Tenth Anniversary of FDA Approval of Mifepristone

Ten years ago today, the FDA approved the use of mifepristone as an alternative for terminating an early pregnancy. Mifepristone, also known as the “abortion pill,” Mifeprex, or RU-486, was first licensed in France in 1988, and has been used safely and effectively by millions of women worldwide. Since its FDA approval, usage in the…

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NAF Calls for Redefinition of What Being Pro-Choice Means: Status Quo Harms Millions of Low-Income Women

Today, I issued the following statement: Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed historic health care reform legislation. And while we agree that the health care system is certainly broken, it is unfortunate that reform continued the discrimination against our country’s most vulnerable women. Health care reform was intended to expand comprehensive health care coverage for…

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“The Abortion Monologues” Opens in Calgary

Following its 2009 premiere at NAF’s Annual Meeting, The Abortion Monologues is set to open today at Mount Royal University in Calgary. In a profile in this week’s Maclean’s, playwright Jane Cawthorne, a former women’s studies teacher who now writes full-time, discusses the show, which presents more than 20 fictional female characters’ experiences with abortion.…

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President Obama Signs Budget, Which Lifts DC Abortion Ban

Today, Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), commended President Obama and Congress for lifting a longstanding ban that prohibits DC from using its locally raised revenue to help low-income women obtain the abortion care they need. “We are pleased that Congress and the President have removed this discriminatory policy, which…

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Letter to the Editor in New York Times

Today’s New York Times published my letter concerning restrictions like the Stupak Amendment in health care reform: To the Editor: Re “False Alarm on Abortion,” by Phillip B. Levine (Op-Ed, Nov. 25): Mr. Levine dismisses talk about the potential impact of the Stupak amendment as an exaggeration of what would change for women. Eighty-seven percent…

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Women Speak out Against Stupak Amendment

Last week, NAF brought a group of patients to Capitol Hill to share their abortion experiences with legislators as part of a DC lobby day to oppose the Stupak Amendment. Each of these women had a different experience with insurance coverage for their abortion care, and they represent the women who could be affected by…

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RNC Ends Insurance Coverage of Abortion for Employees

Late yesterday, Chairman Michael Steele told Republican National Committee (RNC) staff to immediately stop providing RNC employees with insurance coverage for elective abortion care. The coverage, through the insurance carrier Cigna, had been in place since 1991, according to a spokeswoman from the RNC. Steele’s decision came after details of the RNC’s coverage broke in…

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House Assaults Women’s Access to Reproductive Health Care

Yesterday, I released the following statement in response to the Stupak/Pitts Amendment: This weekend, women’s access to reproductive health care was dealt a devastating blow when the House of Representatives passed an extreme anti-abortion amendment to health care reform. It is inexcusable that anti-choice representatives are using this important opportunity to reform our country’s health…

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Wednesday’s Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to…

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