The midterm elections are HERE and healthcare is on the ballot. In this pre-election episode of The Situation Womb, the hosts share their voting plans and break down the week’s biggest stories at the intersection of reproductive health and politics.
The episode opens with a rare win in North Carolina, where the Durham County DA dropped charges against a teenage couple who ordered abortion pills and then called 911 when she went into preterm labor. The hosts discuss why criminalizing people in crisis makes everyone less safe. From there, they turn to the news that a federal appeals panel appears poised to let North Carolina require in-person prescribing of mifepristone, and why that matters well beyond one state.
They also look at what stigma and legal barriers are costing us in research, from Gulf War illness and breast cancer prevention to endometriosis and fibroids, all conditions where mifepristone shows promise.
A new KFF study finds that most women of reproductive age in ban states don’t know how to access abortion medication online, and the hosts talk about how groups like Mayday Health are getting creative about reaching them. They also highlight an Ohio organization that is reimagining the crisis pregnancy center model by pairing abortion care with adoption support, mutual aid, and free resources under one roof.
Then, Money that Congress had already appropriated for family planning abroad is being redirected to offset energy costs, with life-and-death consequences. The hosts also discuss reports of denied prenatal care, miscarriages, and stillbirths in ICE detention, and the lack of transparency around them.
Along the way, they cover the confusing ballot language in Missouri, the abortion rights measures in Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia, and why every vote counts.
LINKS
The News & Observer: DA drops charges against NC teen accused of attempted medication abortion
Reuters: US judges lean toward reviving North Carolina abortion pill restrictions
Autonomy News: The Abortion Pill Could Prevent Breast Cancer—But Bans Are Slowing Research
The New York Times: State Dept. to Shift Millions in Contraception Funding to Cover Energy Costs
Rewire News Group: For Immigrant Families, ICE Is Turning Pregnancy and Birth Into a ‘Nightmare’
FOLLOW THE DOCS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Dr Kristin Lyerly (@drkristinlyerly)
Dr Erin Stevens (@erinstevensmdobgyn)
Dr Chris Ford (@doc_4ord)
Join the fight at committeetoprotect.org.
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