Commentary

In a narrow victory for abortion rights, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana anti-abortion law in June Medical Services v. Russo on Monday. The Louisiana law would have required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic, which would have effectively eliminated all clinics in the state but one. In striking it down, the Court uphold the precedent it set back in 2016, when it declared a nearly identical Texas law unconstitutional. The ruling will prevent two of Louisiana’s three remaining abortion clinics from being shuttered, protecting abortion access for the nearly 1 million women of reproductive age. Read More »

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday to strike down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law in June Medical Services v. Russo is a major win for reproductive rights in the United States. If the law had been upheld, it would have severely diminished access to abortion services in Louisiana and potentially other states. It’s a welcome victory for reproductive health and equitable access to reproductive services, but the battle is far from over, and many other threats remain, especially for women of color. Read More »

As COVID-19 grips developing countries, the number of new cases per day is higher than ever, and the total caseload is approaching 5 million. If the virus is to be defeated, U.S. global leadership is indispensable. But the U.S. is retreating from it, threatening to reconsider its funding and participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), and skipping a high-level meeting of the European Union and other U.S. allies to secure funding for the global fight against the pandemic. Read More »

The Trump administration and its political allies may be letting up on COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s still full speed ahead when it comes to their attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights. They’re using every means at their disposal — legislative, regulatory, budgetary — to curb access to reproductive health services.  Read More »

The Trump administration and its political allies may be letting up on COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s still full speed ahead when it comes to their attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights. They’re using every means at their disposal — legislative, regulatory, budgetary — to curb access to reproductive health services.  Read More »

President Trump’s decision to halt aid to the World Health Organization (WHO), if it is not overturned soon, will live in infamy. In late April, while the president was floating the absurd notion that injecting disinfectant might help fight the coronavirus, over 1,000 organizations and individuals signed a letter asking the White House to restore aid to the WHO, calling it “the only organization with the technical capacity and global mandate to support the public health response of all countries during this critical time.” That is particularly true in Africa. Read More »

There is nothing like a pandemic to illustrate what the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once described as the “fierce urgency of now.” The battle against COVID-19 is far from over—more missteps may come, and resurgences might occur. But at least for now, stay-at-home orders, social distancing requirements and other emergency measures appear to be “flattening the curve” in the U.S. and other hard-hit countries. It proves that collective, effective action in the face of a common enemy is possible, so long as the threat is imminent, evident and lethal. That raises a question about other global challenges, including climate change, that may be less immediate, but no less important. What will it take to spur effective action on them? Read More »

From Ohio to Texas, abortion opponents are not wasting any time in taking political advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last weekend, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost ordered health care facilities in the state to stop providing what he deemed as “non-essential” abortions. His action, unfortunately, is part of a larger national campaign that needs to be exposed for what it is: a cynical political ploy being led by anti-choice advocates who have urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ban abortions. Read More »

I spent most of my career as a Foreign Service officer in Africa, and I served as deputy to the commander for civil military engagement at the U.S. Africa Command during the Ebola crisis of 2014. And now I fear what the novel coronavirus could mean for the health and prosperity of virtually every nation in Africa. On Monday, the World Health Organization reported that the number of confirmed cases had surged to 126 in Egypt, 48 in Algeria, and 51 in South Africa, where President Cyril Ramaphosa just declared a “national emergency.” The same day, Benin, Somalia, Liberia and Tanzania reported their first cases, bringing to 27 the total number of African countries reporting cases. Read More »

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo, and the stakes could not be higher for reproductive rights.

It ought to be a forgone conclusion. The Louisiana law at issue is virtually the same as a Texas law that was struck down by the Supreme Court in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt four years ago. But since then, Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have joined the Court and solidified a conservative majority. Read More »