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There's no shortage of speculation about how the incoming Trump administration, whose appointees so far are staunch abortion opponents, might crack down on access to the procedure. But reproductive rights groups say the big picture is getting lost: Women in large parts of the country already have limited access to abortion, due to hundreds of Republican-backed laws passed by state legislatures over the past half-decade. (Ludden, 11/30)

Taking the offensive after Election Day setbacks, Planned Parenthood and its allies filed lawsuits Wednesday in North Carolina, Missouri and Alaska challenging laws that they view as unconstitutional restrictions on abortion. "We are going to fight back state by state and law by law until every person has the right to pursue the life they want, including the right to decide to end a pregnancy," said Planned Parenthood's chief medical officer, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley. (11/30)

Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday morning challenging state laws that require abortion clinics to meet standards for surgical centers and for their doctors to have hospital privileges. The move comes after similar restrictions in Texas were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in July, a landmark decision that determined the laws were medically unnecessary and unconstitutional. The ruling didn’t invalidate similar restrictions elsewhere, however, leaving states such as Missouri to pursue their own fights in court. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Alaska and North Carolina filed similar challenges Wednesday. (Bott and Liss, 12/1)