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More than half of Kentucky's 120 counties lack an OB-GYN, according to federal data. (Adobe Stock)

Kentuckians recognized for efforts to improve maternal health

The Commonwealth has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, and within the state maternal deaths are twice as high among Black …

Kentuckianos reconocidos por sus esfuerzos para mejorar la salud maternal

La Commonwealth tiene la segunda tasa de mortalidad materna más alta del país, y dentro del estado las muertes maternas son el doble entre …

Kentucky certified lactation consultant and birth doula Bonnie Logsdon has been vocal in her support for House Bill 10. (Adobe Stock)

Bipartisan KY bill would expand maternal care access

In the final days of the legislative session, Kentucky Senate lawmakers could consider the "Momnibus" bill, which would increase access to critical …

By the end of 2023, an estimated 13,960 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,310 will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. (Adobe Stock)

Kentucky leads nation in advanced cervical cancer fatalities

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month and health experts said they are concerned about the growing number of cervical cancer diagnoses nationwide…

Nineteen states have passed laws banning or restricted abortion since the overturning of Roe versus Wade in 2022. (Adobe Stock)

Reproductive-Rights Supporters See Path to Victory: Letting Voters Decide

By Belle Taylor-McGhee for Ms. Magazine.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News …

The entrance of the EMW Surgical Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, the only abortion center left in the Commonwealth before the state's trigger law went into effect last year. (Adobe Stock)<br />

Groups Say They’ll Head Back to Court After KY Judges Uphold Abortion Ban

After Kentucky's Supreme Court last week denied a request to block abortion bans which went into effect last summer, the ACLU of Kentucky and Planned …

Medication abortion has been available in the United States since 2000, when the Food and Drug Administration <a href=

greenlighted the use of mifepristone for early nonsurgical abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. (Adobe Stock)">

OTC Birth Control Urged as CVS, Walgreens Plan to Sell Abortion Pill

CVS and Walgreens have announced they will sell abortion medication at pharmacies, after the FDA announced it is allowing mifepristone to be bought …

Kentucky is among around a dozen states with trigger laws that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this summer, according to the Guttmacher Institute. (Adobe Stock)

After Voters Reject Amendment 2, KY Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Abortion Ban

Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure that would have changed language in the state's constitution to permanently deny the right to an abortion…

In a Sept. NPR/Marist Poll, 58% of Americans said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has made them more likely to vote in this November's midterm elections. (Adobe Stock)<br />

Abortion Measures on Ballots the 'Most on Record'

By Carrie Baker for Ms. Magazine.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News Service …

More than 75% of democratic voters say the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade makes them more likely to vote, according to an NPR/Marist Poll. (Adobe Stock)

KY Voter Registration Deadline is Oct. 11, Abortion Amendment on Ballot

With only four weeks left before the state's voter-registration deadline, advocacy groups say they are sounding the alarm on a ballot initiative …

In 2017, more than 3,000 abortions were provided in Kentucky, <a href=

according to data from the Guttmacher Institute. (Adobe Stock)">

Travel to IL, VA for Abortions Expected to Rise Among KY Women

Low-income, rural, and women of color will be most impacted by the state's trigger ban that has outlawed abortion in the Commonwealth. They'll now …

Las mujeres embarazadas vacunadas tienen menos probabilidades de tener partos prematuros que aquellas que no han recibido la vacuna contra el COVID-19, seg�n la Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. (Adobe Stock)

Instan a futuras madres de KY a vacunarse contra el COVID

Si bien muchos estadounidenses han reanudado su vida normal después de los últimos dos años, la pandemia de COVID no ha desaparecido…

Vaccinated pregnant women are less likely to experience still- or pre-term births than those that have not received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. (Adobe Stock)

KY Mothers-to-Be Urged to Get Vaccinated Against COVID

While many Americans have resumed normal lives after the past two years, the COVID pandemic has not gone away, especially if you have a pre-existing …

Kentucky is one of more than a dozen states with so-called

Abortion Rights Remain for KY Women, For Now

The ACLU of Kentucky said it remains unclear whether women seeking abortions after 15 weeks are protected from penalties, after a federal judge …

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 65% of U.S. women aged 15-49 currently use a form of contraception. (Adobe Stock)

Proposed Bill Would Increase Contraceptive Access Among Rural Women

Nearly 300,000 Kentucky women live in counties lacking a health center providing contraceptive methods such as the birth-control pill. Advocates in …

According to Planned Parenthood, currently, one in three women of reproductive age lives in a state where abortion could be illegal if the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is overturned. (Wikimedia Commons/Larissa Puro)

SCOTUS Rulings Could Further Restrict KY Abortion Access

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling related to the Texas six-week abortion ban this week, and hears arguments Dec…

In 2017, 99% of Kentucky counties lacked a clinic that would perform an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. (Adobe Stock)

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on KY Abortion Law

FRANKFORT, Ky. - U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a 2018 Kentucky abortion law that bans a medical …

COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of severe maternal illness, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and death, says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (Adobe Stock)

Pregnant? Medical Experts Urge Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. -- Health professionals are concerned misinformation may be leading some people who are pregnant to choose not to get the COVID-…

Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are white women, according to the CDC. (Adobe stock)

Pregnancy-Related Deaths Higher Among Black KY Women

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Racial gaps persist in pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths across the state, and advocates say solutions to the problem lie …

Sexy Sex Ed's new online resource maps all reproductive health locations in Appalachia. (Sexy Sex Ed)

New Online Map Shows Sexual-Health Resources in Appalachia

WHITESBURG, Ky. -- The traveling sex-education workshop that teaches about consent and anatomy in rural Appalachia has created a unique new online …

Supreme Court, court of appeals and district court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. (Adobe Stock)

Rapid Confirmations Reshaping Judicial Branch

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Over the past few years, the U.S. Senate has confirmed 185 of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees, the majority of whom have …

Around 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Adobe Stock)

KY Lawmakers Pre-file Bill Aimed at Addressing Maternal Deaths

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- State legislators have pre-filed a bill aimed at addressing racial bias in health care that contributes to Kentucky women dying …

The Ultrasound Informed Consent Act requires Kentucky doctors to perform ultrasounds and describe the images to women seeking abortions. (Adobe Stock)

New Barrier to Abortion in KY Cited After High Court's Refusal to Hear Challenge

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Advocates for reproductive rights say women in Kentucky face yet another obstacle to receiving an abortion after the U.S…

Cast and crew of the Kentucky storytelling project

Theatric Performance Aims to Reduce Abortion Stigma for KY Women

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A grassroots storytelling production focused on women's experiences with abortion performs its final show of the season …

Sexual education in public schools in Kentucky does not require information on contraception. (Nate Grigg/Flickr)

Kentucky Continues to Fail on Reproductive Health

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A new report demonstrates the divide between states that prioritize reproductive health and those that do not - and Kentucky …

Women with a history of gestational diabetes are encouraged to maintain healthy habits during pregnancy. (Freestocks.org)

National Diabetes Month: Pregnant KY Women Urged to Take Precautions

FRANKFORT, Ky. – National Diabetes Month started this week, and at 14 percent, Kentucky has the third-highest rate of diabetes in the U.S…

Polling shows eight in 10 Kentuckians believe the decision to get pregnant is one of the most important choices a person can make. (Pixabay)

Could Title X Changes Undermine Family Planning in KY?

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Groups are voicing concern that threats to the federal program known as Title X could undermine family-planning resources for …

Just 13 percent of moms are able to breastfeed their child six months after birth. (Pixabay)

KY Moms: U.S. Should Not Discourage Breastfeeding

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Some parents are still reeling from word of the United States' opposition to a global resolution supporting breastfeeding…

President Donald Trump has vowed to his supporters to nominate justices who oppose abortion to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Matt Wade/Flickr)

Women's Rights Groups: Roe v. Wade Faces its Greatest Threat

FRANKFORT, Ky. – With the announcement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, some women's groups predict urgent times …

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KY: Reproductive Health