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The Republican-majority U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to uphold a Trump administration policy banning abortion care and counseling for veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Last year, the Trump administration overturned a Biden-era policy that made abortion procedures and counseling in cases of rape, incest or a medical emergency available at VA facilities.

Elsewhere in Congress, Democratic U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Cory Booker of New Jersey announced a legislative package called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. First introduced in 2020, this version focuses on parents of color and includes proposals to invest in the perinatal workforce, telehealth, insurance coverage and data collection.

Virginia could soon see similar state legislation become law, as Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign a series of bills to improve maternal health outcomes. Other states expanding reproductive health access include Wisconsin, which is the second-to-last state to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum women to a year, and Illinois and Washington, which are trying to ensure abortion access for low-income and uninsured patients.

States with already strict abortion bans continue to pass and advance new restrictions, paving the way for other states. South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden just signed laws that clarify when pregnancy termination constitutes an abortion and make it illegal to advertise abortion pills. In states with abortion rights, like Kansas and Ohio, Republican lawmakers continue to try and regulate information related to abortion.

In Kansas, where abortion is allowed up to 22 weeks gestation, the Republican-majority legislature earlier this month passed three bills to increase regulation for abortion providers and simultaneously protect anti-abortion pregnancy centers from regulation. These new laws, which have been sent to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk, could affect an ongoing lawsuit challenging the state’s informed consent law around abortion if enacted.

Georgia Woman Charged With Murder After Attempted Abortion

Our reproductive rights reporting team has been tracking these bills closely this year. Depending on the partisan makeup of a state’s legislature and other state government officials, some bills have a better chance of passing and becoming law than others.

House Bill 5408: The House advanced........

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