Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing the City of St. Louis for its Reproductive Equity Fund, which Mayor Tishaura Jones signed into law last week.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen recently passed the bill to establish a Reproductive Equity Fund using money from the American Rescue Plan.
It would support women at all stages of pregnancy - including postpartum and lactation support, doula assistance, and access to abortion through logistical help.
Alderwoman Megan Green of Ward 15 said even though abortion is now illegal in Missouri, Missouri women will not stop seeking abortions. And she said municipalities have to step in now to support their constituents.
"I think we have to be clear that this fund does not fund actual abortions," said Green. "What it does do is provide funding for logistical support. So that could be transportation, staying in a hotel or child care - basically those things that you need if you now have to travel for those services."
Green noted that abortion care is a vital part of overall health care - especially given the high maternal mortality rates Missouri faces, notably Black and brown women.
In the lawsuit, AG Schmitt - who is running for U-S Senate - said the use of city funds to support people seeking abortions violates state law.
Alderwoman Annie Rice of Ward 8 sponsored the Board Bill. She said in addition to preventing people who would choose an abortion from doing so in Missouri, the state's ban is unclear about the definition of abortion, and the definition of an emergency to save the mother's life.
"There are people with ectopic pregnancies that are looking for abortion care services outside of the state of Missouri," said Rice. "There are people with wanted pregnancies that are miscarrying that are looking for care outside the state of Missouri."
Rice added that American Rescue Plan funds are meant to help communities recover from the COVID pandemic, and COVID drastically limited people's access to reproductive health care in Missouri - especially since Missouri already had some of the most restrictive laws surrounding abortion.
When the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision came down and the abortion ban was enacted, only one abortion clinic was active in the state.
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week on Idaho's near-total abortion ban.
Idaho v. United States is on the docket for Wednesday.
At issue is whether the ban violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which prohibits hospitals from denying patients medical care because of financial or insurance issues.
The Idaho law has restricted access to reproductive care. Rory Cole is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington who is from Idaho and plans to practice in the state.
"A lot of these patients that we've been seeing don't really have a choice anymore, in that sense of it's not about if they want to be pregnant or not," said Cole. "It's about saving their life or their health, and we can't help them in Idaho."
Other states will be watching Idaho's Supreme Court case, and it could have an outsize impact on rural states that ban abortion, leaving patients with few options for care.
Cole said the Idaho law puts doctors in a tough place.
"The wording is so vague in the legislation here, that it makes it just extraordinarily challenging for doctors to kind of know what is legal and what is not legal here now," said Cole, "which is a place that no physician wants to exist in."
Idaho has seen an exodus of medical providers. The state has lost 22% of its practicing obstetricians since its abortion ban took effect, according to a recent report.
"Ultimately," said Cole, "that place of needing to help the people in Idaho and the people here deserving wonderful care was what brought me to basically try and stay in Idaho for residency."
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Vending machines commonly found in workplace break rooms generally contain soft drinks or snacks but one machine in Indianapolis dispenses unconventional items at the turn of a knob.
The Plan B morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and condoms are displayed in a clear glass case inside a colorful blue and orange dispenser. The items provide easy access to protection against an unwanted pregnancy and are free of charge.
Melissa Gruver, organizing director of the feminist organization Indiana Task FORCE, said it operates like a traditional vending machine.
"You just push whenever you want and it falls down, and you reach your hand through the little door and you pull it out, take it with you," Gruver explained.
A 2022 Indiana Department of Health Termination Report indicated 9,600 pregnancies were aborted, with Marion County recording the highest number of unwanted pregnancies. The report also noted the average age of a woman in Indiana who sought an abortion was 27, and 67% of all terminated pregnancies occurred within four to eight weeks of conception.
The state's contentious near-total abortion ban, which was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court last year, has stoked fears lawmakers may begin restricting a woman's choice of birth control.
Indiana Task FORCE and reproductive health groups All-Options and the Midwest Access Coalition want the emergency contraceptive vending machine to serve as a gathering spot for community conversations on reproductive rights and sexual health.
"We've long been organizing our communities to bring about reproductive justice, which we didn't have before and we definitely don't have it now," Gruver pointed out. "But what we know to be true is that there are more of us that want access to reproductive care than those that try to stop it. We're excited to continue to work to meet this need now, and to organize for a better community."
Gruver hopes to have one dispenser in every Indiana region in the future to add to the single machine currently in an eastside Indianapolis grocery store. She added some universities in the state already have vending machines offering similar contraception products but users have to purchase the items.
This story is based on original reporting by Mary Claire Molloy for Mirror Indy.
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On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 ban on nearly all abortions, except in situations when it is necessary to save the life of a pregnant person. It makes abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps someone obtain one.
Arizona's near-total abortion ban will be one of the harshest in the country, along with Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
Gov. Katie Hobbs said the law, written well before Arizona became a state or women had the right to vote, is placing lives in danger.
"I've personally experienced the anguish of losing a pregnancy," Hobbs noted. "I know it's outrageous to have the government tell you that the best decision for your health or future could now be considered a crime."
On the social media platform 'X,' Gov. Hobbs described it as a "dark day for Arizona." But anti-abortion advocates are celebrating a big win, even as some Republican lawmakers think the ban should be repealed. The Arizona Supreme Court put its decision on hold for 14 days as additional constitutional challenges are cleared up.
The ruling has rattled Democrats, including mother and nurse practitioner Sen. Eva Burch, D-Mesa. Just a couple of weeks ago, Burch announced on the state Senate floor she had an undergone an abortion procedure. She contended Arizonans of any political affiliation do not want an abortion ban.
"Somebody took care of me. Somebody gave me a procedure so I wouldn't have to experience another miscarriage; the pain, the mess, the discomfort," Burch stressed. "And now, we're talking about whether or not we should put that doctor in jail. This is outrageous."
Kris Mayes, Attorney General, said in a statement as long as she is in office, no person or doctor will be prosecuted under what she called a "draconian law."
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit the Grand Canyon State later this week to champion reproductive rights. And Arizona pro-choice advocates recently secured enough signatures for a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution.
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