We’re excited to bring you U.S. Repro Watch, your go-to source for the latest updates on reproductive health and rights in the U.S. This week, eight new plaintiffs were added to our lawsuit, Zurawski v. State of Texas, a Montana District Court judge blocks several unconstitutional abortion restrictions, and states across the U.S. continue to push forth bans on abortion.Â
The Center originally filed the lawsuit, Zurawski v. State of Texas, in March on behalf of five women denied abortion care and two doctors who were unable to provide the care their patients needed. Now, more women who were denied abortion care despite facing dangerous pregnancy complications have come forward to tell their stories, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 15. Read the new plaintiffs’ stories here.Â
There were several developments on abortion in Montana alone.Â
The Montana Supreme Court struck down a law that limited abortion access by preventing certain trained healthcare practitioners from providing abortion care. In its May 12 decision, the high court reaffirmed that the state constitution guarantees the right to access abortion from a healthcare provider of one’s choice.Â
A Montana judge blocked several abortion restrictions, including three measures that would have effectively eliminated abortion access for Medicaid patients in the state. During a hearing May 23, the Center and partners argued that the Medicaid restrictions violate the state constitution.Â
Abortion bans passed or are moving quickly in multiple states.
The South Carolina Senate passed a six-week abortion ban on May 23 and it was signed into law yesterday morning. Together with Planned Parenthood, the Center immediately filed a lawsuit on behalf of abortion providers. The lawsuit argues that the ban is unconstitutional under the South Carolina constitution, violating its guarantees to privacy, equal protection and due process.Â
In Nebraska, lawmakers are debating a bill restricting abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and access to gender-affirming care for young people.
 
Did You Know?
 
An alarming new report illustrates how abortion bans have tied the hands of doctors, severely threatening the health and lives of patients. Through 50 testimonials, the report, Care Post-Roe: Documenting cases of poor-quality care since the Dobbs decision, details several instances of patients being sent home after their water broke far too early and told to return when labor started or symptoms of an infection emerged. Other patients were forced to travel long distances to get an abortion while suffering dangerous medical conditions. Patients also faced delays in accessing care unrelated to abortion—in one case, a doctor refused to remove an intrauterine device (IUD) from a pregnant patient because of the potential risks of miscarriage.Â
“These physician accounts of mass chaos and confusion over exactly when doctors can be jailed just for providing their patients the standard-of-care treatment are consistent with what we are hearing. It is why we are suing Texas in Zurawski v. Texas to try to obtain some desperately needed relief in the face of an ongoing health crisis.”
– Marc Hearron, Senior Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights
