Abortion Rights

Abortion rights are under attack. Political extremists and far-right activists are aiming to dismantle abortion rights across the country and deny equitable, safe access to abortion. People nationwide have felt the reverberating effects of political extremism through abortion bans and restrictive abortion laws. To ensure that every woman has the right to critical health care services, it is necessary to restore the fundamental right to abortion and advance new abortion laws that advance access to care.

The Center for American Progress aims to develop policy and solutions to ensure that abortion access is protected by state and federal law and to preserve the fundamental rights and well-being of all Americans. U.S. health care should include abortion care. The United States must proactively address the consequences of abortion bans and build up a care infrastructure that is supportive of abortion rights through policy changes at the state and federal levels. This includes: eliminating the Hyde amendment to ensure that abortion is affordable for all people; reversing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Care Organization decision; codifying the right to abortion into law; ensuring a fair-minded and balanced judiciary; and safeguarding access to medication abortion. The country also needs to simultaneously improve access to comprehensive health care overall, including birth control, maternity care, and all preventive services.

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Activists hold abortion rights signs at a rally in Washington, D.C., April 2023. (Getty/Probal Rashid/LightRocket)

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1 Year Without Roe
Personal Story Photo shows a closeup of a woman's hands, with one clasped around the other

1 Year Without Roe

Doctors, doulas, and nurse practitioners detail their experiences since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and their fears in the rapidly evolving legal landscape of abortion care.


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How the Alabama IVF Ruling Is Connected to Upcoming Supreme Court Cases on Abortion Article
An in vitro fertilization (IVF) patient at the University of Alabama at Birmingham holds up a photo of her daughter.

How the Alabama IVF Ruling Is Connected to Upcoming Supreme Court Cases on Abortion

The conservative judges in the Alabama in vitro fertilization (IVF) ruling, Idaho v. United States, and Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all issued decisions that seemingly supported their personal and political ideology over the rule of law, further fueling the politicization of medicine.

Sabrina Talukder

Why Congress Must Reauthorize a Lifesaving Program To Fight HIV/AIDS Article
U.S. Capitol building

Why Congress Must Reauthorize a Lifesaving Program To Fight HIV/AIDS

Despite extremists’ assertions, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) does not facilitate abortion access but does improve pregnancy and other health outcomes for women and girls, as well as promote strong partnerships and democratic principles in key nations; it is also indispensable to the elimination of HIV/AIDS by 2030.

Sarnata Reynolds

How Ohio’s Special Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State Article
Photo shows several people at polling stations filling out their ballots in a well-lit room

How Ohio’s Special Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State

Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot initiative to codify the legal status of abortion in the state constitution affects both abortion access and maternal mortality rates.

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