There’s a birth control backlash online. Can it explain the rise in abortions?
A chorus of influencers on social media in the MAHA and “trad wife” communities emphasize the downsides of hormonal birth control. Research shows few of them have medical expertise.
Right after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, there were many stories about how new state abortion bans were influencing people’s birth control decisions, especially by prompting people to use long-acting or permanent options.
Research shows that it wasn’t just anecdotal, the trend was real — more people got intrauterine devices and implants for birth control, and procedures like vasectomies and tubal ligation spiked.
SOURCE: National Public Radio. by Selena Simmons-Duffin. 9 August 2026.
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/09/nx-s1-5887615/abortion-rate-birth-control-pills-roe-v-wade
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After Missouri voters sank GOP priorities, is an abortion ban heading for defeat?
Missouri voters rejected Republicans’ top priorities at the ballot box on Tuesday, but another controversial vote lies ahead for Missourians in November: a near-total ban on abortion. Missouri voters overturned the state’s abortion ban in 2024 with a constitutional amendment proposed by citizens. Republicans in the Legislature are seeking to overturn the constitutional protections for abortion and return the state to banning abortions with a few narrow exceptions.
Republicans’ top priorities on the ballot in August, the proposed elimination of the state income tax and the curtailing of direct democracy, failed overwhelmingly. More than 80% of Missouri voters rejected the proposals on Tuesday.
SOURCE: Kansas City News, by Jack Harvel, 9 August 2026.
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article316805764.html
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Insight Kansas: What the amendment defeat reveals about Kansas politics
The resounding defeat of the proposed Kansas constitutional amendment on Supreme Court selection demonstrates a fundamental democratic principle: political leaders may set the agenda, but voters retain the ultimate authority to accept or reject it.
The amendment, championed by Senate President and Republican gubernatorial pick, Ty Masterson, and other Republican leaders, would have replaced the state’s current merit-based selection process with direct elections for Kansas Supreme Court justices. Voters decisively rejected that change on Tuesday.
SOURCE: Hays Post, by Alexandra Middlewood. 9 August 2026.
https://hayspost.com/posts/3d34882d-56b7-4029-ace3-94499dabdfa2