Human Rights

Bustle: Senate Blocks 20-Week Abortion Ban, But Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Guard Down Just Yet

By Eleanore Wood / February 2, 2018 /

The Senate voted on a 20-week abortion ban Monday and voted against this ban. We must continue to fight for abortion rights despite this win. Abortion is safe, even after 20 weeks. Those who need it, know why they need it and should be trusted to make this decision. Doctors and patients should be the…

Read More

Flip Benham aggressively gets in the faces of CMS board

By Eleanore Wood / January 26, 2018 /

On Tuesday, January 24 the Charlotte Mecklenburg school board held a hearing to expand support for LGBT students. During this hearing, Rev. Flip Benham lost control and openly objected to expanding support for LGBT students. He went so far as to get up out of his seat screaming and approaching the board members. Law enforcement…

Read More

Rewire: Amid Threats to ‘Roe,’ State Lawmakers Push to Protect Access to Abortion Care

By Eleanore Wood / January 24, 2018 /

Monday, January 22 was the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the court case that decided people would have access to the abortion care they need. While there has been significant progress in much of the United States, North Carolinians have even fewer rights today than they did on January 22, 1973. In North Carolina Medicaid cannot pay…

Read More

The New York Times: The Women the Abortion War Leaves Out

By Eleanore Wood / January 17, 2018 /

Those seeking abortion care often seek abortion for a variety of issues. These issues sometimes include homelessness, violence and addiction. Often one of the largest issues women seeking abortion care face is poverty. A study of 1,200 people who seek abortion care showed 73% of them saying that money was one of their biggest reasons for seeking…

Read More

Reuters: Florida judge blocks abortion delay law, rules it unconstitutional

By Eleanore Wood / January 12, 2018 /

On Tuesday a Florida judge ruled Florida’s 24-hour abortion wait period unconstitutional. North Carolina also has a law that requires you wait at least 24 hours before receiving abortion care. Wait periods restrict abortion access for many and ultimately hurt those seeking abortion care. There is no need to make people wait for an abortion.…

Read More

Public comments show near-unanimous opposition to legislative attacks on judicial independence

By Eleanore Wood / January 11, 2018 /

Only three of the 1,000+ comments collected by the Senate committee were in favor of the plans to gerrymander court districts and eliminate judicial elections RALEIGH — It’s no wonder lawmakers took so long to respond to Progress North Carolina’s open records request for the public comments collected by the Senate Committee on Judicial Reform…

Read More

Bustle: “How To Expand Reproductive Rights In America In 2018”

By Eleanore Wood / January 5, 2018 /

In 2017 the Trump administration made it clear they intend to limit women’s reproductive rights — by attempting to roll back the ACA’s birth control mandate and trying to block access to abortion care. Despite their constant attacks on reproductive rights, 645 bills were introduced in Washington DC to protect reproductive health rights and 86…

Read More

Vice: When Thousands of Christian ‘Prayer Marchers’ Descend on One Abortion Clinic

By Eleanore Wood / December 15, 2017 /

On Saturday, December 2, thousands of anti-abortion protesters marched down Latrobe Drive and blocked access to North Carolina’s busiest abortion clinic, A Preferred Women’s Health Center. The clinic saw almost 50 fewer patients than they typically see on a Saturday because people did not feel comfortable driving to the clinic with so many protesters outside.…

Read More

Rewire: Thousands Circle North Carolina’s Busiest Abortion Clinic as Anti-Choice Group Marches On

By Eleanore Wood / December 4, 2017 /

Saturday, December 2, almost 1,500 anti-abortion protesters gathered in front of A Preferred Woman’s Health Center in Charlotte. This protest was planned to be the largest anti-abortion protest since the early 1990s. The clinic worked hard to prepare for the protesters by scheduling appointments earlier and doubling the number of clinic escorts outside of the…

Read More

Huffington Post: Missouri’s New Waiting Period Law Is Already Driving Women To Seek Help Elsewhere

By Eleanore Wood / November 26, 2017 /

In late October, a bill was passed in Missouri that requires women to attend a state-mandated counseling session three days before having an abortion. This is one of the longest waiting periods in the country. Because of this waiting period, and the lack of abortion clinics in Missouri, women seeking abortion care are being forced out…

Read More