Spanberger joins governors in Reproductive Freedom Alliance, signs related Virginia state bills into law
The Reproductive Freedom Alliance is a coalition of US states that aims to strengthen coordination between states that support reproductive healthcare access.
From support for legislation and ballot referendums to helping states stockpile abortion and miscarriage management drug mifepristone, a growing cohort of governors are banding together as the Reproductive Freedom Alliance. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger announced Wednesday that she had joined the coalition.
Members include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Gov. Wes Moore from Maryland and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill — who was elected the same night as Spanberger last autumn — among 23 others so far.
SOURCE: Virginia Mercury, by Charlotte Rene Woods, 17 June 2026
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Planned Parenthood of Alaska sues state for requiring in-person visits for medication abortion
Planned Parenthood is suing the state to expand access to abortion medication via telehealth. Under Alaska law, people seeking a medication-induced abortion must go in person to a clinic, which is usually limited to Anchorage or Fairbanks.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky filed the lawsuit Thursday in Alaska Superior Court.
Lead case attorney Dylan Cowit said restricting access to a medication-induced abortion violates the Alaskans right to privacy and the fundamental right to abortion.
“Because it places a burden on their access to abortion, and the Alaska Supreme Court has made clear that when the state places a burden on abortion, they can only do so if there’s a compelling reason to do it,” Cowit said. “And here there’s no reason, let alone a compelling one —”
Alaska’s constitution includes the right to privacy, and that’s long been interpreted to guarantee access to abortion.
In an email, Acting Attorney General Cori Mills declined to comment on the lawsuit but wrote that generally, “the department will defend the law, which carries a presumption of constitutionality and represents state policy validly enacted by the legislature and the governor.”
Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer for the Planned Parenthood affiliate, said medications are only an option for patients who have been pregnant fewer than 12 weeks, and she says in Alaska, the burden of travel to a clinic makes medication abortion too difficult to access.
“Every week, in fact, we see folks who, by the time they have made it to clinic to have their medication abortion, they have aged out of eligibility for that service,” she said. “And now (they) have to start the process all over again in trying to figure out, ‘okay, medication abortion is no longer an option for me, so how am I going to get procedural abortion?'”
McNicholas says about a quarter of abortions nationwide are by medication.
According to the Planned Parenthood press release, the regional affiliate will be represented by attorneys from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alaska, and the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
SOURCE: Alaska Public Media, by Rachel Cassandra, 15 June 2026. https://alaskapublic.org/news/health/2026-06-15/planned-parenthood-of-alaska-sues-state-forrequiring-in-personvisits-for-medication-abortion
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Missouri judge finds state laws restricting abortion violate voter-approved constitutional amendment
A Missouri judge this week struck down a series of restrictions on abortion, finding they violated a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2024.
Many of the provisions were already on hold because of an earlier, preliminary court ruling. But it is resulting in one major change: The state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates say the new ruling means they’re going to start prescribing abortion pills to patients there for the first time since 2018.
The ruling is a clear legal victory for abortion rights advocates, but it’s not the final word. An appeal and another ballot measure are on tap.
SOURCE: OC Register, by Geoff Mulvihull, 19 June 2026.
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How a pregnancy complication reshaped an Arkansas woman’s view of abortion bans
A majority of Republicans continue to oppose abortion, but there’s been a shift in opinion among other Americans. More Democrats and independents now say abortion should be legal, and there are even conservatives questioning their own views in response to state bans. Special correspondent Sarah Varney brings us the story of one Arkansas woman whose own pregnancy changed how she sees abortion.
SOURCE: PBS NewsHour, Video – 8:43 minutes, 18 June 2026. Watch on: YouTube ;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkRSbPSuQMA
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Illinois abortion-seekers now travel an average 228 miles for care, more than triple pre-Dobbs
A new study by University of Chicago researchers and the Chicago Abortion Fund shows a more than threefold increase in how far women are traveling for abortion care since the Dobbs decision four years ago.
Efforts to restrict telehealth and access to medical abortion drugs by mail threaten to drive abortion-related travel even higher, both from out-of-state and within Illinois’ borders.
The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, used CAF caller data collected between 2020 and 2023 to find callers who relied on Illinois for care travelled a median distance of 228.2 miles after the Dobbs decision, compared to 69.2 miles before.
SOURCE: Archive IS, by Jon Asplund, 4 June 2026
https://archive.is/8bspQ / https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/ccb-abortion-travel-chicago-abortion-fund-06042026/