Unsubstantiated Rumors About Michigan Banning Abortion

There are rumors spreading on Twitter and Facebook claiming that abortion will be illegal in Michigan after July 31. These claims are unsubstantiated and we can find no evidence to support them. Women in Michigan are still able to obtain the safe, legal abortion care they need.

For unbiased, factual information about abortion or laws in your state, contact the NAF Hotline at (877) 257-0012.

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.

Honestly, I never thought I would be in this situation, but who does? I don’t have enough money to support myself, let alone a child. I just didn’t think it was fair to bring a child into the world without being able to support it to my full potential. When I do have children, I want to give them what I have and more.
-- Submitted by Abra* through a member clinic

I want to thank the Hotline for its help during this difficult time. My boyfriend and I never imagined having an abortion, but after a long discussion we realized it is what we need to do at this point in our lives.We are just not ready. If it weren’t for the Hotline, I don’t know how we would have followed through with our decision. Thank you!
-- Submitted by Harriet* through a member clinic

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

Injunction Stops Oklahoma Ultrasound Law From Going Into Effect

Monday, a district judge issued an injunction to stop the enforcement of an Oklahoma law that would require women to undergo an ultrasound one hour prior to obtaining abortion care and listen to an explanation from the medical professional performing the ultrasound while the image was displayed where she could see it.

NAF member clinic Reproductive Services of Tulsa and Oklahoma physician Larry Burns, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights, sued the state after the Legislature overrode Governor Brad Henry’s veto of the bill in April 2010. The law was placed on hold the following month, and with today’s ruling will not be enforced until a hearing is held that is currently scheduled for January 21 of next year.

>Learn more about state laws restricting abortion.

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.


I have a three-year-old and an 11-month-old. My husband was laid off a year and a half ago. He now earns $250 a week, gets no unemployment, and we live off of food stamps. We had to declare bankruptcy, our car was repossessed, and we were evicted when, due to an emergency, we were unable to pay rent. We can barely provide for the children we already have; we were unable to pay our other bills this month to come up with the money for my abortion.

--Submitted by Annie* through a member clinic


I recently lost my job after 10 years at a health care facility, and am presently attending school to become a special education teacher. I am a single parent; my daughter is a beautiful dancer. In order to take care of children properly, you have to have dedication, love, and a good job. Thanks to the NAF Hotline, I can continue with my education and provide my daughter with an exceptional life. Thank you for giving me another chance in life.

--Submitted by Stacey* through a member clinic

Names have been changed to protect patient privacy.

Preliminary Injunction Stops Nebraska Abortion Restriction From Going Into Effect

This week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of a Nebraska law that would require additional screenings for women seeking abortion care in the state.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said the evidence presented so far showed that the screening law would make it harder for women to get an abortion in Nebraska by requiring screenings that could be impossible to perform under a literal reading of the law. She also said the law would make doctors who perform abortions at risk of crippling lawsuits.

“The effect of LB 594 will be to place substantial, likely insurmountable, obstacles in the path of women seeking abortions in Nebraska,” Judge Smith Camp said in her ruling.

Judge Smith Camp’s ruling will prevent the law, which was scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, from going into effect until the lawsuit challenging it is decided.

>Learn more about state laws restricting abortion.

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.


Though this was a very difficult decision to make, it was the best one for my situation. I have an 11-month-old son, and I had to stop going to school for a year to be with him. Having another baby just wouldn’t be wise right now, since I have not yet graduated from college and am not financially stable. I am pro-choice because no government of any kind should dictate what a woman should do with her own body. Women are strong enough to have children and also decide whether or not to have a baby.

--Submitted by Natalie* through a member clinic


My ex-boyfriend never told me that the method he used failed, so I never went to get Plan B. I found out about a month later that I was pregnant, and when I told him, he agreed to help out with funds. But every time I’d ask him about the money, he never had it. I tried to sell everything from shoes to valuables; I didn’t eat lunch, to save money. I even applied for a loan. Had it not been for the Hotline, I wouldn’t have been able to have my abortion. I greatly appreciate what they did for me.

--Submitted by Lynne* through a member clinic



*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

NAF Member: How Nebraska's Anti-choice Legislators "Protect" Women’s Health

This week, NAF board member Carole Joffe, author of Doctors of Conscience and the recently released Dispatches from the Abortion Wars, published an article about recent anti-choice legislation in Nebraska. Published on RH Reality Check, the article reads in part:

Not only is Nebraska’s Women’s Health Protection Act impossible for providers to comply with, this legislation is not necessary. With respect to physical health, the excellent safety record of abortion since Roe is well documented. With respect to mental health, the best predictor of a woman’s mental health status after an abortion, psychological experts have concluded, is her mental health before an abortion, and as suggested, there is no support for the existence of “post abortion syndrome.”

>Read the rest of the article here