Press Releases

The Population Institute applauds the reintroduction of the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act today in the House and Senate. The bill would ensure that the State Department reports on reproductive rights in a way that aligns with international human rights standards, and would prevent future administrations from eliminating this crucial reproductive rights reporting.  Read More »

President Biden today signed an executive order rescinding the global gag rule, which bars foreign NGOs that receive U.S. global health funding from counseling patients about abortion or referring them to abortion services. The order reverses a Trump-era policy that disrupted the provision of health care, including abortion services, to millions of people in developing countries. Read More »

Yesterday the Senate confirmed president Trump’s appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, shifting the balance of the Court even further to the right and putting at risk our health and rights for years—perhaps decades—to come. Read More »

We are heartbroken by the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Over her long career she has left an indelible legacy of making this country fairer and more equal for all. Read More »

The reports of forced sterilizations occurring in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities are extremely alarming. This is an egregious and staggering violation of human rights. No one should be subjected to reproductive coercion in any form. Unfortunately, the U.S. has a shameful history of forcing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), along with people with disabilities, to undergo sterilization. Read More »

In a victory for abortion access, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in June Medical Services v. Russo that Louisiana could not require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The ruling upholds an earlier Supreme Court decision, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down a similar Texas law because it placed on undue burden upon those seeking abortion care. While the Louisiana law was virtually identical to the Texas law, which was struck down in 2016, it was not a forgone conclusion that the Supreme Court—with the subsequent appointments of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the bench–would uphold the precedent. Read More »

George Floyd has been laid to rest, but racism in America remains alive. We must commit to eradicating racism in all its forms. It’s not just the fatal assaults by police on innocent Black lives. It’s not just White vigilantes gunning down Black people on the street or White nationalists attacking Black churches. It’s not just the epidemic of brutal assaults on the Black transgender community, particularly Black trans women. It’s time, as Philonise Floyd told Congress yesterday, to “stop the pain.” But we must also commit to ending systemic racism, for violence against Black Americans is only the most visible and hideous form of racism in America. Read More »

In response to the killing of George Floyd, millions of Americans have joined together to protest the taking of yet another innocent life by law enforcement officers whose duty it is to uphold the law and protect the public. The Population Institute condemns police brutality and the excessive use of force that continues to take a tragic and unacceptably high toll on the Black community. Read More »

With the U.S. Supreme Court preparing to render judgment on two cases that could significantly limit access to reproductive health services in the U.S, the Population Institute today released a report documenting the Trump/Pence administration’s expansive and tireless assault on sexual and reproductive health and rights. In releasing the report, Robert Walker, the president of … Read More »

In a major reversal, Congress this week rejected an increase in U.S. funding for international family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs. The Senate and the House of Representatives passed an appropriations package that freezes spending for those programs at current levels ($607.5 million) for the tenth year in a row. Read More »