This was an especially busy week for us at Abortion, Every Day given… *gestures* well, everything! So, we have a lot to brief you on going into next week.

But, first: Today—September 28—is the 25th anniversary of FDA approval of mifepristone. In recent years, expanded access to mifepristone via telehealth has been transformative, especially for residents of banned states. Not only are 2/3 of abortions performed with medication, one in four are provided via telehealth.

That’s exactly why Republicans are targeting abortion medication more than ever—with states like Texas trying to ban the shipping of the pills, states like Louisiana making the medication a ‘controlled substance’, anti-abortion organizations pushing out fake studies to call the safety of mifepristone into question, and anti-abortion leaders pressuring Republicans to end telemedicine abortion access.

But Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C Pills, put it best:

“New rules and bans will not be able to stop the many routes of access that have developed post-Dobbs. Based on how this ecosystem has grown in a few short years, entirely during times of bans, we expect this access to continue no matter how courts or politicians try to stop it. Safe abortion is here to stay, largely thanks to mifepristone.”

It’s also a great time to amplify the Mife in All 50 campaign to ensure medication abortion remains accessible in all 50 states. The campaign’s landing page is chock full of information about the actions anti-abortion AGs are taking to try to block access to abortion pills, action items you can take, and resources to share.

And remember, if you need safe and credible info about how to order abortion pills, check AED’s Resources section.

Speaking of escalating attacks on abortion medication, Jessica broke the disturbing news this past week that HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and FDA chief Martin Makary will ‘review’ the safety of mifepristone in their own study. The short version is that this could lay the groundwork to end telemedicine access to abortion pills. But there’s a lot more to this story, so make sure you catch up by reading our coverage below:

By the way: AED’s story sparked mainstream news coverage across the country—from ABC News and CNN to Bloomberg, Scripps, and more. Our work makes a tangible impact: so if you’ve been waiting to support the newsletter with a paid subscription, now is a good time!

AED broke another important story this week about abortion pills and the ongoing obsession with criminalizing providers: We learned that in addition to having an arrest warrant out for New York abortion provider Dr. Maggie Carpenter, Louisiana is also bringing criminal charges against California physician, Dr. Remy Coeytaux. (If Dr. Coeytaux’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s also the subject of a Texas civil suit.)

The news came buried fifty pages into Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s brief to join an ongoing federal lawsuit over mifepristone. Murrill claims that Dr. Remy Coeytaux shipped pills into the state and enabled ‘coerced’ abortion.

The move builds on a growing and alarming trend of abortion-related criminalization that relies on feigning concern for abuse victims. This, too, is a fairly layered story, so you’ll want to read it in full:

On top of those major stories, here are some of the top lines we’ll be keeping tabs on going into this next week:

Ballot Box

Abortion bans are wildly unpopular, so anti-abortion extremists like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America are left trying to buy elections. We learned this week that the organization is set to pour a whopping $9 million into U.S. Senate races in Georgia and Michigan. They want guaranteed anti-abortion champions who will either vote for a national ban, or pass enough restrictive legislation to create one.

And that’s just what anti-abortion activists are up to on the federal level. In the states, Virginia Republicans are still exploiting a dubious story about a high school faculty member who allegedly helped two 17-year-olds access abortion three years ago. Reminder that GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears—who has previously argued that women who consent to sex are consenting to pregnancy—called the story “a gift that keeps on giving.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nevada Democrats are betting big on abortion come 2026, with plans to run on protecting our reproductive rights in the purple state.

We also checked in on races in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maine. The biggest takeaway? As we wade deeper and deeper into yet another cursed election season, Republicans are going to keep up their schtick of trying to avoid talking about abortion, or refusing to call an abortion ban a ‘ban’.

‘Defund’ Fallout

Planned Parenthood clinics across the country are feeling the fallout from Republicans’ sweeping budget law—now that a court ruling has allowed for the ‘defunding’ portion of the legislation to take effect.

Thankfully, some affiliates have been able to bridge the funding gap with state and donor money. But this week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin confirmed they’ll be the first affiliate to pause abortion services in order to receive Medicaid reimbursements and keep their doors open.

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America offered some words of support:

“At PPFA, we know that local leaders and providers are grappling with the uncertainty of delivering the care that patients deserve through a patchwork of ‘defunding’, state bans, and other barriers. We will continue to be here for them as they navigate what the path forward might look like.

At the same time, there are things we can say with certainty: Providing abortion in every state where it is legal to do so is central to Planned Parenthood’s mission. We are committed to ensuring that there is a Planned Parenthood provider proudly delivering the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion, in every state where it’s legal.”

This is the alarming and infuriating position that the Trump administration has placed health providers in: for many patients, their local Planned Parenthood clinic is their primary source of health care.

Planned Parenthood clinics in every state are navigating similarly impossible terrain—with some forced to close their doors. We’ll be tracking and analyzing the fallout from the budget law in our new newsletter section, ‘Clinic Watch’.

Extremism Rising

Now more than ever, it’s vital that we’re taking care of each other: this past week marked the start of <a href="https://jessic