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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.

Essays

Columbia Journalism Review •

Everywhere and Nowhere

Over the summer, on assignment for The Nation, I boarded a flight to Kansas City. Kansans were about to vote on whether to repeal their constitutional right to abortion; it would be the first direct vote on abortion in the country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The Kansas legislature, which is led by Republicans, had scheduled the referendum during a primary—an effort to suppress turnout and ensure an easy victory. But I thought there was a chance abortion-rights supporters woul

Features 

Investigations

The Nation •

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another Victorian-era law that was used to ban the mailing of abortion drugs and devices nationwide—and has never been repealed.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
Lux Magazine •

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.

Radio

Media Appearances

The Nation Podcast •

Amy Littlefield on How Abortion Rights Triumphed in Kansas, Plus Barbara Ehrenreich Remembered

Remember how Kansas was the first state to vote directly on abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, and how Kansans surprised everyone by voting to keep abortion rights in the Constitution, 59-41 percent? Amy Littlefield went to Kansas to report on the election for The Nation and see how the victory had been organized and won.

Also on this week’s episode, we’re still thinking about Barbara Ehrenreich, who died last week. She was one of our best. We’ll listen to an interview with Ehrenr
Crooked Media •

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.