
Roe's 50th Year Undid Its Promise
January 19, 2023
January 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that codified the right to an abortion. But this year on January 22nd, we鈥檒l largely remember this anniversary as the one that wasn鈥檛. For 49 years, Roe helped to allow people who could become pregnant decide what was best for them and their families, but on June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health. Since then, bans on abortion have taken effect in 13 states, and courts have blocked abortion bans in 9 others, according to the New York Times abortion ban tracker, though this is constantly changing.
On this anniversary episode, we are going to look at the reality that people are facing in a post-Roe America, both those seeking care and those providing it. Without Roe, a key component of reproductive care has become illegal or restricted for more than 20 million people, throwing many into painful and life-threatening situations. We are joined by Community Organizer, Kaitlyn Joshua, who experienced firsthand how new restrictions on abortion endanger the lives and well-being of pregnant people, and Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, an OB-GYN, reproductive health educator, author, and Executive Director of Mayday Health, an organization focused on providing information on abortion access and options for people, regardless of where they live.
In this episode
Kendall Ciesemier

This Episode Covers the Following Issues
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Press ReleaseJun 2025
Reproductive Freedom
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红杏视频 Responds to Supreme Court Greenlighting State Efforts to 鈥淒efund鈥 Planned Parenthood
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Press ReleaseJun 2025
Reproductive Freedom
红杏视频 Joins 100+ Abortion Storytellers on Capitol Hill in Advocating for Reproductive Freedom聽
WASHINGTON 鈥 The 红杏视频 joined more than 100 abortion storytellers on Capitol Hill today to demand that lawmakers defend the reproductive freedom of people across the country against escalating attacks in Congress and by the Trump administration. The education day, organized by Abortion Access Now (AAN) and Free & Just, brought the largest storyteller convening for abortion rights to the Hill since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago. Abortion patients, providers, and advocates held over 100 meetings with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, speaking directly to lawmakers about the human toll of abortion bans: delayed medical care, severe health complications, and even the loss of women鈥檚 lives. As part of the education day on the Hill, 红杏视频 Chief Political and Advocacy Officer Deirdre Schifeling, shared the following remarks at an event with lawmakers. 鈥淭hree years on from the Dobbs decision, reproductive freedom and our right to bodily autonomy are still under siege. The attacks are not coming in the most obvious or direct way, a national abortion ban passed by Congress, because they know the American people won鈥檛 stand for it. Instead, it鈥檚 a 鈥榙eath by many cuts鈥 strategy designed by anti-abortion politicians to eliminate access nationwide, even in states where care is protected. 鈥淩ight now, Congress is considering 鈥榙efunding鈥 Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid patients from using their insurance there, which would shutter 1 in 4 of the country鈥檚 abortion providers. The FDA is using junk science to justify making medication abortion harder for patients to get even where it is legal. And the Trump administration continues to make reckless decisions that create chaos and confusion for patients seeking emergency care and their health care providers across the country. 鈥淥ur communities need congressional leaders to hold the Trump administration accountable, and to act with the urgency that this moment requires to protect our reproductive freedom.鈥 -
Press ReleaseJun 2025
Reproductive Freedom
Trump Administration Rescinds EMTALA Guidance and Sends Clear Signal: Emergency Abortion Care Remains At Risk
WASHINGTON 鈥 Today, the Trump administration rescinded guidance that reaffirmed hospitals鈥 obligation under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to provide health-saving and lifesaving abortion care to patients experiencing medical crises. The rescission of the guidance is yet another clear sign the administration is caving to its anti-abortion allies and reneging on President Trump鈥檚 campaign promises that his administration would not interfere with abortion access. The Trump administration鈥檚 announcement came the same day as an anti-abortion group challenging the guidance chose to dismiss its case, Catholic Medical Association v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This case threatened to jeopardize access to emergency abortion care nationwide. The Catholic Medical Association鈥檚 decision to abandon its case came just days after Doctors for America 鈥 represented by the 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Tennessee, Democracy Forward, and the National Women鈥檚 Law Center 鈥 moved to intervene as a defendant in the case to ensure that access to this critical care was vigorously defended. While the federal government was named as a defendant in the case, it had made no move to defend EMTALA and the right to emergency abortion care in the lawsuit. 鈥淭he Trump administration cannot simply erase four decades of law protecting patients鈥 lives with the stroke of a pen,鈥 said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the 红杏视频鈥檚 Reproductive Freedom Project. 鈥淩egardless of where they live, pregnant patients have a right to emergency abortion care that will save their health or lives. By rescinding this guidance, the Trump administration has sent a clear signal that it is siding not with the majority, but with its anti-abortion allies 鈥 and that will come at the expense of women鈥檚 lives. The 红杏视频 will use every lever we have to keep President Trump and his administration from endangering our health and lives.鈥 鈥淔or decades, EMTALA has protected the ability of all people, including those who are pregnant, to receive life and health saving, stabilizing care in emergency situations. Yet, extremists have sought to undermine these protections for those who are pregnant following the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in Dobbs through filing baseless legal challenges like the one they dismissed today and through the EMTALA guidance rescission announced today,鈥 said Skye Perryman, President & CEO for Democracy Forward. 鈥淭he Trump administration鈥檚 decision to withdraw EMTALA guidance guaranteeing pregnant people medical care in emergency situations will sow confusion for providers and endanger the lives and health of pregnant people. Every American deserves the right to access the necessary care in emergency scenarios, including pregnant people, without political interference. Democracy Forward will continue to work with our partners to use all legal tools to defend Americans鈥 reproductive freedom, promote evidence-based and medically accurate information and care, and oppose efforts that place political ideology over patient care.鈥 鈥淓MTALA has long protected the right to emergency care, including abortion when it is the necessary treatment to stabilize a patient. Stripping away federal guidance affirming what the law requires will put lives at risk,鈥 said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women鈥檚 Law Center. 鈥淭o be clear: this action doesn鈥檛 change hospitals' legal obligations, but it does add to the fear, confusion, and dangerous delays patients and providers have faced since the fall of Roe v. Wade. At the same time, this administration claims it is considering ways to support 鈥榩opulation growth,鈥 but it is actively dismantling the systems that protect pregnant people鈥檚 health and lives. The hypocrisy is staggering. No matter what political games the administration wants to play, we will continue to stand with the patients, doctors, and hospitals fighting every day to do what is right.鈥 For nearly four decades, EMTALA has been understood by medical providers and the federal government 鈥 including both Democratic and Republican administrations 鈥 to require abortion care when that care is needed to stabilize pregnant patients in a medical crisis. As Doctors for America鈥檚 motion to intervene emphasized, stripping away EMTALA鈥檚 protections would put doctors in legal chaos and force them to violate their sworn duty: to save lives and prevent harm.Court Case: Catholic Medical Association v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al.Affiliate: Tennessee -
Press ReleaseMay 2025
Reproductive Freedom
Coalition Acts to Protect Pregnant Patients鈥 Federal Right to Emergency Care, Including Abortion
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