Sign up today for a March 18 webinar, “The Project of Gender Equality in 2025,” featuring CRHLP's Legal and Policy Director Diana Kasdan, Professor Ederlina Co, Professor Camille Rich, and Professor Margaret Russell. This panel will celebrate women’s rights and provide insights on how the changing political landscape directly impacts gender equality and reproductive rights.  

The webinar will be hosted by Litigation Section of the California Lawyers Association and co-sponsored by the Litigation and Racial Justice Committees of the California Lawyers Association  
To register, scan the QR code above or click here.

Pictured left to right: Diana Kasdan, Mary Bonauto, Leila Abolfazli, Karli Eisenberg, Professor Khiara M. Bridges

Last week, hundreds of attendees joined CRHLP for a thought-provoking public panel: Resistance and Reimagining: Perspectives on Reproductive and Gender Justice from the Academy, Advocacy, and Public Service. Panelists Professor Khiara M. Bridges, Leila Abolfazli, Mary Bonauto, and Karli Eisenberg and moderator Diana Kasdan explored the interconnected struggles for LGBTQ rights, reproductive freedom, gender, and racial justice—analyzing both the legal attacks and the resistance efforts at the federal and state levels. They also discussed how advocates are strategizing for long-term progress while confronting immediate challenges. 

Last week, CRHLP brought together leading experts for a thoughtful and engaging discussion on Insurance and Medicaid Coverage, Reimbursement, and Billing for Pharmacist-Prescribed Contraception! Our panelists from Arkansas and Washington shared real-world experiences with pharmacist-prescribed contraception, highlighting successes, challenges, and opportunities in reimbursement, credentialing, and cross-agency collaboration. 

If you missed the webinar, or just want to rewatch the conversation, a link to watch is available here.  Read our new policy brief aimed at increasing access to contraception by expanding the role of pharmacists here. 

Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP

Wyoming lawmakers have enacted a law requiring people in need of medication abortion to undergo a medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound at least two days before receiving the medication, overriding the governor’s veto.  Failure to comply with the law would put medical providers at risk of severe penalties including up to $9,000 in fines and six months in jail.  Wyoming is the first state to try to explicitly ban medication abortion (a law that is temporarily blocked due to ongoing litigation) and its only full-service abortion clinic halted services this month in response to mounting restrictions. 

Photo Credit: iStock

A new empirical analysis based on national practitioner data shows that states with the most restrictive abortion bans after Dobbs have seen measurable declines in OB/GYN practitioner supply. Researchers found a 4.2% drop in OB/GYNs per 100,000 reproductive-aged women in these states compared to states where abortion laws remained unchanged. While overall OB/GYN practitioner numbers increased nationwide, the study suggests that legal restrictions are contributing to clinician migration out of restrictive states, with implications for access to reproductive health care. Researchers noted that ongoing workforce losses could exacerbate disparities in maternal and reproductive health outcomes. 

Photo credit:Mara Silvers/MTFP

A Montana trial court judge has struck down two abortion laws, House Bill 544 and House Bill 862, ruling that they violate state constitutional rights by imposing unnecessary, burdensome, and unjustified restrictions on Medicaid patients seeking abortion care. The laws, passed in 2023, would have limited access to abortion care by prohibiting nurses and other advanced practice clinicians from providing abortions. It also required pre-authorization, onerous documentation, and barred Medicaid coverage for most abortions by limiting coverage only to cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. The judge found that these requirements were not justified by medical evidence, infringed on a fundamental constitutional right, and unfairly singled out low-income patients. Citing previous Montana court rulings, the judge ruled that once the state elects to offer a medical assistance program, it cannot “selectively exclude from such benefits otherwise eligible persons solely because they make constitutionally protected healthcare decisions with which the State disagrees.”  

Photo credit: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban has been permanently blocked by a state superior court. An Arizona judge ruled that it conflicts with the constitutional protections established by voters in the 2024 election through Proposition 139. The 2022 law, criminalized doctors for providing abortions past 15 weeks unless a pregnant person is facing life-threatening conditions. While this ruling opens up access to abortions after 15 weeks in Arizona, according to the Arizona Mirror more than two dozen abortion restrictive measures remain on the books and likely require further legal challenges or repeal of those laws to eliminate these remaining barriers to abortion care. 

With so much going on in the world of reproductive health, law, and policy, every week we'll share articles, books, and media you might have missed. 

Public Opinion Is Meaningless Against Trump — Public Action Is What Matters 

Opinion: To protect transgender rights in the future, we must look to the past 

Three Months After Missouri Voted to Make Abortion Legal, Access Is Still Being Blocked 

Anti-abortion centers face little regulation. The SAD Act could change that 

USAID’s reproductive health funding has saved millions of lives. Now it’s gone. 

Reimagining the future of reproductive health, law, and policy.

UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy is a think tank and research center created to develop long-term, lasting solutions that advance all aspects of reproductive justice, and address the current national crisis of abortion access.