Birth control remains legal across the United States. But new data show that for millions of women, getting it may depend heavily on where they live.
New county-level maps …
The recent declaration of a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, the former labor-and-delivery nurse who strangled her three young children in 2023, has pushed postpartum mental …
Julie Slovin is the founder of the Women’s Rights Data Initiative, a fact-based initiative tracking how laws and policies shape women’s rights across the United States.
Anvi Batra studies political science at George Washington University. Her experience includes legal research, political campaigns, and reporting, with interests in reproductive rights and domestic violence. She is a policy research intern for WRDI.
Aparna Parthasarathy
Aparna Parthasarathy studies political science and human rights at Barnard College. Her experience includes legal research and advocacy for survivors of violence, with interests in women’s health and maternal care. She is a reporting intern for WRDI.
Imani Wright
Imani Wright is a UNC-Chapel Hill student studying sociology, media, and journalism, with a minor in women and gender studies. Her research examines race and gender in political campaigns. She is a reporting intern for WRDI.
Olivia Sanchez Dunn
Olivia Sanchez Dunn is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate in public policy and data science. She analyzed policy for NC Governor Stein and now studies digital governance as an Austrian Combined Fulbright Scholar. She is a policy research intern for WRDI.
Prasidha Padmanabhan
Prasidha Padmanabhan is a Yale public health graduate student and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate in public policy and data science. Her experience spans reproductive rights, health policy, and legislative research. She is a policy research intern for WRDI.
Pritika Patel
Pritika Patel is a Georgetown University student and editor for The Hoya and Georgetown’s Undergraduate Law Review. Her editorial and legal interests include education policy, Title IX, and family law. She is a reporting intern for WRDI.
Siya Lakireddy
Siya Lakireddy studies public policy and health at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her experience includes legislative work and research on Medicaid and Medicare access, with interests in women’s and maternal health. She is a policy research intern for WRDI.
Last updated: September 8, 2026
In August 2025, a federal appeals court upheld Texas's ID-number requirement for mail ballots, reversing a lower-court ruling that had found …
In January 2025, California expanded Paid Family Leave (PML) and disability benefits through SB 951, making it more affordable for workers to take time off for pregnancy, childbirth, illness recovery, …
HB 7 authorizes private citizens to sue those who manufacture, distribute, mail, deliver, prescribe, or otherwise provide abortion-inducing drugs to or from Texas. The law exempts pregnant patients from …
As more Southern states restrict or ban abortion, Virginia is emerging as a key access provider in the Mid-Atlantic and broader South regions. Recent reporting shows that abortions performed …
Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 18 in June 2025, a sweeping rural health law designed to keep small hospitals open and expand access to care in underserved parts of the …
In 2024, Texas expanded postpartum Medicaid and CHIP coverage from 2 months to 12. The bipartisan bill (HB 12) aims to improve maternal health by allowing new mothers to continue …
Wisconsin’s “Child Care Counts," a pandemic-era program established by the federal government to support the return of parents to work, received a partial extension under the 2025- …
In June of this year, Texas passed SB 1362, which bans state and local officials from recognizing, serving, or enforcing ERPOs (Extreme Risk Protective Orders), including those issued by other …
Last updated: September 8, 2026
In 2021, California guaranteed mail-in voting for registered voters under AB 37, which permanently required election officials to mail ballots to every active voter. …
Protections that were expanded in 2024 to include discrimination based on sexual orientation, pregnancy, and gender identity were ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in Kentucky on January 9, 2025. …
In November 2022, California voters approved Proposition 1, amending the state constitution to explicitly guarantee reproductive freedom, including abortion and contraception. The amendment added language to Article I, making clear …
On May 19, 2021, Governor Abbott signed SB 8, also known as the Heartbeat Act, prohibiting doctors from performing abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around 6 weeks. …
