Tag Archives: National Abortion Federation

Motorist ‘Tried to Murder’ Abortion Rights Advocates at Iowa Protest, Witnesses Say

Although one witness said the driver went “out of his way” to hit pro-choice protestors in the street, Cedar Rapids police declined to make an arrest.

By Kenny Stancil  Published 6-25-2022 by Common Dreams

A driver is seen running into abortion rights defenders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 24, 2022. (Photo: Lyz Lenz/Twitter)

An unidentified male motorist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa intentionally rammed into several women on Friday night as abortion rights defenders peacefully protested the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The driver of a Ford truck maneuvered around multiple cars at a red light and drove through the tail end of a group of demonstrators who were crossing a street downtown, running over one woman’s ankle and sending her to the hospital, witnesses told HuffPost. Continue reading

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Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule Forces Planned Parenthood to Withdraw From Title X Funding, Threatening Healthcare of 1.5 Million Women

“This is about control. Period. We will resist.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-19-2019

Reproductive rights groups on Monday condemned the Trump administration’s Title X rule, which bans health clinics from counseling patients on abortion care. (Photo: Mikasi/cc/flickr)

Reproductive rights advocates slammed the Trump administration on Monday after Planned Parenthood announced that the White House had forced it to decline funding used to provide healthcare to more than a million low-income women.

The organization said it was withdrawing from Title X funding, citing the Trump administration’s “domestic gag rule,” which prohibits health centers receiving the funds from counseling patients about where and how to obtain abortion care. Continue reading

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New Data Reveals ‘Alarming Escalation’ of Threats Towards Abortion Facilities

“Anti-choice individuals and groups have been emboldened by the rhetoric of President Trump, Vice President Pence, and other elected officials.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-24-2019

“It is time for the demonizing of abortion providers and their patients to end,” said The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, interim president and CEO of NAF. (Photo: ACLU)

As reproductive rights face continued attacks on the state and federal levels, just-released data reveals an “alarming escalation” in violence and harassment aimed at abortion providers and those seeking their services.

The statistics (pdf), reflecting incidents in 2018, were released Friday by the National Abortion Federation (NAF). Continue reading

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‘Horrific Attack on Women’s Health’: Trump-Pence Regime Blasted for New Domestic Gag Rule

Final draft of changes to federal family planning program would unleash devastating consequences, say healthcare advocates

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-22-2019

Demostrators in Chicago protest against Trump’s expected “gag rule” on May 24, 2018. (Photo: Charles Edward Miller/flickr/cc)

Reproductive rights advocates sounded the alarm Friday after the Trump administration released a final draft of a rule critics have called an attack on women’s rights and dubbed a “domestic gag rule.”

The implications of the restrictive changes to Title X—on which over 4 million people rely—”are staggering,” said Dr. Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, adding that the move amounted to “an attack on poor women and people of color.” Continue reading

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The ‘Shameful’ Answer to #WheresMitch? Not Ending Shutdown, But Voting on Extremist Anti-Choice Bill

“If Senator McConnell is able to push through an anti-abortion bill to score political points, he surely should be able to schedule a vote on the House of Representatives’ bills to reopen the government.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-17-2019

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to hold a vote in recent weeks on bills that would reopen the government, but on Thursday called a vote on a extreme anti-choice bill. Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr

Freshman members of Congress and others who have been demanding to know the whereabouts of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in recent days got their answer on Thursday, as McConnell held a Senate vote not on whether to reopen the government, but on a bill that would restrict abortion rights for low-income women.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S.109) would have permanently restricted federal funds from going to abortion care, codifying the Hyde Amendment so the Senate doesn’t have to pass it—as it has since 1976—in annual appropriations bills.The legislation would have also banned abortion care in federally funded medical facilities and barred healthcare plans subsidized under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from covering abortions. Continue reading

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