Plus, the mifepristone legal battle intensifies and abortion care returns to Missouri.
Each week, Rewire News Group editors scour headlines nationwide—from lawsuits over abortion access to LGBTQ+ rights—to bring you the most urgent news in reproductive justice. Here’s what you need to know from the past week’s biggest stories.
Platner’s Replacement Has Anti-Abortion Past; Collins Criticized for Role in Overturning Roe
Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson’s prior anti-abortion views may hurt his quest to edge out Sen. Susan Collins this fall. Jackson, a former state senator, indicated in a 2010 survey that abortion should never be legal. He has since recanted in the New York Times, and he backed a 2023 state law allowing abortion throughout pregnancy. Planned Parenthood Maine gave Jackson a 100% rating, but the organization hasn’t endorsed him as it did Graham Platner, whose failed bid led to Jackson’s run.
Virginia judge rebukes FDA over mifepristone restrictions
A federal judge in Virginia ruled last week that the FDA’s 2023 restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone are “unlawful.” The decision, which ordered the agency to review its prescribing policies for the medication, is part of a ballooning legal battle. In October, a Hawai’i judge found the FDA’s rules arbitrary and capricious. And three other lawsuits seek to severely restrict or revoke the drug’s approval. Separately, the FDA’s highly-criticized “review” of the drug’s safety profile is currently underway.
Southwest Missouri sees abortion care for first time in two decades
Abortion care resumed in southwest Missouri this week, nearly 21 years after the area’s only clinic closed. On Monday, Planned Parenthood in Springfield began providing medication abortions after a June court decision struck down multiple state abortion regulations. Missourians voted to constitutionally protect abortion in November 2024, but as RNG explained last year, a web of burdensome requirements and anti-abortion statutes had effectively suppressed access in much of the state.
This news roundup is adapted from our newsletter, Rewire Weekly. Sign up here to get the latest reproductive rights news, expert analysis, and a peek into the RNG newsroom—fresh to your inbox.
Cam Oakes
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