Abigail Abrams
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Content operations @ Atria. Always interested in: health care, repro, disability, reading, bagels.
Words in TIME, Guardian, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight
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Articles by Abigail Abrams
Doctors Are Racing To Figure Out Why A Mysterious Heart Syndrome Targets Heartbroken, Post-Menopausal Women
In December of 2022, Linda Zoslocki, a then-69-year-old retired high school counselor in Modesto, California, had a deep cough that wouldn’t go away. She was tired, and her legs had been swollen for weeks. When her daughter called on a Saturday to see if Zoslocki wanted to come make pizza with her family, her mother told her she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to stay home. Her daughter figured she was struggling with a run-of-the-mill yet stubborn respiratory infection—bronchitis, perhaps.
Massive Great White Shark Appears to Haunt New England - See the Drone Footage
NEED TO KNOW Authorities in Scarborough, Maine, this week informed the public that a possible great white shark, "estimated to be 10-12 feet in length," was spotted near popular beaches Drone footage obtained by a local fisherman was shared by police While they have been present in Maine for years, great white sharks were rarely seen iuntil more recently Police are issuing a warning after multiple sightings of what appears to be a great white shark near popular beaches in Scarborough, Maine —...
Hurricane Categories: What Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Mean
By Abigail Abrams and Chad de Guzman Updated: October 8, 2024 9:44 AM EDT | Originally published: September 19, 2017 5:30 PM EDT Hurricane Milton is barreling toward Florida, where it is projected to make landfall Wednesday night. The storm has been downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warns that Milton is still “extremely dangerous,” bringing intense storm surges that could cause catastrophic flooding along the coast and beyond.
Honeymooners Have to 'Conserve Water,' Stay Inside Hotel as Hurricane Beryl Batters Grenada (Exclusive)
"It was a bit surreal. We had just gotten to paradise, so it was a lot to process," Emma Steinke tells PEOPLE of her vacation experience Alex and Emma Steinke began life as husband and wife in the middle of a devastating hurricane. The 26-year-old newlyweds, who tied the knot on Saturday, June 15, traveled to Grenada for their honeymoon in hopes of getting out on an excursion and relaxing on the beach, only to be met by Hurricane Beryl.
How accessible sex ed helps young adults with developmental disabilities form healthy relationships
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. When he was a teenager, Ben believed that he struggled with friendships and romantic relationships more than others his age. Discerning personal boundaries and finding ways to effectively communicate often bewildered him, and he wasn’t sure what certain signals meant or how many he may have missed.
Idaho abortion ban takes toll on medical providers
Most mornings Dr Stacy Seyb is awake by 6am. He begins his day with meetings before a packed schedule seeing 18-20 patients going through high-risk pregnancies in Boise, Idaho. He has had a long career of treating people with all sorts of obstetrical complications so he’s used to stress. But it’s never been like this.
Democrats Are Telling Abortion Stories on the Campaign Trail
The video opens with a woman sitting calmly next to her husband. “Like a lot of people, the issue of abortion is personal to us. We lost our first pregnancy, and I had to have a D&C,” she says, referencing to a dilation and curettage, a procedure used for miscarriages and abortions. The woman is Jennifer, wife of North Carolina state Rep. Terence Everitt, and the video is an ad for Everitt’s reelection campaign to his seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Voters' Top Issue Is the Economy, But Democrats Hope Abortion Will Resonate More Original
Brandy Ahmed’s conversations began by focusing on public education and investing in the community. But as she stepped over Halloween decorations and brightly colored foliage to knock doors in her old neighborhood in Macomb County, Mich. in early October, there was another topic that consistently warmed voters to her approach: abortion rights.
How Abortion-Rights Groups Are Getting Men on Board
When Greg Horwitch recently spoke with a white Kentucky man in his early 70s, he did not expect the man to support abortion rights. But as he asked the man, who grew up in the South and initially planned to be a Catholic priest, about his life, he learned the situation was more nuanced. “He said he’s never had need for an abortion. He’s never known anyone who has spoken of having an abortion,” Horwitch recalls. “It was automatic to be against abortion.
Michigan Is Fighting One of the Most Significant Abortion Battles in the Country
Laura Kruger looked skeptical as she opened her door in Wyoming, Mich. on a cold October afternoon. When the canvasser who had knocked asked her how she identified “when it comes to the issue of abortion,” she answered, “pro-life.” But when he asked about Proposal 3, the ballot measure that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution, her eyes narrowed and her answer was more nuanced. “Rape, incest, health, are issues that are so important for each individual,” Kruger said.
The Fall of Roe v. Wade Has Permanently Changed the Doctor-Patient Relationship
A few days after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in June, Dr. Mae Winchester got a call late at night. One of her patients had developed sepsis after her water broke at 19 weeks of pregnancy. Sepsis can be fatal, and normally Winchester, a maternal-fetal medicine physician in Ohio, would rush her patient into the operating room and provide an abortion. But this time, she felt she had to call her hospital’s lawyers first.
Abortion is Central to Oregon's All-Women Governors' Race
Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 40 years. The Beaver State is typically considered a haven for progressive policies, liberal drug laws, and broad social supports. But this year, Republicans might finally break their losing streak, and the race has put a spotlight on abortion rights in a state where many assumed the issue was settled. That’s in part because Oregon’s race is a three-way competition among a trio of women candidates who all served in the state legislature.
Where Abortion Is Literally on the Ballot in 2022
Since the Supreme Court eliminated the national right to abortionin June, abortion policy has been sent back to the states. Now some of those states are letting voters decide directly how abortion should be regulated within their borders. Six states have amendments or measures affecting abortion on the ballot in 2022. It’s the highest number of abortion-related ballot measures on record in a single year, according to Ballotpedia.
2022 TIME100 Next: Jessica Nouhavandi
In 2020, the pandemic led Republican officials to temporarily close some abortion clinics and medical groups to sue the FDA to let them mail abortion pills for the first time. That’s when Jessica Nouhavandi, co-founder and lead pharmacist of Honeybee Health, sprang into action. Honeybee Health was the first mail-order pharmacy in the U.S. to ship abortion pills. Now with Roe v.
Caitlin Bernard Is on the TIME100 Next 2022 List | TIME
When Dr. Caitlin Bernard became the face of a heated fight over the fallout from the end of Roe v. Wade, she was not new to talking about the consequences of abortion bans. But many of the people criticizing her were, as evidenced by their reactions to the reality of post-Roe America.
None of these Major Midterm Campaign Websites Are Fully Accessible to Disabled Voters
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, many states and politicians focused on how to help voters with disabilities safely cast ballots. But two years later, focus on supporting disabled voters is fading, and a new review found that none of the campaign websites for major midterm candidates are fully accessible to blind voters. “It’s truly shocking,” says Virginia Jacko, president and CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which conducted the study.
Exclusive: Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democrats Press Crisis Pregnancy Centers on Abortion Data Gathering
Senate Democrats are asking the country’s largest network of anti-abortion pregnancy centers to provide information about how the organization gathers, protects, and shares the personal data of pregnant people who seek out its services, spotlighting concerns that the data could be used in abortion-related prosecutions. The letter, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and first reported by TIME, requests a response from the anti-abortion organization Heartbeat International by Oct. 3.
Veterans Affairs' New Policy to Provide Abortions Sets Off Battle With Conservative States
A new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rule is setting up a major clash between conservative states and the federal government, as Republican lawmakers vow to fight the policy that the VA will provide abortion services even in states that have outlawed the procedure. Under the new rule, which took effect on Sept. 9, the VA will provide abortion counseling and abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when a pregnancy threatens the patient’s life to veterans and their eligible family members.
Republicans Are Divided Over How Extreme to Make Their New Abortion Bans
Republicans have been waiting for decades to ban abortion. But now that they can, conservative lawmakers are finding they disagree about how extreme to make the restrictions. While the most ardent anti-abortion lawmakers are pushing legislation with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, some Republicans are backing away from hardline abortion bills in a tacit acknowledgement that most Americans don’t support such severe restrictions.
Lindsey Graham Proposes National 15-Week Abortion Ban
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced a bill on Tuesday that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide, the biggest step by Republicans to restrict abortion on a federal level since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The bill “would say after 15 weeks, no abortion on demand, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother,” Graham said at a news conference.
An Ohio Woman Was Forced to Travel Out of State for an Abortion
By Abigail Abrams August 29, 2022 7:00 AM EDT When Tara George’s cell phone rang with a number from Michigan one evening in early August, she knew it would not be good news. As soon as she picked up, the doctor apologized and told her they would have to cancel her abortion appointment the following morning. Tara’s husband, Justin, who had been downstairs in their northeast Ohio home, came up to check on her when he heard the phone ring. Tara, still listening to the doctor, silently shook her head.
Does Federal Law Protect Abortions in Medical Emergencies? The Biden Administration Will Find Out in Court
A sign reading "MY BODY MY CHOICE," is taped to a streetlight in front of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, on May 3, 2022. A sign reading "MY BODY MY CHOICE," is taped to a streetlight in front of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, on May 3, 2022. Credit - Sarah A. Miller—Idaho Statesman/AP In the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v.
Trump-Appointed Judges a Factor in Biden's Executive Orders
President Biden has been on a blitz of issuing presidential executive orders. Earlier this month, he signed his 94th order, one aimed at helping women travel to other states for abortions and finding ways for those eligible to access Medicaid coverage. Before that he signed orders that sought to help bring hostages home, end labor disputes, protect access to reproductive health care, counter anti-LGBTQ state legislation and address police misconduct.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Could Lower Your Drug Costs
Demonstrators from the People's Action protest pharmaceutical companies' lobbying against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices Demonstrators from the People's Action protest pharmaceutical companies' lobbying against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, during a rally outside Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) headquarters in Washington, DC, September 21, 2021.
Kansas Results Preview a Roadmap to Protect Abortion Access Around the Country Original
Anne Melia had been afraid to hope. She’d canvassed with the abortion rights group Kansans for Constitutional Freedom since May, urging residents to vote “no” on a ballot measure to amend the Kansas constitution to say it did not contain a right to an abortion. She says she never “in a million years” thought Kansas voters would so strongly reject the constitutional amendment on Aug. 2, with 59% voting no and 41% voting yes, with 95% of votes counted on Wednesday.
Ky. Woman Mourns Loss of Both Parents in Historic Flood: 'They Were the Biggest-Hearted People'
Ashley Collins tells PEOPLE she believes her mother Carol Miller "would not have left" the side of her father James Miller, who was bedridden, amid the flood By Wendy Grossman Kantor and Abigail Abrams August 01, 2022 04:55 PM A Kentucky woman is in mourning after both of her parents were killed in the historic floods that struck Kentucky last week.
Kansas Abortion Vote Signals New Strategy Expected Elsewhere
As the heat index topped 100 degrees in Johnson County on Saturday, dozens of canvassers fanned out over affluent suburbs to knock on strangers’ doors and talk about an emotional, fraught, and, in many cases, very personal issue: the Kansas constitution. The state’s voters are being asked to amend its constitution to explicitly say that it does not contain a right to abortion.
Striving for Change
Doctors are working to make their profession more inclusive. Just 3.1% of physicians said they had a disability in 2019, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. DANIEL TARDIF—GETTY IMAGES Lisa Meeks is a disability expert and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. She and a growing movement of doctors, medical students, and other healthcare workers are trying to make changes in their profession. They want it to be more inclusive.
Planned Parenthood CEO Discusses The Post-Roe Fight For Abortion Access–And The “Opportunity To Reimagine… Something Better”
When the Supreme Court released its decision overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, Alexis McGill Johnson was ready. As president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, she had been warning of this outcome long before a leaked draft of the Court’s opinion was published in May. The reproductive rights movement had been working to prevent this moment for years. And yet, McGill Johnson still found it devastating.
First Company Applies to Make Birth Control Pill Available Without a Prescription in the U.S.
Credit - iStock/Getty Images Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and set off a cascade of abortion bans around the country, access to contraception has taken on increased importance. To get birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives in the U.S., patients still need a prescription. But now birth control pills are one step closer to being available over the counter.
Does Religious Freedom Protect a Right to an Abortion? One Rabbi’s Mission to Find Out
When Florida passed a law this spring that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Rabbi Barry Silver was furious. And when it looked like the Supreme Court was likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would allow such bans to take effect, he decided he needed to act. Silver’s progressive synagogue, Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor in Palm Beach County, sued the state of Florida in June, arguing that the anti-abortion law infringes on religious liberty.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Her Fight for Abortion Access in Michigan
As states scramble to adjust their abortion policies in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Michigan has emerged as one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds. And Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is at the center of that fight. Whitmer is a Democrat who supports abortion rights, but Republicans control the state’s legislature.
The Midterms Could Determine Abortion Access in These States
In Wisconsin, the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade had an almost instantaneous effect: as soon as the Justices issued their opinion, medical providers across the state immediately stopped providing abortions. That’s because Wisconsin is one of several states that already had a law banning abortion on its books, leftover from before Roe established the right to abortion in 1973. In this case, the law dates back to 1849, the year after Wisconsin became a state.
The Future of Abortion Access After Roe v. Wade
When the Supreme Court handed down its opinion overturning Roe v. Wade on the morning of June 24, the news struck like lightning, setting off thousands of fires that will shape legal, political, health, and economic battles in the U.S. for years to come. In the immediate aftermath of the ruling, protesters on both sides of the debate flooded the plaza in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington.
Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Undoing Constitutional Right to Abortion Original
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, striking down the constitutional right to abortion established in the landmark ruling nearly 50 years ago. On June 24, the high court ruled that pre-viability bans on elective abortions are constitutional, with Justice Samuel Alito writing the majority opinion joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Anti-Abortion Centers' Databases Could Be Weaponized Post-Roe
The first alarm bell went off in Ashley’s head when no one at the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center was wearing a mask. No one was in scrubs, no one’s hair was tied up, and every staffer was wearing a visible cross. “I should have noticed all the red flags,” says Ashley, 28, whom TIME is identifying by her first name to protect her privacy. But it wasn’t until she sat down for a mandated counseling session in the brick building in a Dallas suburb that she realized what kind of a facility it was.
Meet the Pharmacist Expanding Access to Medication Abortion Original
On a recent spring evening, Jessica Nouhavandi found herself at the National Abortion Federation conference, surrounded by abortion providers talking excitedly about one key question: how to expand access to medication abortion in more states. Nouhavandi’s company, Honeybee Health, is a crucial part of that goal. Barely four years old, the online, California-based mail-order pharmacy start-up is already one of the nation’s leading distributors of abortion pills.
Activists Race to Expand Access to Abortion Pills Nationwide
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as a leaked draft opinion suggests it may, abortion will likely be banned or severely restricted in about half of the United States. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the country will return to a world before 1973, when the landmark Supreme Court case enshrined a constitutional right to abortion. Abortion pills, which can be ordered online and delivered by mail, have already fundamentally changed reproductive rights in America.
Ohio Mom Refuses to Let Teen Pregnancies Stop Her from Becoming a Doctor: 'I Feel Nothing But Gratitude'
Katie Clark's dream of being a doctor seemed to get further away with each year that passed after she became a teenage mom — but now the 43-year-old parent of four is proving it's never too late to reinvent yourself. Clark's secret, she tells PEOPLE, was listening to her inner voice. Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow Following You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications.
Where the Buffalo Gunman and the Anti-Abortion Fringe Meet Original
In the week since a gunman killed 10 people in a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., countless articles and television spots have unpacked the racist conspiracy he shared in a hate-filled manifesto before his shooting spree. The conspiracy—the so-called great replacement theory—is the idea that Democratic lawmakers and other elites are working to force white people into a minority in the United States, usually by increasing immigration.
How Overturning Abortion Rights Could Affect Every American
In the 49 years since the U.S. Supreme Court established a constitutional right to abortion, the experience of being a woman in this country has transformed. Birth control access has expanded, and more women have entered the workforce, pursued higher education, won protections from being fired for getting pregnant, and become bread-winners. Through it all, abortion has remained one of the nation’s most fraught topics.
Republican States Draft Bills to Ban or Criminalize Abortion
Less than 48 hours after a leaked draft decision showing the Supreme Court set to overturn Roe v. Wade, Republicans in the Louisiana House of Representatives advanced a bill classifying abortion as homicide from “the moment of fertilization” and allowing prosecutors to charge both patients and providers with murder. “We cannot wait on the Supreme Court,” State Rep. Danny McCormick, the bill’s sponsor, said during a committee hearing on Wednesday.
These States Are Set to Ban Abortion if Roe v. Wade is Overturned
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion in America, it would reshape women’s reproductive rights across the country. A leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, first reported by Politico Monday evening, would overturn Roe and return decisions about the legality of abortion to the states.
Draft Decision Ending Roe Emboldens Activists on Both Sides
Both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion activists spent most of Tuesday scrambling to respond to a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade. While the draft, first reported by Politico, is neither final nor legally binding, its release fundamentally upends the debate over abortion nationwide, experts say.
Why Your Insurance Doesn't Want to Cover Your Birth Control
When the Affordable Care Act passed a decade ago, many women rejoiced: the law required most insurers to fully cover birth control, with no out-of-pocket costs whatsoever. But a decade later, the promise of free contraception remains out of reach for many people. The reason is buried in the fine print.
Frontline Workers in Houston Win New Protections
When the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, Mercedes Taylor, an airport security officer in Houston, remembers feeling exposed. She works the overnight shift, where she interacts with airline employees, police officers, passengers, members of the cleaning crew, and a regular influx of homeless people—but she says her employer did not provide personal protective equipment or take other precautions until her union, SEIU Texas, stepped in.
Disabled Americans Push to Keep Accessible Pandemic Policies
President Joe Biden hired Kim Knackstedt in early 2021 to make sure that Americans with disabilities were not forgotten as the country returned to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, that seems to be precisely what has happened—and it’s unfortunate, Knackstedt says. “What was considered ‘normal’ was actually not a great way to live, often,” says Knackstedt, who served as the first White House director of disability policy, before leaving the administration on March 11.
Republican States Crack Down on Access to Abortion Pills
As conservatives states have enacted strict abortion bans and ramped up regulations on abortion clinics in recent years, many patients have relied on another avenue to the same end: abortion pills. But now, with the Supreme Court poised to overturn or significantly or pare back Roe v. Wade, the pills are increasingly in conservative lawmakers’ crosshairs, too.
Biden Moves to Fix a 'Glitch' in the Affordable Care Act
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration is proposing a tweak to the Affordable Care Act to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. The shift would fix what is known as the “family glitch,” a loophole that has prohibited more than 5 million people from accessing subsidized health plans on the ACA marketplaces even if they don’t actually have other affordable options.
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