abortion rights

On this week’s 51%, we speak with author Kate Schatz about her new novel Where the Girls Were. Loosely based on her mother’s experience, Where the Girls Were tells the story of a bright teenage girl in the late 1960s who finds herself pregnant and is sent away to have the baby in secret and put it up for adoption. Schatz says secret homes for "unwed mothers" were not uncommon in the U.S. before the decision of Roe v. Wade enshrined abortion rights for (almost) the next 50 years. During the “Baby Scoop Era,” millions of unwed young mothers faced societal pressure to relinquish their newborns for adoption.

On this week’s 51%, we speak with author Kate Schatz about her new novel Where the Girls Were. Loosely based on her mother’s experience, Where the Girls Were tells the story of a bright teenage girl in the late 1960s who finds herself pregnant and is sent away to have the baby in secret and put it up for adoption. Schatz says secret homes for "unwed mothers" were not uncommon in the U.S. before the decision of Roe v. Wade enshrined abortion rights for (almost) the next 50 years. During the “Baby Scoop Era,” millions of unwed young mothers faced societal pressure to relinquish their newborns for adoption.

Marissa “Sunni” Rudd is a content creator and founder of For the Family, a New York City Based family services organization. Rudd. who had a successful medication abortion and vlogged about it, sharing the experience with millions of viewers and WAMC's Samantha Simmons.

(Airs 08/29/25 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck has retained a high-profile attorney to represent him largely pro-bono in a Texas lawsuit over New York’s shield law, Sen. Schumer announces bill to reverse Medicaid cuts, and we’ll talk with investigative reporter Chris Gelardi about where New York fits in President Trump’s executive order threatening to withhold money from states that offer cashless bail.

A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws designed to shield abortion providers who serve patients in states with abortion bans.

An amendment to New York’s constitution that would bar discrimination based on things including “gender identity” and “pregnancy outcomes" passed a final vote Tuesday amid debate over how much it might affect future abortion and transgender rights.

A ruling from a federal judge in Texas blocking the use of an abortion pill has abortion advocates up in arms and abortion opponents praising the decision.

Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint is cosponsoring legislation to protect abortion access.

This June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, ending 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion in the United States. Directed by Cynthia Lowen, “Battleground” shows how anti-abortion activists worked to get Roe overturned and how pro-choice activists work to maintain safe and legal access to abortion services.

Planned Parenthood of the North Country held a Rally for Roe in Plattsburgh’s Trinity Park Monday evening.