College Students Are Running Underground Birth Control Networks

9.30.25

Click to skip ahead: Defending Abortion Pills reports that Democratic AGs are ready to fight the Trump administration on their mifepristone ‘review’. In the States, news from South Carolina, California, Missouri, and more. In Policing Pregnancy, a new report shows that over 400 women were charged with pregnancy-related crimes in first the two years after Dobbs. FACT Act About-Face has the latest on the DOJ’s move to use the FACE Act against us. Clinic Watch checks in with clinics across the country in the wake of the Trump administration’s attacks. You Love to See It highlights the amazing repro rights activists on Catholic college campuses.

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Defending Abortion Pills

Last week, Abortion, Every Day broke the news that Trump’s FDA and HHS are planning a “review” of mifepristone’s safety—the next step in their long-planned attack on abortion pills and telehealth. Yesterday, 20 Democratic attorneys general—led by New York AG Leticia James—warned the administration that they’re ready to sue if access to mifepristone is restricted:

“The decision to reexamine access to this medication was made in response to a scientifically baseless letter and ignores decades of research that prove mifepristone is safe and effective…If access to mifepristone is challenged, we will take action to protect it.”

Damn straight. And if you want the full timeline of the Trump administration’s collusion with anti-abortion groups leading up to this so-called “review,” make sure to read our linked coverage above. We do a serious deep dive.

In the States

All eyes on South Carolina Wednesday. Lawmakers there will hear testimony on SB 323—a Republican bill you should be watching no matter where you live. Because SB 323 isn’t just another shitty ban: it’s model legislation written by National Right to Life. In other words, it’s the anti-abortion blueprint Republicans want to impose on women across the country.

They’re telling us very clearly what they want to do—and how they plan to do it. SB 323 would:

• Ban all abortions, eliminating exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal diagnoses.

• Allow women to be charged with murder for ending a pregnancy—which in South Carolina could mean the death penalty.

• Redefine birth control so that certain IUDs, emergency contraception, and at least one hormonal pill would no longer count as contraception.

• Force patients with life-threatening pregnancies into c-sections or delivery, even when the fetus has no chance of survival.

• Mandate that public schools show students the anti-abortion propaganda video Baby Olivia.

• Charge abortion providers under RICO laws.

• Criminalize abortion speech—including websites, medical referrals, and the sharing of information about how to get an abortion. (Even parents bringing their raped child out-of-state for abortion could be arrested—as could the grandparent who lent them gas money to get there.)

Republicans have tried to push this bill through before, but South Carolina abortion rights activists are more concerned this time around. As Ashlyn Preaux from Palmetto State Abortion Fund flagged earlier this month:

“We lost all three Republican women senators after they voted against the six-week ban. We lost at least two Democratic senators in the 2024 election as well…. Without enormous pushback I don’t see any leadership on the Republican side this time around to oppose this bill.”

Anti-abortion activists seem more emboldened too: they seem to believe SB 323 could withstand a legal challenge all the way up to the state Supreme Court. (Remember, the only reason South Carolina has a six-week ban at all is because Republicans rushed it through the moment the court’s sole female justice retired.)

When asked this week if he thought the state’s highest court would uphold SB 323, bill sponsor Sen. Richard Cash said, “If we can create the heartbeat law that makes the heartbeat a determining factor, I don’t see why the clinically diagnosable pregnancy can’t be a determining factor.”

For more on SB 323, read our explainer below. And join us tomorrow here and on socials as we watch the testimony.

South Carolina Republicans Move to Ban Birth Control

Remember when we asked mainstream outlets to stop saying California lets doctors “anonymously” prescribe abortion pills? Just yesterday we pointed out that the term is straight from anti-abortion messaging—and flat-out wrong. Providers in shield states aren’t prescribing “anonymously”; their name simply isn’t publicly visible on a prescription label.

There’s a reason we’re such sticklers for language: Today, the California Family Council blasted the state’s expanded shield law, accusing Democratic leaders of—you guessed it—”allowing anonymous abortion prescriptions.” Call me crazy, but I don’t think NPR and Politico headlines should sound like powerful right-wing hate groups.

Anti-abortion organizations are desperate to keep providers’ names on labels because that’s how they target them for harassment, lawsuits, and prosecution. And while California Family Council vice president Greg Burt says “the state has eliminated a basic safeguard for women’s health,” he fails to mention that the law also allows patients to keep their names off labels. It’s a crucial protection for those in abusive relationships. (We’ve seen plenty of lawsuits filed by angry men trying to punish partners who had abortions without their “permission.”)

All of which is to say: words matter, choose them carefully!

Finally, abortion rights groups in Missouri are gearing up to fight the Republican ban headed for the 2026 ballot. The Missouri Independent reports that a new campaign—Stop the Ban—has already raised nearly $850,000. Their opposition? A conservative PAC called Her Health, Her Future—run by the governor’s wife, of all people.

Quick refresher (because I always assume this might be someone’s first newsletter): Missouri voters passed a pro-choice measure, Amendment 3, back in November. But Republicans don’t give a shit what voters want and have done everything possible to keep abortion inaccessible.

Now they’ve put abortion back on the ballot—this time as a ban. And they’re doing everything they can to mislead voters about the amendment: like drafting a ballot summary that reads like it protects access, and labeling the ban Amendment 3 to confuse pro-choice voters. (Stop the Ban has already had to tell supporters to ditch their “Yes on 3” merch—ugh.)

AED will keep you updated, but if you want to learn more about what’s been going on in Missouri in the meantime—read this guest column from the amazing folks over at Missouri Abortion Fund.

Quick hits:

• Arizona anti-abortion extremist David Schweikert just launched his gubernatorial bid;

• Baby Olivia is back, this time in Ohio;

• And a Friday court ruling has allowed Nevada’s law forcing minors to get parental approval for abortions to stand.

Policing Pregnancy

There’s an unfortunate reason Abortion, Every Day has an entire section dedicated to policing pregnancy: It happens often. In fact, a new report from Pregnancy Justice found that in just the first two years after Roe fell, more than 400 people were charged with crimes related to their pregnancies.

President Lourdes A. Rivera put it plainly: “This data shows how giving separate legal rights to fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses has real and dangerous consequences for pregnant people.”

In the first year after Dobbs alone, more than 250 people were arrested over their pregnancy outcomes. Now, in their latest report, Pregnancy Justice has detailed 412 cases spanning 16 states—most under child neglect, endangerment, or abuse laws that were never intended to target pregnant people. Nine involved abortion-related allegations, like searching for information online or ordering medication. So much for Republicans’ promise not to criminalize patients!

The report also shows that more than three-quarters of defendants were low-income, and in nearly two-thirds of cases, “information supporting criminal prosecution was obtained or disclosed in a medical setting.” We’ve seen this before: nurses and healthcare workers turning patients in or working with police as de facto interrogators.

We’ve covered that human toll ourselves: women in Georgia and South Carolina arrested over how they disposed of miscarriage remains; a Texas woman jailed for five months after miscarrying in a public bathroom, while a local crisis pregnancy center seized her fetal remains, named the fetus, and held a public funeral; and just this month, a Kentucky college student arrested for “abuse of a corpse” after police claimed to find an “infant” in her closet (the coroner later told AED that “infant” can mean fetus).

While the highest numbers of cases came from states like Alabama (192), Oklahoma (112), and South Carolina (62), the pattern isn’t limited to “red” states. Pregnancy Justice also found arrests in California and New Mexico—and we’ve reported on cases in ‘pro-choice’ states like Pennsylvania and New York. Still, abortion bans and fetal personhood laws make it far easier to target women.

There’s much more in the report—and we’ll probably reference it again this week—but we’ll leave you with this: Pregnancy Justice found that women are criminalized for supposedly harming their fetuses—whether there’s any proof or not. In 378 of the charges, proof of harm to the fetus was not required.

FACE Act About-Face

Yesterday, we reported that the Trump administration is hijacking the FACE Act—a federal law meant to protect abortion clinics—to target pro-Palestinian protesters. The Department of Justice is framing it as a crackdown on anyone accused of “violence” or “obstruction” at houses of worship.

But as AED warned, Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, suggested months ago they might use the law against pro-choice activists.

Now, new details about the DOJ’s case make that danger even clearer. Carter Sherman at The Guardian has the details, but here’s the short version: last year, a pro-Palestinian protester was brutally attacked—beaten with a flashlight and pepper-sprayed by two counter-protesters. Those attackers were charged with aggravated assault and bias intimidation.

But who’s facing FACE Act charges? The man who was assaulted. Why? Because prosecutors say he used a vuvuzela (a plastic party horn) as a weapon by blowing it loudly in someone’s ear.

So this isn’t just about using the FACE Act to intimidate protesters the administration doesn’t like—it’s about weaponizing the law against people who dare to complain about being attacked.

You don’t have to stretch too far to see how dangerous this could be for abortion rights activists. The folks I’m most worried about are clinic escorts and defenders—the volunteers who have to deal with asshole protesters every day as they harass and intimidate patients and staff.

Those extremists have already been assured by the Trump administration that they don’t have to worry about FACE Act charges, but this case tells them that maybe the law could be used to protect them—or punish anyone who fights back.

I mean, really: if blowing a party horn counts as a ‘weapon’ worthy of federal charges, how can we prepare clinic defenders and escorts for what comes next?

Clinic Watch

Maine 🟢

Over in Maine, volunteers are canvassing neighborhoods to tell as many people as possible that their local Planned Parenthood clinics remain open—a really smart move in the wake of national confusion and overwhelm. Lisa Margulies of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England says, “I think there’s a lot of misinformation floating around, not only perpetuated by folks out of state, but also by political actors in state.”

McLeod-Tardiff, a Planned Parenthood canvassing organizer, said it best: “While there are politicians who are trying to take away our care, we’re out here in the rain, talking to real people, making sure that people know that they can get care.”

Louisiana 🔴

We’re so sorry to report that Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana closed their doors today after forty years. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast President Melaney Linton said in a statement that the decision was forced by “relentless political assaults” from state officials, but the “fight for freedom continues.”

This is just such a difficult one to stomach; we’re sending all of our love and support to abortion rights workers in the state. We see you and appreciate you more than we could ever articulate.

Wisconsin 🔴

We told you the terrible news last week that Planned Parenthood clinics in Wisconsin will stop providing abortions—a move to retain Medicaid reimbursements in the wake of Trump’s budget bill. As a result, surrounding pro-choice states are expecting a large influx of new patients: Minnesota Public Radio looks at how the move might impact their clinics, and Illinois Public Radio reports on how pro-choice organizations there are preparing.

California 🟢

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a new motion seeking a preliminary injunction as part of the state’s ongoing lawsuit to block the ‘defund’ provision of the “Big, Beautiful” budget law. Announcing the motion today, Bonta said:

“The stakes have never been higher. These centers provide critical healthcare services for low-income patients across the country—our states, and the health of our people, will suffer immensely if the Defund Provision is allowed to remain in effect.”

Last week, we launched our new section, Clinic Watch, to help keep track of how Planned Parenthood and other reproductive healthcare clinics are faring across the country in the wake of federal attacks. If there’s anything we’re missing, please shoot us an email at tips@abortioneveryday.com.

You Love to See It

It hurts my heart that this is necessary, but thank goodness for young activists. The Associated Press reports today on the “Womb Service,” a student-led campaign at DePaul University that covertly delivers birth control on a campus where contraception is against the rules.

Why would birth control be banned on a college campus in 2025? Well, because DePaul is a Catholic university.

Economics student Maya Roman told the AP she learned about reproductive health from her mom, a nurse. But once she got to DePaul, she realized how unprepared her peers were when it came to sexual health. “It was seeing a need in the community and trying my best to address it right away,” she said.

Womb Service started as part of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, but DePaul stripped the group of its student organization status—a crackdown we’re seeing more and more at religious colleges nationwide. (Young people really are the canaries in the coal mine.)

It truly blows my mind that we’re living in a moment when young women have to surreptitiously hand off condoms in paper bags. Still, I’m endlessly grateful for Roman and others like her. Literal heroes.