Here's What a Reproductive Police State Looks Like

7.8.25

Click to skip ahead: Policing Pregnancy takes a look at Indiana’s bureaucratic reproductive police state. In the States, more news from Indiana, along with stories from South Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, and more. Attacks on Planned Parenthood has the latest on the attempts to defund the organization and some (temporary) good news. Care Crisis looks at how doctors are preparing for restrictions on mifepristone. Stats & Studies has more evidence that women are leaving anti-abortion states. Are You a Student Activist? Then we want to hear from you! Finally, You Love to See It highlights a terrific campaign shaming anti-abortion Supreme Court justices.

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Policing Pregnancy

Last month, I warned that we were on the verge of a major new criminalization push. I pointed to some specific and explicit signs, like the rise of ‘equal protection’ bills designed to charge abortion patients with murder, and the spike in pregnancy-related arrests.

But here’s the thing—some of the scariest portents are actually mundane. Bureaucratic, even.

Take this recent report from the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH). In ten pages, it spells out exactly how the state plans to ramp up “enforcement” of its abortion ban—from maintaining a database of women’s abortions and fining hospitals that don’t hand over patient information, to “collaboration” between the IDOH and the attorney general’s office to help with prosecuting providers.

Essentially, it’s a government guidebook for how to punish anyone even tangentially involved in abortion.

Before I go any further, I have to remind you that abortion is illegal in Indiana. You can only get one if your life is at risk, the fetus has a fatal abnormality, or if you’re a victim of sexual violence (and early in pregnancy).

In other words, almost no one is getting an abortion in Indiana. In fact, only two completed abortion reports were submitted in the first quarter of 2025.

So why pour all this state money, manpower, and energy into policing a tiny handful of abortions? Well, don’t ever underestimate how eager these fuckers are to terrorize women.

The whole point is to scare the hell out of anyone considering abortion, or helping someone get care. More than that, this document—and the entire effort behind it—is about building formal state systems that make pregnancy surveillance and policing look normal. Ordinary. Boring.

It’s the bureaucratic reproductive police state in action.

You can read the full IDOH report yourself here, but just a few highlights:

• Indiana will maintain a state registry called the Database Registration of Indiana’s Vital Events (“DRIVE”). In it, you’ll find birth and death records, and—you guessed it—abortion reports. (If you’re a regular reader, you know that for over a year, I’ve been tracking Indiana Republicans’ efforts to make women’s abortion reports public records, just like birth or death certificates.)

• Any doctor or hospital that doesn’t hand over women’s abortion information will face fines and disciplinary action. The IDOH says it will increase collaboration with the state’s licensing agency to speed up those punishments.

• The state will ramp up so-called “legal compliance monitoring”—meaning they’ll scrutinize every single abortion performed under the ban’s narrow exceptions to ensure women really “deserved” that care. The IDOH will also funnel more information to the attorney general so he can target specific doctors or clinics.

I could keep going, but it’s all bad. And again—it’s all incredibly boring if you don’t know what you’re looking at. And that’s exactly the point. What better way to build a reproductive police state than through a pile of dry state documents no one will ever bother to read?

In the States

I wish we were done with Indiana, but there’s one more thing from that report that I have to mention—and it has to do with Med Ed laws. These are policies that claim to ‘educate’ doctors about state bans, while actually empowering radical anti-abortion organizations to dictate when and how providers can give life-saving abortions. (i.e., never)

In fact, just last week, I warned that Republican states would be leaning on the extremist American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) to create these so-called classes and curricula.

Well, check out this very telling bit of language buried in that Indiana Department of Health report:

“To support improved provider understanding of legal requirements and to prevent violations, IDOH will develop and hold Continuing Medical Education (“CME”) events focused on reporting obligations, enforcement procedures, and applicable state and federal laws. These educational efforts are intended to offer clear, accessible guidance to medical professionals involved in any aspect of abortion care, helping ensure lawful and consistent practice across Indiana.”

In plain language? Indiana is going to create a Med Ed policy that requires doctors to be taught some anti-abortion bullshit—likely taught by groups that don’t even believe in life-saving abortions.

Given that AAPLOG just launched a new curriculum campaign, it’s safe to assume they’ll be involved in some way. I’m going to take a closer look at what’s happening in Indiana—but if you happen to see any Med Ed-type language pop up in your state, let me know!

South Carolina Republicans are taking a victory lap in response to data from the state health department showing a 63% drop in abortions. Rep. Jordan Pace told WCIV that the numbers were “a touchdown.”

But Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, points out that abortions haven’t stopped: “We have just simply changed where it happens.”

As you all know, there’s been a massive uptick in patients leaving anti-abortion states for care. And while we’re all grateful that so many patients are still able to get abortions despite bans, there are still major financial, physical, and emotional costs associated with traveling for care.

“I think our legislators have done exactly what they wanted to, which is to make sure women in South Carolina have to suffer as much as possible before being able to access an abortion,” Ringer said.

One last thing: Pace claimed that South Carolina voters “are a pro-life majority…super majority.” As is the case pretty much everywhere, they are definitely…not.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court may have struck down the 1849 law that Republicans used to ban abortion, but abortion rights activists in the state say that doesn’t mean reproductive rights is safe. Here’s Michelle Velasquez, chief strategy officer for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin:

“[The] ruling was really a victory for patients across the state, for providers across the state, and I think, for public health and basic human dignity. But it doesn't offer the protection … of ensuring that that ability to make those decisions is enshrined in our Constitution and protected for people in this state in the long term.”

You see, the state Supreme Court dismissed a different case brought by Planned Parenthood that argued the Wisconsin Constitution protects bodily autonomy and abortion access. Velasquez told the Cap Times that now nothing is there to stop Republicans in the legislature from introducing another bill to ban or restrict abortion.

Unfortunately, codifying abortion protections in a state constitution doesn’t always guarantee access. Just look at what’s happening in Missouri, where patients are still being jerked around months after passing a pro-choice ballot measure.

We told you yesterday about the back-and-forth court battle over access, where Republicans are determined to ignore the will of the voters and ban abortion despite Amendment 3. A few updates today: Some clinics, like Planned Parenthood in Kansas City, have resumed care as a result of a judge’s recent block. But Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has already filed an appeal to overturn that ruling.

Bailey, disgustingly, claims that the TRAP-law restrictions on clinics are just there to protect women. “Missouri will not stand idly by while the abortion industry seeks to strip away basic medical safeguards,” he said. Honestly, fuck this guy.

Quick hits:

• Planned Parenthood is shuttering a clinic in Cleveland, Ohio;

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution walks us through Adriana Smith’s story in Georgia, and what it reveals about how abortion bans can undermine women’s end-of-life wishes;

• And Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has had to rev up its capacity for an influx of out-of-state patients post-Dobbs—the so-called “big, beautiful bill” now leaves the organization’s fate hanging in the balance.

Attacks on Planned Parenthood

In some good, albeit temporary news, a federal judge has blocked the ‘big beautiful bill’ from defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. For 14 days.

On July 21, Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani will hear arguments on whether to grant a longer pause on that portion of Republicans’ sweeping budget bill. (Trump signed his big bullshit bill on Friday, July 4th in an act of characteristic, eyeroll-inducing political theater.)

In a statement, Planned Parenthood said they’re grateful that the court acted quickly—but acknowledge how disruptive and devastating the looming threat of defunding is for the organization and its 600 clinics:

"Already, in states across the country, providers and health center staff have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care…There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand.”

The injunction came just hours after Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the ‘defunding’ portion of Republicans’ budget bill. In the suit, the organization argues that “the true design of the Defund Provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood, which plays a particularly prominent role in the public debate over abortion.”

Remember: the Defund Provision could shutter one in four of all abortion clinics—pushing access out of reach even in states where it remains legal. That’s exactly why Planned Parenthood (appropriately!) calls the bill a backdoor national abortion ban.

Want to know more about how the BBB is a backdoor ban? After you read Abortion, Every Day’s explainer, take a listen to today’s episode of The NPR Politics Podcast:

Care Crisis

Ms. magazine reports that abortion providers are preparing for the possibility that they’ll have to pivot to misoprostol-only medication abortions if the FDA rolls back access to mifepristone. Melissa Grant, COO of carafem, told the magazine, “We’ll continue offering trusted options despite changing political challenges.”

Now, we know that miso-only abortions are safe and effective—and it’s important that potential patients know that the option is available to them should something happen to mifepristone. But I also think it’s important to remember that miso-only abortions can be more painful; and some providers worry that because patients need to take additional doses of miso, that discomfort may stop them from doing so.

All of which is to say: abortion patients should be able to get the standard two-medication regimen.

“It was the state that used these machines to desecrate Smith’s corpse – to turn it from the vessel for a beautiful person, the nurse and mother, into an object that symbolized women’s degradation and Smith’s disposability. What should have been a respected artifact of a loved person became a macabre marionette, pushed and pulled by a state apparatus that sees all women’s bodies as mere means to its own ends.”

- Moira Donegan in The Guardian, in a must-read piece about Adriana Smith

Stats & Studies

This week, the Wall Street Journal looked at how abortion bans impact where working women and prospective students are choosing to live. You won’t be surprised to hear what they found.

As we learned earlier this year, about 146,000 residents moved away from abortion-banned states after Dobbs—primarily in the South. While these states had been growing in population more quickly than other parts of the country, that advantage has been obliterated by abortion bans.

WSJ also flagged newer research that showed “high-achieving women” are now less likely to apply to college in states with bans. That’s hardly surprising: Who would want to spend at least four years living in a state that threatens to jail you over your health care decisions?

The outlet spoke to one woman who travels about 40 times a year as a consultant, but decided to put her travels to abortion-banned states on pause in her second trimester, as these states have a galling record of almost killing women who experience pregnancy complications.

“No amount of money is worth putting my life at risk. It’s a terrible position to be put in, quite frankly,” she said.

All of this aligns with research AED has tracked since the end of Roe—like studies showing that states with bans are seeing a significant drop in med student residency applications and young professionals willing to move there.

It’s no wonder that abortion-banned states are losing over $130 billion annually.

Are You a Student Activist?

Abortion, Every Day wants to hear from student repro rights activists who’ve been impacted by the Trump administration.

We’ve been following this incredible story about a reproductive rights group at DePaul University that secretly distributes emergency contraception to other students, in violation of the school’s policies. Well, actually—not really in violation: Maya Roman of “Womb Service” told the Chicago Sun Times that so long as they deliver the birth control on public property, they’re not breaking school rules.

Let’s just pause on that a moment: College students are having to secretly pass around contraception. In 2025. In Illinois!

You see, DePaul is a Catholic institution that considers contraception “inappropriate health material.” And because ‘Womb Service’ is affiliated with Planned Parenthood Generation Action, the school deactivated the student group’s status last month.

Student leaders are accusing the university of capitulating to the Trump administration, which has spent the last several months taking an ax to anything it deems “DEI” and gutting both free speech and reproductive health.

AED would love to hear from any student repro activists experiencing similar unjust treatment. If that sounds like you or someone you know, get in touch with us at tips@abortioneveryday.com.

You Love to See It

I don’t know how I missed this, but I couldn’t love it more: The week that we marked the anniversary of Dobbs, Mayday.Health took out newspaper ads in the hometowns of every Supreme Court justice who voted to overturn Roe.

“These unelected justices took away access to abortion care for millions of women — resulting in dystopian abortion care deserts all across our country. But what these justices didn’t know is that overturning Roe would, actually, make abortion more popular than ever.”

Amazing: shame them, and remind them that they’re losers, to boot!

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