Roe Reckonings: This Week in Repro News (The Bad, the Sad and the Ugly)

The past week in US reproductive politics has been a grim reminder that the assault on bodily autonomy is not slowing down — it’s accelerating. Veterans are being told their service isn’t worth healthcare, states are clinging to cruel bans, and even your period-tracking app could betray you. It’s a bad, sad, ugly carousel, and we’re all being forced to ride it.

1. Veterans Betrayed: Abortion Care Stripped Away

The Trump administration wants to rip abortion care out of the hands of veterans — even in cases of rape, incest, or serious health risks. The only exception? If you’re already dying. That’s not healthcare; that’s state-sanctioned neglect (Rewire News Group, Reproductive Freedom for All).

2. DNA “Truth-Tellers” Playing Politics with Family

The rise of “Not Parent Expected” activists — people who discover family secrets through DNA kits — has morphed into a crusade against anonymous sperm and egg donation. What sounds like transparency is really a reactionary push to stigmatise mothers and queer families, peddling the idea that biology is destiny (The New Yorker).

3. Period Tracker or Surveillance Tool?

A study of 45 reproductive health apps shows rampant spying: excessive data harvesting, third-party trackers  and permissions you’d never knowingly grant. In a country where prosecutors already hunt down women and pregnant people, this isn’t just sloppy tech — it’s a pipeline to criminalisation (arXiv study).

4. Deadly Consequences: Maternal and Infant Mortality Soaring

Post-Roe, the human toll is staggering. Infant mortality is up 7% nationwide — 13% in Texas. Maternal deaths have risen 11%, with states like Texas and Indiana leading the way. Lawmakers knew this would happen. They just didn’t care. These are not “unintended consequences” — they are the point (Wikipedia summary of impacts).

5. Georgia’s Six-Week Ban: Unconstitutional and Still Killing

Even after a judge ruled it unconstitutional, Georgia’s six-week abortion ban lives on during appeal. The result? Doctors paralysed by fear, patients left to suffer, and preventable deaths piling up. A law deemed illegal is still costing lives (Wikipedia on Georgia abortion law).

The Reckoning

This week’s roll call of cruelty shows us what’s really happening: reproductive rights are being actively dismantled. The cruelty is the point. Veterans, parents, pregnant people, even app users — nobody is safe from the machinery of control.

The bad, the sad, the ugly: all here, all deliberate. And unless we fight like hell, next week’s list will be even longer.