Cornell case and the response online, and share a reminder for survivors: it was not your fault. Support is available through the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE.
Then it’s on to the news. New data shows more than 12 million women who rely on low-cost or free birth control could lose access if Planned Parenthood funding cuts go through, and clinics have already closed that may never reopen, even if the money returns. At the same time, three GOP members of Congress have introduced the LARC Access Expansion Act, which would fund training and device inventory for IUDs and implants in rural clinics. The hosts are cautiously hopeful, but they also question the timing, five weeks before the midterms, and the sponsors’ votes on the Big Beautiful Bill.
An Ohio House bill would let pharmacists prescribe birth control. About 30 states already allow it, but low awareness, reimbursement problems, and Republican roadblocks in Wisconsin keep it from working the way it should. We also tackle the explosion of birth control disinformation online, including the false claim that hormonal contraception harms future fertility, and how evidence-based providers can push back.
Then there’s the disastrous Senate hearing for FDA nominee Heidi Overton, with non-answers on whether an IUD is an abortion and whether healthcare is a human right, and why even Sen. Josh Hawley’s objections could sink the nomination. In Tennessee, a nonprofit that connects people to out-of-state abortion care is fighting back against the Attorney General’s demands for records, raising First Amendment and patient privacy concerns. And the hosts break down why Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill protecting providers from extradition over abortion and gender-affirming care, and what it could mean for patients.
Plus: advocacy updates, a tailgate for democracy at a Packers game, and what to watch as the midterms approach.
LINKS
Common Dreams: 58% of US Women Who Need Cheap Birth Control Could Lose Access Due to GOP Attacks on Planned Parenthood
Stateline: False birth control claims are proliferating, survey says
The office of Congresswoman Ashley Hinson: Hinson Introduces Bill to Improve Birth Control Access in Rural Iowa
NBC 4i: Ohio bill would let trained pharmacists dispense certain birth-control pills without a prescription
Planned Parenthood Action Fund: Planned Parenthood Action Fund Statement on Heidi Overton’s Confirmation Hearing
POLITICO: Overton skirts senators’ questions on abortion pill
WPLN: As Tennessee AG seeks abortion records, a nonprofit pushes back in court
Abortion Care Tennessee: Support ACT’s defense against the TN Attorney General’s Demand
Mother Jones: Newsom Vetoes Bill That Would Ban Extraditions for Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care
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Dr Kristin Lyerly (@drkristinlyerly)
Dr Erin Stevens (@erinstevensmdobgyn)
Dr Chris Ford (@doc_4ord)
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