Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI)
@cwrureprolaw.bsky.social
The Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI) at CWRU School of Law aims to preserve, protect, and expand access to abortion and reproductive health care in Ohio and across the Midwest through advocacy, education and scholarship.
In her op-ed, Polis points out that the growing politicization of FABMs by social media influencers is concerning because it risks promoting these methods as a substitute for contraception, abortion, and fertility care, undermining reproductive autonomy in the process.
tinyurl.com/vhtvwatv
tinyurl.com/vhtvwatv
Fertility Tracking Must Be Grounded In Evidence And Reproductive Justice | Health Affairs Forefront
It is essential to ground fertility awareness-based methods in a strong, person-centered evidence base, just the way we would with any other contraceptive option.
tinyurl.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:31 PM
In her op-ed, Polis points out that the growing politicization of FABMs by social media influencers is concerning because it risks promoting these methods as a substitute for contraception, abortion, and fertility care, undermining reproductive autonomy in the process.
tinyurl.com/vhtvwatv
tinyurl.com/vhtvwatv
Reposted by Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI)
Experts we spoke to who reviewed Ciji Graham’s case agreed that even if the standard treatment for her heart condition posed a small risk to her pregnancy, the risk of not treating Graham was far greater:
“No mother, no baby,” one doctor said.
“No mother, no baby,” one doctor said.
A Pregnant Woman at Risk of Heart Failure Couldn’t Get Urgent Treatment. She Died Waiting for an Abortion.
In a state that had legislated its commitment to life, Graham spent her final days struggling to find anyone to save hers.
www.propublica.org
January 18, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Experts we spoke to who reviewed Ciji Graham’s case agreed that even if the standard treatment for her heart condition posed a small risk to her pregnancy, the risk of not treating Graham was far greater:
“No mother, no baby,” one doctor said.
“No mother, no baby,” one doctor said.
UCLA Law CRHLP’s research tool curates case summaries, amicus briefs, and other legal resources demonstrating how critical approaches to history can strengthen state constitutional cases to protect reproductive rights and gender justice.
tinyurl.com/75myuuhm
tinyurl.com/75myuuhm
History in Reproductive Rights Cases: A Post-Dobbs Resource Hub
This Hub provides resources – case summaries, amicus briefs and expert reports, and scholarship – that demonstrate the progressive role a critical approach to history can play in informing legal argum...
tinyurl.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:30 PM
UCLA Law CRHLP’s research tool curates case summaries, amicus briefs, and other legal resources demonstrating how critical approaches to history can strengthen state constitutional cases to protect reproductive rights and gender justice.
tinyurl.com/75myuuhm
tinyurl.com/75myuuhm
New data recently released by KFF show higher monthly abortion numbers in early 2025, driven primarily by expanded telehealth access and mailed medication abortion, as well as lower costs and a rise in interstate travel.
www.kff.org/womens-healt...
www.kff.org/womens-healt...
Abortion Trends Before and After Dobbs | KFF
This brief reviews the different sources of abortion data in the United States, the factors that have affected abortion rates across the U.S, before and after Roe v. Wade, and what we may see as the T...
www.kff.org
January 22, 2026 at 8:52 PM
New data recently released by KFF show higher monthly abortion numbers in early 2025, driven primarily by expanded telehealth access and mailed medication abortion, as well as lower costs and a rise in interstate travel.
www.kff.org/womens-healt...
www.kff.org/womens-healt...
Black maternal health advocates are using this devastating news to honor and continue Dr. Janell Green Smith’s work to advance maternal health equity across the U.S. www.theroot.com/black-matern...
Black Midwife, Doctor of Nursing Practice Dies in Childbirth
www.theroot.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Black maternal health advocates are using this devastating news to honor and continue Dr. Janell Green Smith’s work to advance maternal health equity across the U.S. www.theroot.com/black-matern...
OHSU's research demonstrates what reproductive rights advocates have been saying for years: Abortion restrictions impact all facets of reproductive healthcare.
news.ohsu.edu/2026/01/09/s...
news.ohsu.edu/2026/01/09/s...
States with abortion restrictions have worse outcomes for patients using fertility treatment
OHSU study highlights continued far-reaching implications of abortion restrictions on reproductive health care.
news.ohsu.edu
January 15, 2026 at 8:14 PM
OHSU's research demonstrates what reproductive rights advocates have been saying for years: Abortion restrictions impact all facets of reproductive healthcare.
news.ohsu.edu/2026/01/09/s...
news.ohsu.edu/2026/01/09/s...
January 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Critics and advocates argue such policies function as a backdoor fetal personhood law that punishes pregnant people, deters medical care, and harms families rather than protecting babies.
www.huffpost.com/entry/mariju...
www.huffpost.com/entry/mariju...
This Is What Happens When You Test Positive For Marijuana After Giving Birth In Idaho
Keeva Rossow is one of hundreds of women who have been punished for purported "child abuse" of a fetus — despite giving birth to a healthy baby.
www.huffpost.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Critics and advocates argue such policies function as a backdoor fetal personhood law that punishes pregnant people, deters medical care, and harms families rather than protecting babies.
www.huffpost.com/entry/mariju...
www.huffpost.com/entry/mariju...
The court kept Ohio’s 6-week abortion ban blocked while lifting some related provisions. Abortion access remains unchanged as the State considers whether to appeal.
Read the opinion here: rrli.info/6WkAppealOp
Read the opinion here: rrli.info/6WkAppealOp
January 8, 2026 at 4:50 PM
The court kept Ohio’s 6-week abortion ban blocked while lifting some related provisions. Abortion access remains unchanged as the State considers whether to appeal.
Read the opinion here: rrli.info/6WkAppealOp
Read the opinion here: rrli.info/6WkAppealOp
RRLI’s offices will be closed from Wednesday, December 24, 2025 through Friday, January 2, 2026 for winter recess! We’ll be back on Monday, January 5, 2026.
Wishing you a warm and restful break!
#WinterRecess
Wishing you a warm and restful break!
#WinterRecess
December 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
RRLI’s offices will be closed from Wednesday, December 24, 2025 through Friday, January 2, 2026 for winter recess! We’ll be back on Monday, January 5, 2026.
Wishing you a warm and restful break!
#WinterRecess
Wishing you a warm and restful break!
#WinterRecess
✨ RRLI 2025 Recap ✨
From growing our team and building powerful partnerships, to showing up for reproductive justice in community spaces and the courts, 2025 was a busy year! Thank you to all our partners, supporters, and community for making this work possible. See you in 2026!
From growing our team and building powerful partnerships, to showing up for reproductive justice in community spaces and the courts, 2025 was a busy year! Thank you to all our partners, supporters, and community for making this work possible. See you in 2026!
December 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
✨ RRLI 2025 Recap ✨
From growing our team and building powerful partnerships, to showing up for reproductive justice in community spaces and the courts, 2025 was a busy year! Thank you to all our partners, supporters, and community for making this work possible. See you in 2026!
From growing our team and building powerful partnerships, to showing up for reproductive justice in community spaces and the courts, 2025 was a busy year! Thank you to all our partners, supporters, and community for making this work possible. See you in 2026!
Quentrill is one of a small group of midwives trying to fill a gap in critical maternal healthcare that few medical providers offer to residents in West Virginia.
Over 30,000 Miles, a Midwife Navigates West Virginia’s Maternity Deserts
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Quentrill is one of a small group of midwives trying to fill a gap in critical maternal healthcare that few medical providers offer to residents in West Virginia.
Doctors have reported rising maternal and infant health complications as patients skip essential medical care since President Trump ended protections against immigration enforcement in U.S. hospitals and clinics earlier this year.
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
ICE fears put pregnant immigrants and their babies at risk
Fear of deportation is deterring people without permanent legal status from critical care. Doctors are worried for their health — and the health of their pregnancies.
19thnews.org
December 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Doctors have reported rising maternal and infant health complications as patients skip essential medical care since President Trump ended protections against immigration enforcement in U.S. hospitals and clinics earlier this year.
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
Since many surrounding states enacted strict abortion bans, pregnant people are seeking care elsewhere, including Carbondale, Illinois -- a small city whose three clinics provided nearly 11,000 abortions last year, primarily for women from other states.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
A Small Illinois City at the Center of a Seismic Shift in Abortion Access
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Since many surrounding states enacted strict abortion bans, pregnant people are seeking care elsewhere, including Carbondale, Illinois -- a small city whose three clinics provided nearly 11,000 abortions last year, primarily for women from other states.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
Browder has spent more than a decade exposing the overlooked exploitation of Black women in American medical history, unveiling the *Mothers of Gynecology* monument in 2021. She has now expanded her work to combat Alabama's maternal-health crisis. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
One woman's quest to reclaim the ugly history of Black maternal health
Artist Michelle Browder's Mothers of Gynecology project is an act of resistance.
www.motherjones.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Browder has spent more than a decade exposing the overlooked exploitation of Black women in American medical history, unveiling the *Mothers of Gynecology* monument in 2021. She has now expanded her work to combat Alabama's maternal-health crisis. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
SANE nurses are a crucial component to the justice process, collecting forensic evidence after an assault, testifying in court, and providing trauma-informed care to survivors.
www.cleveland.com/metro/2025/0...
www.cleveland.com/metro/2025/0...
Ohio’s lack of sexual assault examination nurses ‘an impediment to justice,’ advocates say
RAINN reports a shortage of certified sexual assault nurse examiners in Ohio, contributing to the state's 13.5% case closure rate compared to 26.5% nationally.
www.cleveland.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
SANE nurses are a crucial component to the justice process, collecting forensic evidence after an assault, testifying in court, and providing trauma-informed care to survivors.
www.cleveland.com/metro/2025/0...
www.cleveland.com/metro/2025/0...
Newly obtained court records show that Texas deputies used Flock Safety’s nationwide license plate reader network to investigate a woman’s self-managed abortion, contradicting claims that they were merely conducting a welfare check.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Flock Safety and Texas Sheriff Claimed License Plate Search Was for a Missing Person. It Was an Abortion Investigation.
New documents and court records obtained by EFF show that Texas deputies queried Flock Safety's surveillance data in an abortion investigation, contradicting the narrative promoted by the company and ...
www.eff.org
November 19, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Newly obtained court records show that Texas deputies used Flock Safety’s nationwide license plate reader network to investigate a woman’s self-managed abortion, contradicting claims that they were merely conducting a welfare check.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Join RRLI on Monday, November 17 for our upcoming webinar, Radical Inclusion at the DisCo: Repro Health Self-Advocacy!
Learn more and RSVP here: rrli.info/SelfAdvocacy
Learn more and RSVP here: rrli.info/SelfAdvocacy
November 13, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Join RRLI on Monday, November 17 for our upcoming webinar, Radical Inclusion at the DisCo: Repro Health Self-Advocacy!
Learn more and RSVP here: rrli.info/SelfAdvocacy
Learn more and RSVP here: rrli.info/SelfAdvocacy
This community-led effort in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overcame significant barriers to restore access to abortion care and is now expanding services to include contraception, HIV prevention, and gender-affirming care.
www.myupnow.com/news/health/...
www.myupnow.com/news/health/...
After Planned Parenthood closure, doctors pioneer new abortion access model in Upper Peninsula
MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN/WBUP) — Earlier this year, the Upper Peninsula lost its only in-person access to abortion care when Marquette’s Planned Parenthood clinic closed. Now, what's replacing it might ...
www.myupnow.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This community-led effort in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overcame significant barriers to restore access to abortion care and is now expanding services to include contraception, HIV prevention, and gender-affirming care.
www.myupnow.com/news/health/...
www.myupnow.com/news/health/...
Update: New Time! Monday, November 3, beginning at 12PT/3ET.
October 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Update: New Time! Monday, November 3, beginning at 12PT/3ET.
Reposted by Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI)
We look forward to learning from @lawmedicinecwru.bsky.social faculty affiliate Prof. @bjessiehill.bsky.social, who will share her wisdom and expertise on reproductive rights at UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event on Monday, Nov. 3rd!
RRLI is excited to announce that our Director, Jessie Hill, will participate in UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments. The webinar will be hosted on Monday, November 3rd at 11:30 am PT (2:30 pm ET).
Join us on 11/3 at 11:30 AM PT for our upcoming webinar, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments, featuring lawyers on the frontlines of litigation and ballot campaigns with insights into these new constitutional guarantees. RSVP: bit.ly/CRHLPReproWe...
October 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
We look forward to learning from @lawmedicinecwru.bsky.social faculty affiliate Prof. @bjessiehill.bsky.social, who will share her wisdom and expertise on reproductive rights at UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event on Monday, Nov. 3rd!
Despite official guidance directing ICE not to detain pregnant, postpartum, or lactating people, recent reports show that the Trump administration is detaining more pregnant women than ever before in increasingly worse conditions. theintercept.com/2025/10/10/i...
The Trump Administration Is Hiding How Many Pregnant People Are in ICE Detention
The evidence indicates ICE is detaining pregnant women at alarming rates, in rapidly deteriorating conditions.
theintercept.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Despite official guidance directing ICE not to detain pregnant, postpartum, or lactating people, recent reports show that the Trump administration is detaining more pregnant women than ever before in increasingly worse conditions. theintercept.com/2025/10/10/i...
Two House bills currently under consideration could significantly impact abortion care and broader healthcare access in Ohio. Opponents say both HB 324 and HB 410 ignore Ohio voters, who passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in 2023.
ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/10/h...
ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/10/h...
Ohio House committees consider bills that could impact abortion medication, access • Ohio Capital Journal
Two Ohio bills that may have effects on abortion medication and access were considered in separate Ohio House committees this week.
ohiocapitaljournal.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Two House bills currently under consideration could significantly impact abortion care and broader healthcare access in Ohio. Opponents say both HB 324 and HB 410 ignore Ohio voters, who passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in 2023.
ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/10/h...
ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/10/h...
In her op-ed, Dr. Tiffany Green emphasizes that abortion access is not just a medical issue but one of autonomy, dignity and justice. She cautions that focusing only on birth outcomes ties a person's worth to their ability to carry a pregnancy.
academyhealth.org/blog/2025-09...
academyhealth.org/blog/2025-09...
Why Maternal and Child Health Researchers Must Center Bodily Autonomy to Remain Relevant in the Post-Dobbs Era | AcademyHealth
academyhealth.org
October 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
In her op-ed, Dr. Tiffany Green emphasizes that abortion access is not just a medical issue but one of autonomy, dignity and justice. She cautions that focusing only on birth outcomes ties a person's worth to their ability to carry a pregnancy.
academyhealth.org/blog/2025-09...
academyhealth.org/blog/2025-09...
RRLI is excited to announce that our Director, Jessie Hill, will participate in UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments. The webinar will be hosted on Monday, November 3rd at 11:30 am PT (2:30 pm ET).
Join us on 11/3 at 11:30 AM PT for our upcoming webinar, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments, featuring lawyers on the frontlines of litigation and ballot campaigns with insights into these new constitutional guarantees. RSVP: bit.ly/CRHLPReproWe...
October 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM
RRLI is excited to announce that our Director, Jessie Hill, will participate in UCLA Law CRHLP's upcoming virtual panel event, Realizing the Promise of State Reproductive Freedom Amendments. The webinar will be hosted on Monday, November 3rd at 11:30 am PT (2:30 pm ET).