Amy Littlefield is the abortion access correspondent at The Nation and a freelance investigative reporter who focuses on the intersection of religion and health care.

Investigations

The Poison Pill in the Mifepristone Lawsuit That Could Trigger a National Abortion Ban

When the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade last June, they cited Victorian-era state abortion bans—which were nullified by Roe—to justify “return[ing]” the abortion issue to the states.

Not mentioned anywhere in the opinion is another Victorian-era law that was used to ban the mailing of abortion drugs and devices nationwide—and has never been repealed.

Now, the Comstock Act, which almost everyone except a handful of anti-abortion strategists and historians seems to

The Struggle to Unionize Planned Parenthood in Texas

Last spring, several weeks after she was forced to lay off all six of her employees at Planned Parenthood’s North Austin Health Center, Katie Dickerson was summoned to a Zoom meeting. On the screen was a balding attorney named Michael Abcarian. His law firm, Fisher Phillips, helps employers with “maintaining your union-free status.” Dickerson would later write that the meeting left her so terrified for her job that she spoke of it only to her mother.

Media Appearances

How to Restore Roe

The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, access to abortion has collapsed across the country, and Democrats in Washington don’t have the votes to undo the decision right now. It’s a mess! But we may be able get Roe back sooner than it seems—if Democrats and their allies in the reproductive rights movement learn from years of their own missteps, and quickly. That will determine whether restoring the right to abortion takes six months or 60 years.