‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ face new regulations – but also gain support – after Roe

So-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which often work to persuade pregnant people not to have abortions, are facing new regulations but also getting an infusion of money after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.


Catholic hospital mergers threaten access to reproductive care – even in abortion ‘safe havens’

Mergers between Catholic and secular health systems are limiting access to reproductive health care – even in states considered abortion safe havens.


Birth center closure could stress health care in area dominated by Catholic hospitals

Hospitals have been cutting maternity services and closing doors across the country for decades, creating health care deserts. The family-planning policies in Catholic hospitals exacerbate service gaps.


‘It’s about damn time’: Women’s Sports Network jumps on shifting attitudes, taps burgeoning market

PHOENIX – The popularity of women’s sports is exploding, but media coverage is still lacking. Now there is a 24-hour TV network dedicated to women’s sports, and industry leaders believe the time is finally right for the Women’s Sports Network.

For many year, media coverage of female athletes was limited. That’s beginning to change and in November, the Women’s Sports Network launched the first-ever 24-hour streaming network dedicated to women’s sports. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

‘How sick is sick enough?’ Abortion bans leave providers and patients questioning when care is OK

While the abortion debate often centers on elective procedures, many happen because of medical emergencies or to end a pregnancy where a baby would not live long, if at all. Yet post-Roe, pregnant individuals have been unable to get needed care because of bans that have left doctors unsure of what procedures they can perform.


‘This is a long game’: A year after Roe, abortion access fight moves to blue states like New Mexico

CLOVIS, N.M. – As more states pass abortion bans, providers and patients have flocked to New Mexico, a sanctuary for abortion rights. The anti-abortion movement has followed.


Our methods: The nationwide spread of the ‘constitutional sheriff’

AZCIR and the Howard Center spent months investigating the national spread of the constitutional sheriffs movement led by Richard Mack.

Richard Mack shares his interpretation of the Supreme Court decision Printz v. United States during a presentation of his training in Gilbert, Ariz., on Aug. 1, 2023. (Photo by Brendon Derr/AZCIR)

California non-profit linked to constitutional sheriff group

The Gorilla Learning Institute uses its nonprofit status to help fund other groups’ activities, like the Friends of CSPOA, a California chapter of the controversial sheriffs group.

In this screen image from the Wayback Machine's internet archive taken on March 1, 2023, the Gorilla Learning Institute's website displays the logo of Friends of CSPOA, the California chapter of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. The logo has since been removed from the California nonprofit's website. (Image courtesy of The Wayback Machine)

Controversial sheriffs’ group expands ideology to so-called ‘constitutional counties’

GOLDENDALE, Wash. – The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is encouraging a nascent movement of so-called “constitutional counties” across the country.

Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer talks in his office in Goldendale, Wash., on July 5, 2023. Sheriff Songer is an advisory board member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. (Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli/AZCIR)

God-given rights: The nationwide spread of the ‘constitutional sheriff’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An extremist belief that sheriffs’ authority supersedes the federal government is expanding across the country, including through state-sanctioned, taxpayer-funded training for law enforcement officers.

Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association founder Richard Mack speaks to a crowd of about 100 people at a Yavapai County Preparedness Team meeting in Chino Valley, Ariz., on Oct. 8, 2022. (Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli/AZCIR)

Maternal mortality soars in U.S., state; Black, Native women hardest hit

WASHINGTON - Maternal death rates more than doubled over the past 20 years in the U.S., with Black and Indigenous women continuing to see mortality rates that far exceeded other groups - a pattern that was repeated in Arizona, according to a recent study.


MMIP task forces are given years to solve a problem centuries in the making

WASHINGTON - At least 10 states, including Arizona, and federal agencies have efforts to address the problem of missing and murdered Indigenous people, but those efforts have to grapple with historical neglect, modern bureaucracy and myriad legal and police disparities.