Republican officials in a growing number of states say abortion is a nonessential procedure that can be delayed during the coronavirus pandemic; Democratic attorneys general are pushing back.
Groups opposed to abortion rights have signed a letter asking federal health officials to urge abortion providers to "cease operations" in an effort to preserve medical equipment.
The hearing on Thursday will use Missouri — where the last remaining clinic that provides abortion could close over a dispute with health regulators — as a case study.
The Trump administration's proposed changes to the federal Title X program would put the health of millions of low-income patients at risk, according to Planned Parenthood.
Abortion providers are far away for many women in the U.S., a report from the Guttmacher Institute finds. That's especially true for women in South Dakota and other states in the Upper Midwest.
A federal trial pits the last remaining clinic providing abortions in Kentucky against the state's Republican administration, which says the center failed to meet state health standards.
