Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly roundup. Every Monday, we’ll send you a summary of the biggest stories about bodily autonomy. We’ll also include links to pieces that Garnet or Susan have published.
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Let’s dive in.
On Autonomy News
Remember the Texas woman who accused a man of slipping abortion drugs into her hot chocolate, causing her to miscarry? We reported on a countersuit from Christoper Cooprider, who says the woman made up the story to enact revenge on him. He’s seeking $100 million in actual damages and $1 billion in punitive damages. His claims challenge the coerced abortion narrative laid out by the woman’s lawyer, anti-abortion activist Jonathan Mitchell. Our reporting on the counterclaim was republished by Mother Jones and cited in New York magazine. (Share this story on Instagram or Bluesky.)
Garnet Henderson
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Federal news
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has once again suggested that access to the abortion pill mifepristone could be cut back. While fielding tough questions from the Senate Finance Committee about upheaval at the CDC, Kennedy suggested that Biden officials “twisted the data” on mifepristone. He didn’t back up this claim. He also suggested a complication rate of 11 percent, which is the same figure in the junk science “study” published earlier this year by the far-right Ethics and Public Policy Center.
The day before the hearing, powerful anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called on RFK to update the public about his promised “review” of mifepristone’s safety. The organization claimed that “abortion drugs are fueling abuse nationwide,” citing the disputed Texas abortion pill case.
Relatedly, the Center for Reproductive Rights announced it’s suing the Trump administration “over its failure to respond to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking transparency around its re-evaluation of abortion pill safety.”
With apologies, there is even more news about Secretary Bear Carcass. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy will soon release a report tying use of acetaminophen—yup, Tylenol—during pregnancy to autism. The report will also apparently suggest that a form of the vitamin folate, called folinic acid or leucovorin, can either prevent autism or somehow treat its symptoms. There is some very early research suggesting that some forms of folate can improve communication in some children with autism, but scientists say the research is far too new to draw conclusions from it.
On the Tylenol question, there is zero credible evidence that acetaminophen is dangerous during pregnancy. In fact, it’s the only over-the-counter pain reliever and fever reducer that is broadly considered safe throughout pregnancy. The Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in a statement that untreated fever and pain during pregnancy can have “significant” maternal and infant health risks: “Untreated fever, particularly in the first trimester, increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth, and untreated pain can lead to maternal depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure.” Stock prices for Tylenol maker Kenvue have already fallen in anticipation of Kennedy’s report.
This sounds like state news, but trust us, it’s going to become federal pretty quickly: New York Attorney General Letitia James is intervening in a case filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against a county clerk who’s refused to enforce a fine against a New York abortion provider. Paxton accused Dr. Margaret Carpenter of prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient under New York’s so-called “shield law” and won a $113,000 judgement against her in Texas court. Paxton tried to collect the penalty in New York court, but Ulster County clerk Taylor Bruck refused to accept the filing due to the shield law, so Paxton sued him, too. James said she is stepping in to defend the constitutionality of the state’s shield law: “Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here.” Paxton has argued that New York’s law violates the Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause, which says states need to respect each other’s statutes. So, yes, this dispute will be heading to the Supreme Court.
State news
The Texas legislature gave final approval to HB 7, a bill that would allow residents to file civil lawsuits against prescribers and manufacturers of abortion pills for $100,000 in damages. It now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.
The University of Kentucky student athlete who was arrested and charged last week after police say they found fetal remains in her off-campus home has withdrawn from the university.
South Carolina Republicans will consider a total abortion ban; currently, abortion is legal there until the detection of embryonic cardiac activity, or about six weeks of pregnancy. The bill would make abortion a felony and open women who have abortions to criminal prosecution. The ACLU of South Carolina says the bill would also make it a felony to provide information to a pregnant person about how to obtain an abortion. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee will meet to discuss the bill on October 1.
The Idaho 988 Crisis and Suicide Hotline says a new law that requires parental consent for nearly any medical treatment provided to a person under 18 has negatively affected its ability to help young callers. Health providers don’t need consent in a medical emergency with the potential to cause death or “imminent, irreparable physical injury,” but this extremely high bar means hotline operators often have to ask minors to get a parent or guardian on the phone. If they can’t or don’t feel comfortable with that, operators have to terminate the call. The law was primarily intended to impede access to gender-affirming care.
Another day, another attack by Missouri Republicans on the ballot measure process. The House passed a bill last week that would require a majority of voters in each of the state’s eight congressional districts to approve a citizen-led ballot initiative in order for it to move forward. That means as few as five percent of voters could defeat a petition even if it has majority support across the state. Missouri law allows for both citizen-led ballot initiatives and legislative referrals—meaning lawmakers put a measure on the ballot for voters to weigh in on. This new bill wouldn’t affect legislative referrals, leaving lawmakers free to do as they please, just as they’ve done with the 2026 ballot proposal that would ban both abortion and gender-affirming care. All of this is in reaction to the success of a reproductive rights ballot measure in 2024, which was citizen-led.
Personhood watch
A federal judge in Minnesota dismissed a lawsuit that invoked fetal personhood to try to challenge state abortion protections. In November, a group of plaintiffs sued the state and abortion providers, claiming that they had illegally terminated the parental rights of women who had unwanted or “involuntary” abortions. The suit, backed by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), suggested that Minnesota’s abortion consent laws violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. They claim that abortions terminate a pregnant person’s relationship with their unborn child, and people can only waive that right by appearing before a judge. But we’re talking about embryos and fetuses here, not relinquishing a living child for adoption. Judge Nancy Brasel granted the defendants’ request to dismiss the case, writing, “no case has recognized a constitutionally protected right between a pregnant mother and her unborn child.” The plaintiffs say they intend to appeal.
Assaults on queer people
The Idaho college student who challenged the state’s 2020 ban on transgender athletes participating in school sports notified the Supreme Court that she wants to drop her case due to the “negative public scrutiny” associated with it. The Court had agreed to hear appeals from Republicans in Idaho and West Virginia who wanted to defend their states’ bans. The justices may or may not grant this request to declare her challenge as moot. Either way, the West Virginia case will go forward, meaning the Supreme Court will weigh in on whether it’s constitutional for states to bar trans athletes from school sports. Alliance Defending Freedom, the far-right law firm which is defending both bans, called on the Court to deny the request to drop the Idaho case.
The far-right National Conservatism conference held a panel on Wednesday about overturning the Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality decision, Obergefell v. Hodges. The panel featured John Eastman, one of the attorneys behind Trump’s 2020 effort to prevent Congress from certifying the election.
Yeesh, so much for settled… nationalconservatism.org/natcon-5-202...
— Robin Marty (@robinmarty.com) 2025-09-03T12:34:00.821Z
Quick hits
- From WIRED: “When her son died in utero, a venture capitalist went to extremes to punish her surrogate.” This wild, infuriating story reveals how few protections there are for gestational surrogates—an issue many would rather not discuss.
- In its response to her lawsuit, an Ohio hospital claims that Brittany Watts—the woman who was arrested after suffering a stillbirth at home in 2023—left the hospital twice against medical advice. Watts says she was sent home without treatment. The city of Warren, Ohio, claims that when police interrogated Watts in the hospital, the conversation was “consensual.” They maintain that they had probable cause to pursue a criminal investigation.
- In July, a federal judge permanently blocked a portion of Tennessee’s abortion travel ban that prohibited “recruiting” minors to have abortions, on the grounds that this language was unconstitutional and vague. The state is now appealing that ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Palate cleanser
Oh, to be him.
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♬ original sound - Thor & Rosie🇨🇦
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