Rand Paul, a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky, argues his state has made Medicaid coverage of labor and delivery “too easy.” In reality paying for a pregnancy can be anything but easy.

Written by Cory Richards for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Women want out-of-hospital maternity care, and they deserve legal access to it. Yet in 23 states and Washington D.C., Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) face prosecution for serving women who do not want to give birth in a hospital.

Written by Rebecca A. Spence for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Health care reform has brought notable benefits to the practice of midwifery in the United States. The Affordable Care Act will help make midwifery care more accessible for patients and providers both.

Written by Eileen Ehudin Beard for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Physicians and families spoke out yesterday against Amendment 62, the “Personhood Amendment” up for a vote in Colorado, warning that, if passed, it would ban in-vitro fertilization for couples seeking to have children. 

Written by Amie Newman for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Now is the time to make women’s health an international priority. The international community demands it; the women of the world require it; and the families of the world depend on it.

Written by Rep. Yvette Clarke for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Federal law and financial incentives lead to incredibly costly and potentially dangerous multiple births through assisted reproducitve technology (ART). The law should be reworked to create incentives for having only one baby at a time through ART, which is more cost effective and safer for mothers and babies.

Written by Jennifer Rogers for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Thousands of pregnant women are placed on bed rest each year, in an attempt to ensure a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. But bed rest can literally drive a family into poverty.

Written by Amie Newman for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

In Illinois, Amy S. tells the story of how a wanted pregnancy turned into a parent’s nightmare, and the many obstacles to compassionate care she and her family faced.

Written by Khadine Bennett for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Most women who have second trimester abortions do so out of necessity – not choice.

Written by Steph Harold for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Weekly Pulse: The Religious Right vs. Birth Control

by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger

Does health care reform’s promise of preventive care extend to free birth control? Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have 18 months to decide whether to require insurers to provide oral contraceptives, IUDs, and other prescription birth control with no co-pay. With pro-choice Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the helm, HHS is expected to say yes.

[Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that birth control will not be on the White House's preliminary list of free preventive services, to be issued today. However, as Miriam Perez of feministing explains, HHS will ultimately have the final word. Observers, including Dana Goldstein who covers reproductive rights for the Daily Beast, are optimistic that the pro-choice side will carry the day at HHS.]