The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on Wednesday that it was unlawful for a Virginia school board to deny a transgender student access to the bathroom that corresponded with his gender identity. The court determined that preventing the student from accessing the bathroom of his choice was a form of sex [...]

The US Mission to International Organizations in Geneva (US Mission) responded Wednesday to a UN panel that determined certain states “appear to be manipulating the COVID-19 crisis to curb access to essential abortion care.” In its response, the US Mission rejected the idea of an “assumed right to abortion” and denounced the panel’s interference. The [...]

The Ohio Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that prohibits physicians from using telemedicine in medication abortions. The bill now moves on to the Ohio House, where it is expected to pass. A medication abortion includes two different medicines, mifepristone and misoprostol. The U.S. Food and Drug (FDA) Administration currently prohibits direct-to-patient access to mifepristone, [...]

The Scottish parliament approved a bill on Tuesday making sanitary products free to all women. The bill passed through the first stage of Scotland’s lawmaking process almost unanimously, with no opposition and only one abstention. Once enacted, the law would make women’s sanitary products freely available at designated public places. The bill, known as The [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that the Trump administration can enforce regulations prohibiting Title X receipts from referring patients to abortion providers. The opinion removed three states’ preliminary injunctions against the rules and rejected a majority of the claims by the plaintiffs. Title X is a federal program that [...]

The Trump administration declared a public health emergency on Friday due to increasing outbreaks of the coronavirus. As part of his declaration, President Donald Trump suspended entry of immigrants and visitors who pose a risk of transmitting the disease, as well as imposing a quarantine on citizens arriving from China’s Hubei Provence. The US declaration [...]

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday issued a proposed rule allowing faith-based health and social service organizations to refrain from informing clients about services not offered due to religious reasons. In the accompanying press release, HHS stated that the rule’s purpose is to ensure “religious and non-religious organizations are treated [...]

Two transgender women filed a lawsuit on Monday against the state of Florida, arguing the state’s ban on transgender health coverage for state employees is unconstitutional. In addition to the women’s constitutional claims, they also claim that the state is discriminating against the on the basis of their sex, which is prohibited under Title VII [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Monday that claims filed under the National Vaccine Injury Act (Vaccine Act) can be decided based solely on the written record. Such a procedural ruling allows claims to be judged without conducting evidentiary hearings or gaining either parties’ consent. The Vaccine Act establishes the National [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled an upcoming trip to Ukraine and four other countries on Wednesday in order to address the current security concerns in Iraq. In a press statement, the State Department indicated that Pompeo would reschedule the trip to begin on Friday order to “ensure the safety and security of Americans [...]