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Planned Parenthood leaders from 24 states gathered in California’s capital Friday to begin work on a nationwide strategy to protect and strengthen access to abortion, a counteroffensive aimed at pushing back against restrictions that have emerged in more than half of the country after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Their goal is to emulate the success liberals have had in California, where state lawmakers passed some of the most robust abortion protections in the country this year, culminating in a statewide election this fall that would make abortion a constitutional right in the nation’s most populous state. (Austin and Beam, 9/9)

Republicans across the country are working to make it harder to pass ballot measures — a direct threat to abortion-rights advocates and other liberal groups’ efforts to bypass governors and legislatures and take issues directly to voters. The next major test for the strategy comes in November: Arizona and Arkansas’ GOP-controlled legislatures are asking voters to approve constitutional amendments that would raise the threshold for ballot initiatives from 50 percent to 60 percent. Arkansas’ proposal would apply to constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated state statutes on any subject matter, including abortion. Arizona’s applies only to taxation-related measures, though some see it as a prelude to a broader version. (Messerly, Ollstein and Montellaro, 9/10)

A growing number of Republicans are changing their positions on abortions since the fall of Roe v Wade as midterm elections approach in the US, signaling a softened shift from their previously staunch anti-abortion stances. Since the supreme court overturned the federal right to abortion in June, many Republicans are adopting more compromised positions in attempts to win votes in key states through a slew of changes in messaging on websites, advertisements and public statements. (Yang, 9/12)

It has pretty much become abundantly clear that the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade has created at least a momentary political problem for Republicans. Perhaps nothing drives home the difficulty of that position like the flip-flops and walk backs by some key Republicans. Here are some of the biggest reversals on this issue of late. (Blake, 9/10)

Some leaders in states with strict abortion bans say exceptions for rape or incest victims aren’t needed because emergency contraceptives can be used instead. But medical professionals and advocates for rape survivors say that while emergency contraception is a helpful tool, it’s not always foolproof, and getting access to these emergency measures in the short time frame in which they would be effective may not be realistic for someone who has just been assaulted. (Forliti, 9/11)