Science shows medication abortion could be offered more widely. And support for and interest in over-the-counter abortion pills is high. Spread the word and follow us for more updates on MiMi. #MiMi4All
Steph Herold
@stephherold.bsky.social
Researcher studying abortion on TV & film. Studying Jewish texts, autism, motherhood whenever I can. Indiscriminate dog lover. She/ her. All views are mine.
That's why we created MiMi, a conceptual design for a future over-the-counter medication abortion kit containing instructions, abortion pills, and a pregnancy test. MiMi is not yet available—but it’s a dream that could one day be reality. mimi4all.com
MiMi4All | The Future of Abortion Pills
Discover MiMi, a new concept for a future over-the-counter medication abortion kit, supported by reproductive health science and research.
mimi4all.com
Regulations exist that restrict access to medication abortion and contribute to the perception that people cannot safely take abortion pills on their own without clinician supervision.
Did you know abortion pills are so safe and effective, they could meet the FDA’s rules for being sold without a prescription? So why aren't they? The short answer: Policy decisions are being shaped by politics, not scientific evidence.
Today marks 50 years since the passage of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortion. This makes it very challenging for people struggling to make ends meet to cover the cost of an abortion, one of the most common barriers. But how often does this experience make it onscreen?
Meet MiMi! A conceptual design for a future over-the-counter medication abortion kit containing instructions, abortion pills, and a pregnancy test. MiMi is not yet available—but it’s a dream that could one day be reality. Here's why: [🧵] www.mimi4all.com
When Dirty Dancing premiered 39 years ago in 1987, audiences may have flocked to theaters for romance, dancing, and (let’s be honest) Patrick Swayze, but they also encountered an unusually direct depiction of illegal abortion.
"Claims about coerced abortion have long been exploited by abortion opponents as justification for abortion restrictions...yet in our sample, blocking access to abortion was reported more frequently than attempts to force an abortion." onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
How Common Is Abortion Coercion? Evidence From a Large <fc>US</fc> Sample of People Assigned Male at Birth
Objective Reproductive coercion encompasses a range of partner behaviors that violate reproductive autonomy, including contraceptive sabotage, coercion to become pregnant, and controlling pregnancy ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
New report: disability representation remains one of Hollywood’s clearest opportunities. Characters with disabilities held only 2.8% of speaking roles in 2025, and nearly half of the year’s top films did not feature a single character with a disability aii.annenberg.usc.edu/all-reports/...
All Reports
A research brief on gender, race/ethnicity, and age among leading characters in the 100 top films each year from 2007 to 2025.
aii.annenberg.usc.edu
New paper from @bethlhoffman.bsky.social & me using YouTube comments to analyze how people respond to abortion storylines I was surprised by how much people engaged in meaningful discussions, especially when they roasted shows for being unrealistic 😅 www.frontiersin.org/journals/com...
Frontiers | “Have the writers actually read abortion law?”: using YouTube comments to explore audience responses to entertainment TV abortion plotlines
IntroductionComment sections on social media websites such as YouTube provide a unique venue to observe contemporaneous audience interpretation and discussio...
frontiersin.org
Brittany Luse of @npr.org chats with Janet Goldwater, director of the documentary Hollywood Does Abortion, and ANSIRH's @stephherold.bsky.social to understand how Hollywood handles, or mishandles the topic of abortion. www.npr.org/2026/08/04/n...
Abortion access is limited. Is Hollywood to blame? : It's Been a Minute
Have our favorite shows and movies shaped the way we think about abortion?Hollywood has a huge impact of how we understand abortion. It can drive a plot, like in Dirty Dancing, or inspire…
npr.org
"Today, more Americans identify as pro-choice than they did before Dobbs. And, as we document in our book, more Americans are now taking absolutist positions. They support legal access to abortion in all or most cases and oppose government regulation altogether." theconversation.com/public-opini...
Public opinion on abortion has shifted 4 years after Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade
More Americans now hold absolutist positions, supporting legal access to abortion in all or most cases and opposing government regulation altogether.
theconversation.com
At Abortion Onscreen, we've tracked 35+ abortion plotlines so far this year, including: 📺 Diana on Tell Me Lies saying, “I am so excited to abort your baby” to her abusive ex-boyfriend. 📺 Blaire on #ted standing up to her anti-abortion family, plus Ted and John helping her pay for the abortion
📺️ In this @msmagazine.com op-ed, @stephherold.bsky.social (@ansirh.bsky.social) draws on her research to argue that television may be the best hope for spreading accurate information about abortion, and one that too often gets it wrong. 🔗 Read: msmagazine.com/2026/06/25/t...
TV Still Has a Lot to Learn About Abortion
Four years after <em>Dobbs</em>, television has become more willing to acknowledge the legal and political barriers to abortion care—but too often, it still reinforces harmful myths. While shows lik...
msmagazine.com
Research shows abortion storylines can shape public understanding, making accurate representation more important than ever.
TV Still Has a Lot to Learn About Abortion
Four years after <em>Dobbs</em>, television has become more willing to acknowledge the legal and political barriers to abortion care—but too often, it still reinforces harmful myths. While shows like…
msmagazine.com
The unfortunate irony of the post-Dobbs era is that it seems that television has become both more willing to name political barriers to abortion access while simultaneously promoting narratives that further stigmatize abortion. More from me in @msmagazine.com: msmagazine.com/2026/06/25/t...
TV Still Has a Lot to Learn About Abortion
Four years after <em>Dobbs</em>, television has become more willing to acknowledge the legal and political barriers to abortion care—but too often, it still reinforces harmful myths. While shows lik...
msmagazine.com
Today is the 4th anniversary of the #Dobbs decision, which revoked federal protections for abortion. Has TV caught up w/a post-Dobbs reality? We find that abortion storylines increasingly depict barriers to care; an important shift, but TV still has a long way to go in representing abortion access.
Latine immigrant representation on TV has fallen from 50% in 2020 to just 23% today. New research from Define American shows what's at stake when these stories disappear from the screen, and how we can change the narrative. bit.ly/changethenarrative2026 #ChangeTheNarrative
Change The Narrative, Change The World 2026 - Define American
bit.ly
Totally surreal to watch Hollywood Does Abortion at the Tribeca Film Festival last week. It was a true honor to share abortion onscreen research & analysis with this exceptional documentary team. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and crew! www.hollywooddoesabortion.com
Morgan spoke with Steph Herold, MPH, a subject matter expert featured in the documentary film, “Hollywood Does Abortion.” The film interrogates how abortion is depicted and discussed in film and on television. Episode available now! www.buzzsprout.com/1638073/epis...
hey just checking in on this again?
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 8mo agoThis is yet another example of a private institution capitulating to the federal government’s assault on transgender rights. In the face of these attacks, New York City will continue to be a refuge for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Update: "mifepriston 50 mg is not suitable as a contraceptive. The study started on April 14, 2025 [&] revealed a higher number of positive pregnancy tests and pregnancies than expected. The percentage of ectopic pregnancies, in particular, gave cause for concern." www.gofundme.com/f/zxmvd-mife...
Donate to Reclaim your rights! A New Post-Roe Strategy, organized by Rebecca Gomperts
On June th, 2026 Leiden University Medical Center has discontinued the W… Rebecca Gomperts needs your support for Reclaim your rights! A New Post-Roe Strategy
gofundme.com
Steph Herold@stephherold.bsky.social · 2y agoMore of this, please. "Dr. Rebecca Gomperts announced preliminary results of a large clinical trial in Moldova showing that a 50 mg dose of mifepristone is very effective as a weekly contraceptive pill." msmagazine.com/2025/01/07/m...
Premiering today at the Tribeca Film Festival to a sold out (!!!) crowd - Hollywood Does Abortion! Thrilled to have played a small part in this excellent doc and can’t wait for everyone to see it. tribecafilm.com/films/hollyw...
Hollywood Does Abortion | 2026 Tribeca Festival | Tribeca
Since the 1970s, depictions of abortion in film and television have both impacted and reflected shifting attitudes towards the procedure and those who choose it. In this incisive documentary, the purs...
tribecafilm.com
This amazing documentary premieres at the Tribeca film festival in ONE WEEK! It is so cool to watch filmmakers take your research and craft it into an hour and a half of moving, hilarious, insightful analysis. Can’t wait for everyone to see it!
"A Judaism concerned only with survival eventually loses its soul. A Judaism concerned only with moral performance eventually loses its ability to survive. The challenge is holding both truths simultaneously." www.jta.org/2026/05/15/i...
Israel can survive criticism. But can we survive silencing our moral responsibility in the face of moral inconsistency? - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Acknowledging that two things can be true at once is a Jewish value, writes a rabbi.
jta.org
If all you knew about medication abortion (mifepristone + misoprostol or misprostol alone) you learned from TV, you’d know a whole lot of nothing because TV so rarely depicts this abortion method. Here’s why that’s a problem
Defending medication abortion through telehealth is critical to ensuring people can get the care they need, alongside protecting abortion clinics and advancing access to in-person abortion care. Learn more about our research, which shows medication abortion is safe. www.ansirh.org/research/she...
Facts About Medication Abortion Care
Medication abortion involves taking two medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Here’s a summary of research that shows medication abortion is safe, effective, and critical health care.
ansirh.org
People across the United States have turned to medication abortion through telehealth as a trusted, safe, and effective method of care. Even a temporary disruption of access to medication abortion will have massive implications. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...
Appeals court approves sweeping abortion pill restrictions, teeing up SCOTUS showdown
The temporary ruling will curtail access nationwide to a drug used in more than two-thirds of abortions.
politico.com
"AI-facilitated information searches are becoming part of how people navigate abortion in restrictive global majority settings," srh.bmj.com/content/earl...
Sixty-eight people killed by abortion bans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
Amy Littlefield@amylittlefield.bsky.social · 5mo agoI start every day with the Reproductive Rights Today newsletter from @elishabrown.bsky.social @statesnewsroom.com and this morning’s is a big one: States that banned abortion after Dobbs saw a rise in pregnancy-related deaths by the end of 2023. 68 lives. www.newsfromthestates.com/newsletter/r...
