Childbirth, contraception and abortion 5
This is a continuation of the topic Childbirth, contraception and abortion 4.
Talk Pro and Con
Join LibraryThing to post.
1margd
Court restricts abortion access across the US by blocking the mailing of mifepristone
The Associated Press | May 1, 2026
"... A panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is requiring that the abortion pill {mifepristone} be distributed only in-person at clinics.
Since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed enforcement of abortion bans, prescriptions by mail has become a major way that abortions are provided — including to states where bans are in place. The decision sets up a likely appeal to the Supreme Court.
... FDA officials under President Donald Trump have repeatedly stated the agency is conducting a new review of mifepristone's safety, at the direction of the president.
The judges noted in their ruling that FDA "could not say when that review might be complete and admitted it was still collecting data."
... Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. It is typically used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.
... After Friday's ruling, Danco Laboratories, one of the makers of mifepristone, asked the 5th Circuit to delay its stay by one week. The company asked for time to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
The conservative-majority high court overturned abortion as a nationwide right in 2022 but unanimously preserved access to mifepristone two years later.
That 2024 decision sidestepped the core issues, however, by ruling that the anti-abortion doctors behind the case didn't have legal standing to sue. ..."
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/01/nx-s1-5808328/court-restricts-abortion-access-mai...
The Associated Press | May 1, 2026
"... A panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is requiring that the abortion pill {mifepristone} be distributed only in-person at clinics.
Since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed enforcement of abortion bans, prescriptions by mail has become a major way that abortions are provided — including to states where bans are in place. The decision sets up a likely appeal to the Supreme Court.
... FDA officials under President Donald Trump have repeatedly stated the agency is conducting a new review of mifepristone's safety, at the direction of the president.
The judges noted in their ruling that FDA "could not say when that review might be complete and admitted it was still collecting data."
... Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. It is typically used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.
... After Friday's ruling, Danco Laboratories, one of the makers of mifepristone, asked the 5th Circuit to delay its stay by one week. The company asked for time to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
The conservative-majority high court overturned abortion as a nationwide right in 2022 but unanimously preserved access to mifepristone two years later.
That 2024 decision sidestepped the core issues, however, by ruling that the anti-abortion doctors behind the case didn't have legal standing to sue. ..."
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/01/nx-s1-5808328/court-restricts-abortion-access-mai...
2margd
Congressman Brandon Gill asked advocate Jessica Waters "What’s your favorite abortion method?" in a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing.
National Organization for Women (NOW) 19h (May 9, 2026, Facebook):
"Trigger warning SA {Sexual Assault?} content.
- My favorite type of abortion is the one that prevents a raped ten-year-old from breaking her pelvis in childbirth.
- I also like abortions that keep women from carrying dead fetuses for weeks on end, which is what happened to Marlena Stell in Rep. Gill’s home state of Texas.
- My favorite abortions are the kind that stop women from going septic, or prevent 28-year-olds from losing both of their fallopian tubes.
- Another favorite? The abortion that means a Texas 21-year-old won’t be forced to carry a fetus developing without a head.
- I like the abortion that means a pregnant mother of five with cervical cancer doesn’t have to beg a hospital panel for chemotherapy.
- I like the abortion that doesn’t force a woman to travel far from home when faced with a fatal fetal abnormality.
- I really like the abortion that stops patients from having to plead for help in videos made in hospital parking lots.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women to live. Maybe if Candi Miller, or Amber Nicole Thurman, or Tierra Walker had access to abortion, they would still be here.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women to go to college.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that let women leave abusive relationships.
- My favorite kinds of abortions are the ones that mean women get to choose their own life path, to decide what is best for them, and to figure out if and when they want to start a family.
-My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow us to meet the person that we’re supposed to be with. My number one favorite abortion is probably the one that allowed me to meet my husband and for us to have our daughter, who is now 15 years old. -Actually, scratch that—my favorite is the abortion that saved my life when my daughter was three, and ensured that she didn't grow up without a mother.
- So Rep. Gill, it is really hard to choose just one favorite type of abortion. There are so many, and they’re all my favorites. Does that answer your question?"
- Jessica Valenti
National Organization for Women (NOW) 19h (May 9, 2026, Facebook):
"Trigger warning SA {Sexual Assault?} content.
- My favorite type of abortion is the one that prevents a raped ten-year-old from breaking her pelvis in childbirth.
- I also like abortions that keep women from carrying dead fetuses for weeks on end, which is what happened to Marlena Stell in Rep. Gill’s home state of Texas.
- My favorite abortions are the kind that stop women from going septic, or prevent 28-year-olds from losing both of their fallopian tubes.
- Another favorite? The abortion that means a Texas 21-year-old won’t be forced to carry a fetus developing without a head.
- I like the abortion that means a pregnant mother of five with cervical cancer doesn’t have to beg a hospital panel for chemotherapy.
- I like the abortion that doesn’t force a woman to travel far from home when faced with a fatal fetal abnormality.
- I really like the abortion that stops patients from having to plead for help in videos made in hospital parking lots.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women to live. Maybe if Candi Miller, or Amber Nicole Thurman, or Tierra Walker had access to abortion, they would still be here.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women to go to college.
- My favorite types of abortions are the ones that let women leave abusive relationships.
- My favorite kinds of abortions are the ones that mean women get to choose their own life path, to decide what is best for them, and to figure out if and when they want to start a family.
-My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow us to meet the person that we’re supposed to be with. My number one favorite abortion is probably the one that allowed me to meet my husband and for us to have our daughter, who is now 15 years old. -Actually, scratch that—my favorite is the abortion that saved my life when my daughter was three, and ensured that she didn't grow up without a mother.
- So Rep. Gill, it is really hard to choose just one favorite type of abortion. There are so many, and they’re all my favorites. Does that answer your question?"
- Jessica Valenti
4margd
>3 alco261: I'll ask -- sounds like these were Waters' thoughts after the hearing(?). Kind of jarring to read in terms of "favourites", but she certainly gets at the myriad tough situations that can precede a choice to terminate a pregnancy.
5margd
Alison Gemmill et al. 2025. US Abortion Bans and Infant Mortality. JAMA. 2025 Apr 15;333(15):1315-1323. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2024.28517
Abstract
... Exposure: Complete or 6-week abortion bans ...
Results: The analysis found higher than expected infant mortality in states after adoption of abortion bans (observed vs expected, 6.26 vs 5.93 per 1000 live births; absolute increase, 0.33 ... ; relative increase, 5.60% ... ). This resulted in an estimated 478 excess infant deaths in the 14 states with bans during the months affected by bans. The estimated increases were higher among non-Hispanic Black infants compared with other racial and ethnic groups, with 11.81 observed vs 10.66 expected infant deaths per 1000 live births, an absolute increase of 1.15 ... and relative increase of 10.98% ... The observed infant mortality rate due to congenital anomalies was 1.37 vs 1.24 expected (absolute increase, 0.13 ...; relative increase, 10.87% ...), while the rate not due to congenital anomalies was 4.89 observed vs 4.69 expected (absolute increase, 0.20 ...; relative increase, 4.23% ...). Texas had a dominant influence on the overall results and there were larger increases in southern vs nonsouthern states.
Conclusions: US states that adopted abortion bans had higher than expected infant mortality after the bans took effect. The estimated relative increases in infant mortality were larger for deaths with congenital causes and among groups that had higher than average infant mortality rates at baseline, including Black infants and those in southern states.
Abstract
... Exposure: Complete or 6-week abortion bans ...
Results: The analysis found higher than expected infant mortality in states after adoption of abortion bans (observed vs expected, 6.26 vs 5.93 per 1000 live births; absolute increase, 0.33 ... ; relative increase, 5.60% ... ). This resulted in an estimated 478 excess infant deaths in the 14 states with bans during the months affected by bans. The estimated increases were higher among non-Hispanic Black infants compared with other racial and ethnic groups, with 11.81 observed vs 10.66 expected infant deaths per 1000 live births, an absolute increase of 1.15 ... and relative increase of 10.98% ... The observed infant mortality rate due to congenital anomalies was 1.37 vs 1.24 expected (absolute increase, 0.13 ...; relative increase, 10.87% ...), while the rate not due to congenital anomalies was 4.89 observed vs 4.69 expected (absolute increase, 0.20 ...; relative increase, 4.23% ...). Texas had a dominant influence on the overall results and there were larger increases in southern vs nonsouthern states.
Conclusions: US states that adopted abortion bans had higher than expected infant mortality after the bans took effect. The estimated relative increases in infant mortality were larger for deaths with congenital causes and among groups that had higher than average infant mortality rates at baseline, including Black infants and those in southern states.
6alco261
>4 margd: Given the kind of stain on the bedsheet of life Mr. Gill is I hope these were some of her responses.
7krazy4katz
By the way, abortion bans at 6 weeks were, I believe, predicated on the supposed existence of a fetal heart beat. Actually, although the cells are there that will be part of the heart, and they are beating randomly, they have not yet formed a heart. So the 6-week premise is totally fake. As I am sure all of you know, many women/girls are not even aware they are pregnant at that time. I don't know how long we will have to put up with this tragic restriction on women's rights. I thought we had succeeded and now we are back to the beginning.
8margd
N.C. Republicans Introduce Bill Allowing Men to Kill Women For Using IUDs
Troy Matthews May 25, 2026 9:18 AM EDT
"... The bill calls intent to receive or seek out any procedure that could harm a fertilized egg—which could include abortion, IVF, or even using an IUD birth control implant, since an IUD prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus—attempted murder, while actually terminating the egg would be classified as first degree murder, and could result in the death penalty.
The bill does not offer any protection for women who undergo a procedure to remove an ectopic pregnancy ...
The bill also opens to the door for individuals to claim defense of a human life by killing or harming women who have terminated, or declare their intent to terminate a fertilized egg, in the same manner that killing someone who was in the act of committing murder could be deemed justifiable ... “Any person has the right to defend his or her own life or the life of another person, even by the use of deadly force if necessary, from willful destruction by another person.”
Such a law would give a green light to abusive partners to murder women and claim it to be justifiable under this law for something as simple as using an IUD.
... The bill has almost zero chance of actually passing, but North Carolina now joins Idaho, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, and other states with Republican legislatures that have advocated for extremist anti-abortion laws that not only restrict abortion access, but also target women with violence simply for seeking out basic reproductive healthcare ...
https://meidasnews.com/news/n-c-republicans-introduce-bill-allowing-men-to-kill-...
------------------------------------------------
https://www.scribd.com/document/1043062472/NC-Abortion-IUD-Bill
Troy Matthews May 25, 2026 9:18 AM EDT
"... The bill calls intent to receive or seek out any procedure that could harm a fertilized egg—which could include abortion, IVF, or even using an IUD birth control implant, since an IUD prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus—attempted murder, while actually terminating the egg would be classified as first degree murder, and could result in the death penalty.
The bill does not offer any protection for women who undergo a procedure to remove an ectopic pregnancy ...
The bill also opens to the door for individuals to claim defense of a human life by killing or harming women who have terminated, or declare their intent to terminate a fertilized egg, in the same manner that killing someone who was in the act of committing murder could be deemed justifiable ... “Any person has the right to defend his or her own life or the life of another person, even by the use of deadly force if necessary, from willful destruction by another person.”
Such a law would give a green light to abusive partners to murder women and claim it to be justifiable under this law for something as simple as using an IUD.
... The bill has almost zero chance of actually passing, but North Carolina now joins Idaho, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, and other states with Republican legislatures that have advocated for extremist anti-abortion laws that not only restrict abortion access, but also target women with violence simply for seeking out basic reproductive healthcare ...
https://meidasnews.com/news/n-c-republicans-introduce-bill-allowing-men-to-kill-...
------------------------------------------------
https://www.scribd.com/document/1043062472/NC-Abortion-IUD-Bill
10margd
Plamen Akaliyski et al. 2026. Demographic processes constrain global growth in gender egalitarianism. PNAS Nexus, Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2026, pgag133, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag133 https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/5/pgag133/8691348 Open Access
Abstract
"... we examine how population-level support for gender equality in the public sphere changed between 1995 and 2022, both globally and across different cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Our results indicate that, although public support for gender equality increased in most countries, it stagnated in the global population as a whole. Moreover, there has been a pronounced and increasing divergence across countries, particularly between Western and non-Western societies. We attribute part of the stagnation in global public support for gender equality to demographically induced compositional effects. Namely, we find that (i) changes in the national composition of the global population have constrained increases in global public support for gender equality; (ii) fertility is higher in countries where average support for gender equality is lower; and (iii) fertility is higher and occurs earlier among women with less egalitarian views. Given that parents typically transmit their gender-related views to their children, higher and earlier fertility among persons with less egalitarian views has likely constrained global growth in gender egalitarianism. ..."
Abstract
"... we examine how population-level support for gender equality in the public sphere changed between 1995 and 2022, both globally and across different cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Our results indicate that, although public support for gender equality increased in most countries, it stagnated in the global population as a whole. Moreover, there has been a pronounced and increasing divergence across countries, particularly between Western and non-Western societies. We attribute part of the stagnation in global public support for gender equality to demographically induced compositional effects. Namely, we find that (i) changes in the national composition of the global population have constrained increases in global public support for gender equality; (ii) fertility is higher in countries where average support for gender equality is lower; and (iii) fertility is higher and occurs earlier among women with less egalitarian views. Given that parents typically transmit their gender-related views to their children, higher and earlier fertility among persons with less egalitarian views has likely constrained global growth in gender egalitarianism. ..."
11margd
A dear one survived postpatrum hemorrhage. MD missed some of the placenta/afterbirth, and so she bled until second MD caught it.
A new blueprint offers definitive solutions to end one of childbirth's deadliest complications
WHO | 12 June 2026
"A landmark Lancet Series definitively estimates that excessive bleeding after birth affects 27 million women, kills nearly 43 000 women every year and costs countries, health systems and families globally over US$ 10 billion each year.
The Series, with lead researchers from HRP (the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction), the World Health Organization (WHO), and University of Oxford amplifies a fundamental shift in how postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) ..."
https://www.who.int/news/item/12-06-2026-a-new-blueprint-offers-definitive-solut...
------------------------------------------
SERIES. Postpartum haemorrhage
The Lancet: June 12, 2026
Executive summary
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, occurring in an estimated 27 million women globally every year and causing about 43 000 maternal deaths. Common causes of PPH are uterine atony, trauma, retained placenta, and coagulopathy, with risk heightened by factors including caesarean birth, anaemia, and inadequate antenatal care. As outlined in this three-paper Series, prevention centres on addressing modifiable risk factors for PPH, reducing unnecessary caesarean sections, and administration of uterotonic prophylaxis. Early diagnosis by objective quantification of blood loss and monitoring of vital signs is crucial. Swift treatment following a standardised bundle, and avoiding delays along the management pathway, saves lives...
https://www.who.int/news/item/12-06-2026-a-new-blueprint-offers-definitive-solut...
A new blueprint offers definitive solutions to end one of childbirth's deadliest complications
WHO | 12 June 2026
"A landmark Lancet Series definitively estimates that excessive bleeding after birth affects 27 million women, kills nearly 43 000 women every year and costs countries, health systems and families globally over US$ 10 billion each year.
The Series, with lead researchers from HRP (the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction), the World Health Organization (WHO), and University of Oxford amplifies a fundamental shift in how postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) ..."
https://www.who.int/news/item/12-06-2026-a-new-blueprint-offers-definitive-solut...
------------------------------------------
SERIES. Postpartum haemorrhage
The Lancet: June 12, 2026
Executive summary
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, occurring in an estimated 27 million women globally every year and causing about 43 000 maternal deaths. Common causes of PPH are uterine atony, trauma, retained placenta, and coagulopathy, with risk heightened by factors including caesarean birth, anaemia, and inadequate antenatal care. As outlined in this three-paper Series, prevention centres on addressing modifiable risk factors for PPH, reducing unnecessary caesarean sections, and administration of uterotonic prophylaxis. Early diagnosis by objective quantification of blood loss and monitoring of vital signs is crucial. Swift treatment following a standardised bundle, and avoiding delays along the management pathway, saves lives...
https://www.who.int/news/item/12-06-2026-a-new-blueprint-offers-definitive-solut...
