Abortion rights

Laphonza Butler, the political organization's third president, will be the first Black woman and first mother to lead the group. She is a former senior adviser to Kamala Harris and Airbnb executive.

A new law in Texas makes it illegal to have an abortion after six weeks, as well as to help anyone have an abortion. Activists are spamming a website set up to report people for violating the law.

Doctors are using conscientious objection to turn down patients. Religious anti-abortion clinics are springing up. Advocates say abortion rights are under threat again in Romania.

Legislatures across the country have passed a record 90 abortion restrictions and bans in 2021. Anti-abortion-rights activists hope a conservative Supreme Court will uphold those laws.

The Comstock Act, which passed in 1873, virtually outlawed contraception. In The Man Who Hated Women, author Amy Sohn writes about the man behind the law — and the women prosecuted under it.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voted to move forward with a process that could call into question the eligibility of politicians like President Joe Biden to receive Communion.

Biden's budget follows through on a campaign promise to overturn the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding ban on federal funding for most abortions. It's not clear the change will be approved by Congress.

The possible plan could affect President Biden, among other Catholic political figures. The Vatican is calling for U.S. bishops to reach a consensus and says any such move could sow division.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is reversing restrictions on the use of fetal tissue in medical research implemented under former President Trump.

As California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra fought Trump-era restrictions on reproductive health. If confirmed, he'll navigate an even more difficult legal and political landscape.

President Biden is only the nation's second Catholic president, but his position on abortion rights is at odds with the church.

In a move requested by abortion rights advocates, Biden is preparing to overturn the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits U.S. aid to groups that provide or refer for abortion in other countries.