Political Wire

Abortion Pill Case Could Wipe Out Access in Blue States

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“The next phase in the abortion wars may come down to one question: Do the rights of red states to enforce bans override the rights of blue states to protect access?” Politico reports.

”Louisiana will argue before a federal appeals court this week that FDA rules allowing telehealth prescription and mail delivery of the drug mifepristone infringe on the state’s right to prohibit abortion within its borders. But should its lawsuit succeed — or one of the others like it filed by Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri or Texas — it would wipe out online and mail access in states where abortion is legal, cutting off millions of residents from a method they increasingly depend on.”

How Abortion Could Shape 2028

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“Abortion is simmering as an issue in the background of this year’s midterm elections. But the new 2028 Democratic primary calendar could put it back toward the top of the list in the next presidential race, six years after the Supreme Court struck down its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling,” Politico reports.

“Reproductive rights are likely to feature heavily in candidates’ voter pitches in South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia.”

More Abortions Later in Pregnancy as Bans Spread in U.S.

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“Providers are seeing more patients in need of abortions later in pregnancy as abortion bans and restrictions proliferate in U.S. states, all while access to insurance falls,” The Guardian reports.

“Those bans and restrictions have also meant that later abortion care access has grown over the past decade in a handful of haven states and cities.”

AOC Announces She’s Freezing Her Eggs

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“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made a public video announcement over the weekend about a private matter: The congresswoman is freezing her eggs,” the Washington Post reports.

“The congresswoman said she was going public with her decision against the backdrop of steps by the Trump administration to curtail abortion access and some forms of reproductive care across the country. It also comes amid speculation that she could seek higher office.”

ABC News: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opens up about decision to freeze her eggs.

GOP Kills Bid to Expand IVF Access in the Military

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“Republicans in Congress have quietly blocked a proposal to expand military health coverage of in vitro fertilization treatment for service members and their families, heeding the calls of anti-abortion groups to limit access to a fertility option that President Trump vowed to make more widely available,” the New York Times reports.

“The move is a shift from previous years, when there was enough bipartisan support for the idea of broadening the availability of IVF for members of the military that it was included in the annual defense bill that passed both the House and Senate.”

The Next Abortion Battle Is Over Kansas’ Highest Court

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“A national fight over state supreme courts is flaring up in Kansas, where voters will decide Tuesday whether to replace the state’s 68-year-old system of appointing justices with direct elections — a change that could shape future rulings on abortion, voting rights and other monumental issues,” the Washington Post reports.

”The fight over the Kansas Supreme Court reflects the growing importance of state courts since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal constitutional right to abortion and put claims of partisan gerrymandering beyond the reach of federal judges.”

Payouts to Trump Allies Continue

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“Two days before Senate lawmakers were scheduled to vote on advancing Todd Blanche’s nomination to serve as attorney general, a million-dollar payout was announced for an anti-abortion activist he has called a victim of government weaponization by the Biden administration,” the New York Times reports.

“The settlement given to Paul Vaughn, who was convicted by a Tennessee jury in 2024 of conspiring to prevent access to an abortion clinic, shows how the goal of a $1.8 billion fund announced in May can continue, despite a public retreat by Mr. Blanche. An already existing avenue for disbursing taxpayer money could allow him to assuage skeptical Republicans while fulfilling President Trump’s desire to pay people he believes were wronged by the Justice Department.”

Trump’s allies broke the law in his name. Now taxpayers are being asked to reimburse them for the consequences.
Taegan

Democratic Voters Are Not Thinking About Abortion

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NOTUS: “These are the most recent examples of how abortion has receded as an issue in 2026 compared to the 2022 and 2024 elections, when it was one of Democrats’ top electoral focuses. In fact, more than three times as many abortion-related ads ran from January to mid-July 2024 — with candidates and organizations spending nearly double on them — as did in the same period of 2026.”

“But Democrats’ focus on abortion rights didn’t deliver wins for the party in 2024 the way it did in 2022. Democrats effectively prevented a red wave in the 2022 midterms by heavily messaging against the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that protected abortion access.”

Planned Parenthood to Target GOP with Midterm Ad Blitz

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“Planned Parenthood is pumping more than $47 million into the midterms as it looks to pick off Republicans who cut off funding to the abortion provider last year,” Politico reports.

”The near-record investment from Planned Parenthood Votes — an independent super PAC affiliated with Planned Parenthood — will fund ads and voter-outreach efforts targeting Republicans across 10 battleground House races in seven states, as well as in Maine and Michigan’s critical Senate contests.”

Planned Parenthood Wins Back Federal Funding

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“Planned Parenthood’s beleaguered network of clinics will regain access to hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding this weekend — the fallout of Republicans’ failure to pass an extension of the one-year defunding provision they approved last year,” Politico reports.

”Starting July 5, clinics around the country can once again bill the federal program for reimbursement after providing non-abortion services, like birth control and screenings for sexually-transmitted infections, to low-income patients. Though other funding threats loom, it’s a lifeline for the struggling organization, which has closed nearly 30 health centers nationwide that collectively served more than 40,000 patients since the defunding provision in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect in July 2025.”

Conservatives Now Push to Prosecute Women for Abortions

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“In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the antiabortion movement has been largely unified around a core idea: Women who get the procedure should be spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the New York Times reports.

“But a growing number of conservative leaders are starting to argue that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies could be to arrest them.”

Pro-Life Lawmaker Faced Crisis from Abortion Ban

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Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), a pro-life Republican, told Tara Palmeri that she nearly died during a pregnancy complication that required an abortion.

Cammack broke down in tears and said she feared she might die while medical professionals debated whether they could legally provide treatment.

Cammack later asked Palmeri not to publish that portion of the interview.

Swing Voters Are Still Mad at Republicans About Abortion

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Sarah Longwell: “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard voters—even swing voters and conservatives—say some version of ‘I’m pro-life, but I believe in a woman’s right to choose.’ Translation: Voters can be personally uncomfortable with abortion and still believe that the state-level bans are a bridge too far.”

“In recent focus groups I’ve conducted, abortion still pops up as an issue. That’s especially true in states with very restrictive abortion bans—including some that have key Senate and gubernatorial races this year, like Iowa and Texas.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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