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A day-old Pentagon policy on female servicemembers' access to reproductive health services is already triggering election-year sniping among lawmakers and figures to loom large in forthcoming legislation. (Donnelly, 10/21)

A trial to determine whether Georgia can continue to ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy is set to begin in an Atlanta courtroom Monday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has scheduled two days of testimony in a lawsuit that seeks to strike down the law on multiple grounds, including that it violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy and liberty by “forcing pregnancy and childbirth upon countless Georgians.” (10/24)

Across urban Alaska districts, key issues have included the cost of living, education funding, the Permanent Fund dividend and public safety — and then for progressives, protecting abortion access. “I think that it is the — and I would emphasize the — issue that we are hearing about from voters across the political spectrum in different neighborhoods across Alaska,” said Lindsay Kavanaugh, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party. (Maguire, 10/23)

In states that have passed abortion bans, only 13 percent of people are in favor of the procedure being completely restricted, a new analysis of a recent 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll shows. Despite huge differences in the legality of abortion across the United States in the months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, there is little difference in support for abortion being legal in all or most cases. There is, however, a persistent gender gap in opinion: Women are more likely to support accessible abortion than men, no matter the restrictions in their state of residence. In states that have banned abortion, Black Americans are significantly less likely to back restrictions than White Americans. (Mithani, 10/24)

In the hectic days after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Ash Williams, an abortion doula, welcomed panicked pregnant people into North Carolina's abortion clinics. His job has become even more challenging after the state tightened its abortion laws. In general, an abortion doula is a person who provides support to a patient, and the term is often used to describe someone who gives guidance during labor. As an abortion doula, Williams provides physical, emotional or financial help to people seeking to end a pregnancy. If he can, Williams does all three. (Adams, 10/19)