Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI)

Ohio’s lack of sexual assault examination nurses ‘an impediment to justice,’ advocates say RAINN reports a shortage of certified sexual assault nurse examiners in Ohio, contributing to the state's 13.5% case closure rate compared to 26.5% nationally.

SANE nurses are a crucial component to the justice process, collecting forensic evidence after an assault, testifying in court, and providing trauma-informed care to survivors.

www.cleveland.com/metro/2025/0...

Flock Safety and Texas Sheriff Claimed License Plate Search Was for a Missing Person. It Was an Abortion Investigation. New documents and court records obtained by EFF show that Texas deputies queried Flock Safety's surveillance data in an abortion investigation, contradicting the narrative promoted by the company and ...

Newly obtained court records show that Texas deputies used Flock Safety’s nationwide license plate reader network to investigate a woman’s self-managed abortion, contradicting claims that they were merely conducting a welfare check.

www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

Join RRLI on Monday, November 17 for our upcoming webinar, Radical Inclusion at the DisCo: Repro Health Self-Advocacy!

Learn more and RSVP here: rrli.info/SelfAdvocacy

After Planned Parenthood closure, doctors pioneer new abortion access model in Upper Peninsula MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN/WBUP) — Earlier this year, the Upper Peninsula lost its only in-person access to abortion care when Marquette’s Planned Parenthood clinic closed. Now, what's replacing it might ...

This community-led effort in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overcame significant barriers to restore access to abortion care and is now expanding services to include contraception, HIV prevention, and gender-affirming care.
www.myupnow.com/news/health/...

Update: New Time! Monday, November 3, beginning at 12PT/3ET.

We look forward to learning from @lawmedicinecwru.bsky.social faculty affiliate Prof. @bjessiehill.bsky.social, who will share her wisdom and expertise on reproductive rights at UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event on Monday, Nov. 3rd!

The Trump Administration Is Hiding How Many Pregnant People Are in ICE Detention The evidence indicates ICE is detaining pregnant women at alarming rates, in rapidly deteriorating conditions.

Despite official guidance directing ICE not to detain pregnant, postpartum, or lactating people, recent reports show that the Trump administration is detaining more pregnant women than ever before in increasingly worse conditions. theintercept.com/2025/10/10/i...

Ohio House committees consider bills that could impact abortion medication, access • Ohio Capital Journal Two Ohio bills that may have effects on abortion medication and access were considered in separate Ohio House committees this week.

Two House bills currently under consideration could significantly impact abortion care and broader healthcare access in Ohio. Opponents say both HB 324 and HB 410 ignore Ohio voters, who passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in 2023.
ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/10/h...

In her op-ed, Dr. Tiffany Green emphasizes that abortion access is not just a medical issue but one of autonomy, dignity and justice. She cautions that focusing only on birth outcomes ties a person's worth to their ability to carry a pregnancy.

academyhealth.org/blog/2025-09...

RRLI is excited to announce that our Director, Jessie Hill, will participate in UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments. The webinar will be hosted on Monday, November 3rd at 11:30 am PT (2:30 pm ET).

When Trusted Sources Spread Misinformation: What the MAHA Autism Claims Teach Us - Black Women's Health Imperative Since 1983, our national organization dedicated to health of our nation’s 21 million Black women and girls – physically, emotionally and financially.

Mainstream scientists emphasize there's no proven causal link between the use of Tylenol during pregnancy and autism, warning that overstating such claims may mislead pregnant people and erode public trust.
bwhi.org/2025/09/26/w...

RRLI had a great time tabling at PERIOD Fair 2025 this weekend! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to learn more about reproductive rights and advocacy in Ohio. Special thanks to PERIOD@CWRU for organizing the event, RRLI Director Jessie Hill for speaking, and all of the volunteers!

Rep. Sara Jacobs pushes to make fertility treatment accessible for military families She paid thousands to freeze her eggs, and is working to get IVF procedures covered for troops.

Jacobs has shared her own expensive egg-freezing experience, and calls current options for military families such as paying out of pocket or leaving the military unacceptable and advocates for more affordable family planning options.
www.axios.com/local/san-di...

In a recent report, the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility examines strategies to close the Black maternal-health gap in the U.S., a five-pillar strategy that would tackle racial inequities in healthcare and potentially save an estimated 3,100 maternal lives.
www.mckinsey.com/institute-fo...

The Power of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments A new report analyzes the language and effects of recently adopted amendments protecting reproductive rights and highlights their potential for abortion access and beyond.

A new report from UCLA Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy reveals that while state amendments have created strong legal tools to challenge existing abortion restrictions, the fight to preserve access to abortion care isn't over.
statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Ohio lawmakers introduce anti-abortion bills, despite recent amendment protecting it In 2023, Ohioans voted to guarantee reproductive health care access in the state. Since then, lawmakers in the Statehouse continue to propose laws that advocates say are in conflict with what voters d...

Today on Ideastream, RRLI Staff Attorney Becca Kendis participated in a panel discussing reproductive rights in Ohio as well as ongoing efforts by Republican state legislators to propose new laws aimed at restricting or potentially eliminating abortion access.
www.ideastream.org/show/sound-o...

The Climate Crisis Is Also a Reproductive Justice Crisis In the past several years, we have seen the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events increase. Most recently, the devastating flash floods in

Climate change threatens all three pillars of reproductive justice: the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to raise children in a safe, healthy environment. These challenges disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
tcf.org/content/comm...

Abortion Bans Do Not End Abortion, but Rather Delay and Complicate Necessary Health Care | AJPH | Vol. 115 Issue 10 American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

The research confirms that abortion bans don’t stop abortion; they just make it harder, riskier, and less equitable.

Over a million queer women rely on Medicaid. What happens if they lose it? Lesbian and bisexual women are more likely to be low-income, more likely to be parents and more likely to rely on Medicaid. They could fall through the cracks of Trump’s new tax law.

19thnews.org/2025/07/lgbt...

An overlooked crisis: Women with disabilities and maternal health inequity Black mothers with disabilities face unique challenges during pregnancy, including medical dismissal and higher costs. Advocates call for systemic change to ensure equitable, compassionate care for al...

For women with intersecting marginalized identities, the challenges they face when accessing prenatal, labor and delivery, and postnatal medical care can be deadly due to racial and ableist systemic disparities in the U.S. healthcare system. afro.com/an-overlooke...

Ohio's abortion ban is unconstitutional. Why is the state still fighting for it? The state of Ohio continues to fight for the struck-down six-week abortion ban bill, despite acknowledging that it is unconstitutional.

The state argues that while the abortion ban itself is invalid, some parts of the law should stay. The ACLU counters that the entire law should be struck down, pointing to Issue 1 and past rulings.

www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...

Rhode Island Bars Employers from Menopause Discrimination On June 24, 2025, Rhode Island enacted a law barring employers from discriminating against workers because of their menopause symptoms. The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations ...

The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers experiencing menopause, similar to protections for pregnancy and childbirth.

As Trump Weighs I.V.F., Republicans Back New ‘Natural’ Approach to Infertility

Though scientifically unproven, Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM) has steadily gained support in the past 18 months from Christian conservatives as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health movement as an alternative treatment to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/u...

Last week, the Trump administration told the New York Times that they will destroy $10 million of contraceptives, because they “no longer supply abortifacient birth control”.

The catch? There is no such thing as “abortifacient birth control.”

This is disinformation and must be called out.

all parties agree that the ban is unconstitutional and not at issue in this appeal. Visit our Linktree to learn more about all of RRLI's active cases. linktr.ee/cwrureprolaw

While the State concedes that the ban itself is unconstitutional, it is fighting to preserve certain ancillary provisions of the law like definitions and other measures intended to enforce the ban. It is important to note that restoring these provisions would not revive the 6-week ban itself --

Yesterday, the First District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in our case challenging Ohio’s 6-week abortion ban (Preterm v. Dave Yost). In October 2024, we won a permanent injunction blocking the ban under the new Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment. The State then appealed that decision.

Visit our Linktree to learn more about all of RRLI's active cases: linktr.ee/cwrureprolaw

It is important to note that restoring these provisions would not revive the 6-week ban itself — all parties agree that the ban is unconstitutional and not at issue in this appeal.

While the State concedes that the ban itself is unconstitutional, it is fighting to preserve certain ancillary provisions of the law like definitions and other measures intended to enforce the ban.