Abortion

The grisly murder trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell likely won't spark new abortion regulation, lawmakers said.

Spokesman Jay Carney sidestepped questions about the administration's views, declining to "take a position on an ongoing trial."

This year could bring an especially strong push in the states to restrict abortion access, according to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute.

Several states have passed measures in the past few years requiring women to obtain ultrasounds before receiving an abortion, or imposing new restrictions on clinics. 

But Guttmacher — which supports abortion rights — said states seem to be going further this year. The focus now appears to be on restricting access to abortion after — or, in some cases, during — the first trimester of pregnancy.

Republicans are hopeful attention on the Gosnell trial will reignite debate on the abortion issue.

Ryan's remarks to the Susan B. Anthony List gala were his most extended on abortion since the 2012 election cycle.

The Republican National Committee chairman suggests Democrats "endorse infanticide" by supporting Planned Parenthood.  

Planned Parenthood's political arm denounced a bill in Alabama placing new restrictions on abortion clinics as the latest in a rising trend of anti-abortion-rights legislation around the country.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called on Gov. Robert Bentley (R-Ala.) to veto the bill, which would require abortion doctors to maintain admitting privileges at a local hospital.

"This bill does nothing to protect the health of Alabama women. It aims to limit women’s access to safe and legal abortion," Richards said in a statement. 

Planned Parenthood is fighting to save a sex-education program in North Dakota that is under attack just as the state has passed the most restrictive abortion law in the country.

The North Dakota Legislature is considering a measure that would likely cut off state funding for a comprehensive sex-ed program supported by Planned Parenthood and North Dakota State University.

"This is incredibly unusual. No state has tried to block a comprehensive sex education program like this, ever," Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, told reporters Monday.

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