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Oklahoma’s governor this week approved a law extending to 72 hours the mandatory waiting period before a woman can have an abortion. Here in Florida, lawmakers enacted a 24-hour waiting period that requires two separate appointments — one for an ultrasound and information about fetal development and another for the actual procedure. These are just two laws in a surge of bills passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures this year that make it harder for women to have abortions. (Robles, 5/8)

No state has a better track record on reproductive rights than Oregon, according to a new report. Seven states and the District received the highest grade, an A-, based on nine indicators chosen by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a think thank that promotes women’s rights, which did the report as part of its Status of Women in the States series. Ten states earned B’s, 20 earned C’s, nine earned D’s and four states — South Dakota, which ranked last, Nebraska, Kansas and Idaho — received F’s. The Northeast and the West are home to the highest grades, while the South and Midwest scored lowest. (Chokshi, 5/7)