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Missouri’s Planned Parenthood affiliates will offer medication abortions [this] week for the first time since 2018 after a Jackson County judge struck down a slew of restrictions on Thursday. While the ruling will be appealed, Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang’s decision marks arguably the most legally significant move since Missourians approved an amendment protecting abortion rights in 2024. (Rosenbaum and Fentem, 6/18)

In a statement posted Friday on social media, Gov. Mike Kehoe said he agrees with Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's decision to appeal the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court. "Yesterday’s ruling in Jackson County is disappointing, dangerous, and puts the safety of Missouri women in jeopardy," Kehoe said in the post. Kehoe also called for support for an anti-abortion measure that will be on the ballot in November. (Becker, 6/19)

A new Iowa law Republican lawmakers say will clamp down on mail order abortion pills from other states will have limited impact, some experts say. (Hoff, 6/22)

Democrats are prioritizing other issues over abortion in the runup to the fall midterm elections, while Republicans are taking pains to avoid the topic altogether. But another wave of state ballot initiatives to protect a right to abortion could force candidates on both sides to articulate their positions. Progressive advocacy groups and Democratic strategists are confident that this year’s four abortion rights ballot measures — especially those in Virginia and Nevada — will put vulnerable GOP candidates in the hot seat with voters, 60 percent of whom believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. (Ollstein, 6/21)

The US Department of Health and Human Services wants to remove some of the stigma from testosterone treatment. The agency, through the US Food and Drug Administration, is asking manufacturers to take off warnings that have long appeared on hormone replacement therapy labels for older men whose testosterone levels decline naturally with age, it said in a statement Thursday. (Inampudi and Muller, 6/18)

Young women with menstruation-related disorders, such as endometriosis and dysmenorrhea (painful periods), were significantly more likely to be diagnosed as having an STI than women without those conditions, according to a large study from Japan published this week in PLOS One. Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to uterine tissue grows outside the uterus. While not strictly a menstrual disorder, it can cause pain, irregular periods, and infertility. (Bergeson, 6/18)