The Hyde Amendment, first passed in 1976, prevents federal taxpayer dollars from funding elective abortions through Medicaid and has been upheld by the Supreme Court as a legal and policy victory for the pro-life movement. Recently, the Democratic Party's shift toward supporting taxpayer-funded abortion and the absence of the Hyde Amendment in President Joe Biden's budgets have raised concerns about its future, making its defense a priority for pro-life advocates.
Three attorneys general from Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging abortion shield laws in three Democratic-led states.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, along with Alabama and Arkansas attorneys general, filed two lawsuits targeting abortion pill providers and challenging blue-state shield laws that block prosecution of these providers, with a Supreme Court case against New York, California, and Massachusetts and a separate lawsuit in Louisiana against over 30 individuals and organizations. The complaints allege illegal distribution of abortion pills into states banning abortions, highlight refusal by governors of New York and California to extradite indicted doctors, and describe investigations revealing unsupervised online prescriptions and cases of coerced abortion pill use, while also seeking more federal action and challenging FDA rules on mifepristone dispensing.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced federal lawsuits against New York, California, and Massachusetts for enabling mail-order abortions by refusing to extradite abortionists charged with sending abortion pills into Louisiana, where elective abortion is banned. The state argues that these 'shield' laws violate Louisiana's sovereignty and criminal laws, citing cases where mailed abortion drugs resulted in the deaths of babies and harm to women, and is also challenging the FDA's 2023 policy allowing telehealth prescribing and mail delivery of abortion pills in federal court.
Catholic bishops and religious sisters in New York and Illinois have filed lawsuits against their states' assisted suicide laws, winning temporary court rulings that prevent enforcement of these laws against them while litigation continues. These lawsuits argue that the laws compel Catholic healthcare providers to violate their conscience by participating in or promoting assisted suicide, which the Church opposes as contrary to its mission and moral teachings.
An aborted baby named Baby Wabbington was legally defined as a 'person' under New Mexico's Wrongful Death Act, leading to the baby's estate being awarded $200,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother. The lawsuit claimed the abortion providers performed the abortion without proper informed consent while the mother was under the influence of methamphetamine and failed to discuss alternatives or properly handle the baby's remains as requested.
Former President Joe Biden received the Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award at the Planned Parenthood of Delaware gala on September 24, where he expressed being 'outraged and appalled' by the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The Alabama Supreme Court's 2024 IVF decision extended personhood to human embryos for the purpose of a 'Wrongful Death of a Minor' lawsuit, bringing IVF, surrogacy, and infertility issues to the forefront of national discussion. As political parties positioned themselves as 'pro-parent, pro-IVF,' many evangelicals began to reconsider their views on these topics, questioning the assumption that IVF is inherently pro-life because it creates life.
In 2020, a 26-week-old viable fetus was aborted at Curtis Boyd's Southwestern Women's Options clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, leading to a wrongful death lawsuit settled for $200,000, marking the first time an abortionist was sued for wrongful death of a baby in the state. The lawsuit argued the mother, who was on methamphetamine, could not give valid informed consent, and New Mexico law recognizes viable unborn babies as persons under the Wrongful Death Act, despite the state's permissive abortion laws.
Former President Joe Biden received the Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award from Planned Parenthood of Delaware and used his acceptance speech to defend his record on abortion, urging supporters not to give up the fight for legal abortion. Biden reflected on his response to the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision by signing an executive order to protect access to reproductive healthcare and helping women seek abortions in states where it remained legal.
A federal court order currently protects several Illinois physicians and religious health care organizations from the state's assisted suicide law, which took effect on September 12 and includes mandates such as requiring doctors to inform patients about assisted suicide and refer them to providers if they refuse to participate. The Thomas More Society has filed an amended complaint to extend these protections to additional religious health care associations and professionals who object to the law on conscience grounds, highlighting concerns about the law's requirements for falsified death certificates and restrictions on Catholic hospitals disciplining staff who promote assisted suicide.
An Ohio judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging Issue 1, the 2023 amendment that established a right to abortion in the state's constitution, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. The judge did not address the merits of the case, noting that the plaintiffs could not demonstrate personal harm from the amendment, including a claim regarding parental consent for minors seeking abortions.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a block on a provision of a Tennessee law that made it a felony to recruit a minor for an out-of-state abortion without parental permission, ruling that it violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment right to free speech. The court's 2-1 decision maintained the ruling that the law criminalized speech encouraging abortion but did not regulate speech encouraging carrying a pregnancy to term, while other provisions of the law prohibiting transporting a minor out of state for an abortion remained in effect.
Judge Matthew R. Byrne, known for his pro-life stance and refusal to join the Ohio Supreme Court's dismissal of an appeal over the state's six-week abortion ban, was confirmed by the Senate to a lifetime federal judgeship for the Southern District of Ohio on September 15, 2026.
Erin Evans used to vote for Maine Senator Susan Collins because she believed the moderate Republican would protect abortion access. Collins's support from Planned Parenthood influenced Evans's voting decisions for years.
Former President Joe Biden received the 2026 Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award at Planned Parenthood of Delaware’s annual fundraising gala on September 24. He expressed being "outraged and appalled" by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v.
Former President Joe Biden accepted the Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award from Planned Parenthood at their Delaware fundraising gala, where his wife Jill Biden presented the award. During his speech, Biden criticized the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v.
Pro-life groups and physicians argue that Texas' abortion law, which allows abortions to save the life of the mother, is not responsible for the death of Tierra Walker, who died of preeclampsia after receiving inadequate medical care. They contend that Walker's death was likely preventable with proper medical treatment and that the lawsuit blaming the law is politically motivated and overlooks failures in healthcare coordination and standards-based care.
Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old woman who died of preeclampsia in December 2024, is the subject of a lawsuit blaming Texas' abortion law for her death, but pro-life physicians argue her death resulted from inadequate medical care rather than the law itself. Pro-life leaders, including Dr.
Planned Parenthood honored Joe Biden with the 2026 Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award at a fundraising gala in Delaware, recognizing his support through tax funding and pro-abortion executive orders that helped the organization kill a record number of babies last year. Biden accepted the award, linking it to Sloan, and emphasized his efforts to protect access to reproductive health care following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v.
The estate of a 26-week-old aborted baby settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $200,000 against late-term abortionist Curtis Wayne Boyd and others in New Mexico, marking the first payout of its kind under state law treating the unborn as persons. The lawsuit claimed the mother was under the influence of methamphetamine and could not give valid consent, and both the mother and the baby's estate sued, with the court recognizing the baby as a person entitled to compensation despite abortion remaining legal in the state.
A wrongful death lawsuit in New Mexico resulted in a $200,000 settlement awarded to the estate of a 26-week aborted baby, recognized as a person under the state's Wrongful Death Act, due to the mother's inability to provide informed consent while under the influence of methamphetamine. The lawsuit also accused the abortion providers of unfair trade practices, including failing to inform the mother of substance abuse treatment programs and improperly handling the baby's remains by placing them in medical waste instead of releasing them for funeral services.
Students for Life of America (SFLA) has filed a notice of intent to sue the FDA for allegedly failing to conduct required environmental testing of the abortion drug mifepristone, claiming this violates the Endangered Species Act due to potential risks to waterways and wildlife. The group cites studies suggesting anti-progesterone activity in water samples and argues the FDA did not consult wildlife protection agencies before approving the drug in 2000, with SFLA President Kristan Hawkins stating the FDA has 60 days to respond before a lawsuit is filed.
A federal appeals court panel heard an appeal from Sean Curran, a quadriplegic, and disability rights groups challenging Delaware's End of Life Options Act, arguing it discriminates against disabled people by requiring doctors to inform patients about assisted suicide as part of standard care. Delaware officials argued Curran lacks standing and that the law does not legalize assisted suicide but merely offers it as a voluntary option, while the court panel did not indicate when or how it would rule.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of an infant boy born in Texas after his surrogate mother, McKenna West, refused to terminate the pregnancy despite the biological parents' request due to the child's life-threatening condition.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the custody battle between McKenna West, a surrogate mother from Alaska, and California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, who had a surrogacy contract requiring abortion if fetal abnormalities were detected.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of Alaska surrogate McKenna West, who refused to abort the baby she was carrying after he was diagnosed with a serious heart defect and sought a say in his care, leaving a California ruling recognizing the intended parents as the legal parents intact.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of surrogate mother McKenna West, who refused to have an abortion and sought custody of the child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied surrogate McKenna West's emergency appeal to overturn a California court ruling that she has no legal or physical claim to the medically fragile baby boy she carried, who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Despite West's efforts to secure custody and ensure the baby received life-saving care in Texas, the baby's genetic parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, retain legal rights and are currently suing West for damages, while courts have ordered that the baby must receive stabilizing and life-sustaining care.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a California couple and their surrogate, McKenna West, who refused to terminate a pregnancy despite a severe fetal heart defect diagnosis. The California court recognized Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of the baby, who was born in Texas and underwent surgery, with the Supreme Court's decision leaving the parentage ruling intact amid ongoing medical care concerns.
