Tag Archives: Megan Burbank

Voices

OPINION | On Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and the Idea of an ‘Acceptable’ Abortion Story

by Megan Burbank

The morning the news broke that Britney Spears had a medication abortion in secret at the height of her fame, a strange thing happened: People were kind about it. As a memoir excerpt detailing the experience overwhelmed social media, I saw messages of support and appreciation for Spears, and if there was any ire, it seemed mostly directed at Justin Timberlake, Spears’ boyfriend at the time, less for his desire not to become a parent at 20, but because even knowing all she’d been through, he would go on to slut-shame Spears in what is arguably one of the grossest clout-chasing campaigns of all time.

I hope Spears saw the messages of support. After all, she’s survived, she deserves them.

Continue reading OPINION | On Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and the Idea of an ‘Acceptable’ Abortion Story →
Community

Research on Pregnancy Rarely Includes Trans and Queer Birthing People. A New Study Is Changing That

by Megan Burbank

For decades, queer and trans birthing people have been left out of medical research on pregnancy and birth, which has historically centered the experiences of white, cisgender straight couples. But a new study housed partially at the University of Washington and led by queer and trans researchers is setting a new standard for inclusion. It’s the first study of its size to focus specifically on the pregnancy care and birthing experiences of trans and queer birthing people.

Continue reading Research on Pregnancy Rarely Includes Trans and Queer Birthing People. A New Study Is Changing That →
Voices

OPINION | Pregnancy and Poverty Have Always Been Criminalized

by Megan Burbank

In 2014, a 16-year-old girl named Rennie Gibbs was indicted for “depraved heart murder” by a Mississippi grand jury after giving birth to a baby who died. As ProPublica’s Nina Martin reported contemporaneously, the baby’s likely cause of death was a nuchal cord, when the umbilical cord wraps around an infant’s neck. But because Gibbs had a history of drug use, an overzealous medical examiner blamed the baby’s death on Gibbs herself.

Continue reading OPINION | Pregnancy and Poverty Have Always Been Criminalized →
Features

Bad Faith: Anti-LGBTQIA+ Activists Are Repurposing a Decades-Old Anti-Abortion Strategy

by Megan Burbank

As conservative legislators continue attacks on gender-affirming care nationwide, the same small group of political actors is showing up again and again to sow fear about this life-saving medical care. While the spate of attacks on gender-affirming care might seem recent, the rhetorical strategies propelling it are straight out of the Moral Majority’s anti-abortion playbook from the 1980s. The reemergence of these strategies exemplifies the obvious nexus between anti-abortion and anti-trans policy, and should prompt a look back at the true origins of the anti-abortion movement, which also relied on selective storytelling.

Continue reading Bad Faith: Anti-LGBTQIA+ Activists Are Repurposing a Decades-Old Anti-Abortion Strategy →
Voices

OPINION | What The Latest Mifepristone Ruling Really Means

by Megan Burbank

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Food and Drug Administration should revoke its approval for mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortions. The case has drawn widespread attention, given the impact it could have on access to mifepristone and spurred confusion about whether medication abortion is still available.

It is. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to be clear on this point: Mifepristone remains legal and accessible in states where abortion is, and will remain that way until the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. If you take away just one piece of information from this column, that should be it. But if you want to know more, let’s dig in.

Continue reading OPINION | What The Latest Mifepristone Ruling Really Means →
Features

Thinking of Counter-Protesting Abortion Protesters? There Are Better Ways to Help

by Megan Burbank

As a reproductive health policy reporter, my inbox is a rich text. Every day, I field a deeply chaotic assortment of messages from abortion-rights activists, reproductive health care providers, and anti-abortion organizations peddling misinformation about abortion. (I also get weird invitations to take part in “collabs” that have nothing to do with my beat; if you do this to me, I delete without reading, sorry!) Among these messages, the latter usually presents the biggest minefield for myths about abortion: The anti-abortion movement has propagated many since the rise of the Moral Majority after Roe v. Wade was decided, and the narrative they lean heavily on — that abortion harms women and ruins lives — is easily dispatched if you look at existing data on how most people feel about abortion.

Continue reading Thinking of Counter-Protesting Abortion Protesters? There Are Better Ways to Help →
Features

Last Year, Birth Doulas Fought for Medicaid Reimbursement. Now, They’re Making It a Reality

by Megan Burbank

Last year, a QTBIPOC-led coalition of birth doulas lobbied for a road to certification and reimbursement under Medicaid in Washington State — and won. By broadening access to doula support, the group hopes to improve birth outcomes among communities most affected by America’s ongoing perinatal health crisis. “That is the reason why we were trying to get Medicaid reimbursement,” said Senait Brown, policy director at Surge Reproductive Justice, which facilitated the Doulas for All Coalition. “Reimbursement is not the goal. Ending the Black and Indigenous perinatal health crisis is the goal.”

Continue reading Last Year, Birth Doulas Fought for Medicaid Reimbursement. Now, They’re Making It a Reality →
Features

OB-GYNs Say Dobbs Has Harmed Their Capacity to Provide Care and Deepened Health Disparities

by Megan Burbank

Last summer, when the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the right to an abortion through Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, speculation swirled as to how the decision would impact abortion access. But it was difficult to capture meaningful data in the immediate aftermath: Abortion rates shift seasonally, and they were already on the rise in states like Washington in the years before Dobbs, largely because of restrictive abortion laws that have propagated throughout conservative-controlled state legislatures since Roe v. Wade was first decided.

Now, emerging data on the fallout from Dobbs is getting clearer: What was already a national crisis in maternal health among Americans has been catalyzed by the loss of Roe, according to physicians responsible for providing pregnancy care across the country, both in states with abortion bans and broader access to care. From March 17 to May 18, health policy organization KFF surveyed 569 obstetrician-gynecologists about their experiences after Dobbs and released the results of its national survey on June 21. Here are the major takeaways from the report — and what they could mean for the Pacific Northwest.

Continue reading OB-GYNs Say Dobbs Has Harmed Their Capacity to Provide Care and Deepened Health Disparities →
Voices

OPINION | In Recent Years, Washington Expanded Abortion Access. Now We Know How Important That Is

by Megan Burbank

Even before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision leaked a year ago, Washington State lawmakers established new and strengthened protections for abortion access, shielding providers and patients from prosecution and protecting private health information not covered under HIPAA. Though the impact of Dobbs will likely not be fully understood for years or even decades, recent developments nationwide show how critical Washington’s protective policies are.

Continue reading OPINION | In Recent Years, Washington Expanded Abortion Access. Now We Know How Important That Is →
Voices

OPINION | ‘Could She or I Go to Jail for This?’ Abortion Bans Result in Substandard Care That Threatens Patients’ Lives

by Megan Burbank

In April, northern Idaho’s Valor Health Hospital announced it would be closing its labor and delivery unit. It was the second Idaho hospital in as many months to stop delivering babies: Bonner Health had made headlines when it did the same thing in April, citing the state’s political situation as a contributing factor. Idaho is home to some of the country’s most draconian abortion laws, and the state’s long-running hostility toward abortion means patients from Idaho often relied on Eastern Washington abortion providers since long before Roe’s reversal.

Continue reading OPINION | ‘Could She or I Go to Jail for This?’ Abortion Bans Result in Substandard Care That Threatens Patients’ Lives →