National

Data: Guttmacher and Axios research; Map: Jacque Schrag/Axios

As the Supreme Court considers potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion rights activists are heralding abortion pills as a potential option in places where clinics may have to close — but several red states are already cracking down on the pills.

The big picture: Almost half of U.S. states have banned or tightly restricted abortion pills — two medicines named mifepristone and misoprostol — and more could soon follow suit. 

Prior to the pandemic, the FDA said patients seeking abortion pills had to get the drug from hospitals or medical facilities in person. 

The FDA in December changed its guidance on abortion pills, permanently allowing people to access the medication through telemedicine and receive the pills by mail, where permitted by state law.

The latest: The Louisiana governor in June signed a law making it illegal for anyone to mail abortion pills, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. 

In Tennessee, the governor signed a law in May making it a felony to mail abortion pills, with a penalty of 20-year imprisonment and a $50,000 fine. The law also adds further restrictions to medication abortion.

Texas and Indiana are the only two states that ban the use of abortion pills at seven weeks and 10 weeks, respectively. So do South Dakota, Oklahoma and Montana, though courts have blocked those laws.

Republican lawmakers in several states have moved to introduce legislation aimed at making abortion pills illegal. 

There's a bill moving through the Alabama legislature that would make it a crime to "manufacture, distribute, prescribe, dispense, sell, or transfer" abortion pills in the state.

The Wyoming state Senate passed a bill in March aimed at completely outlawing abortion pills. 

In Iowa and Ohio, laws require a physician to be present when a patient takes the medication. However, federal judges blocked those laws , saying the requirement places an "undue burden" on women. 

Of note: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) attempted to prohibit the mailing of abortion pills via executive order instead of a legislation. However, a federal court temporarily blocked it. 

People in the state are still required to see a health provider when looking to access the pill, which is given in a two-dose regimen. They are allowed to take the second dose at home.

In March, Noem signed into law a bill to add more restrictions to medication abortion access. It is set to take effect if the state can convince the court to overturn its block on the governor's order.

What they're saying: "I think pretty much any state that is on the conservative side might expect to see similar legislation in 2022," Elizabeth Nash, state policy expert at the Guttmacher Institute, told Axios.

What's next: Some activists have been pointing to newer options that skirt certain telemedicine restrictions and operate in a legal gray area, including one online medication abortion provider, Aid Access, founded by a Dutch physician in 2018, which will mail abortion pills internationally.

Abortion rights advocates say people who want to end a pregnancy will use abortion pills no matter what the policy landscape is.

"It is going to be in their hands in the U.S., it's inevitable," said Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C, which provides information on how to access abortion pills online. "This is modern medical technology everybody should have access to. Whether people can use it under the radar without being criminalized is the question."

The other side: "Pro-life groups are encouraging states to take action to install safeguards for women that will ensure they are aware of the risks when undergoing a chemical abortion," said Prudence Robinson, a communications associate at Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion advocacy group. 

"And the states are facing this threat head on. In this year alone, nearly 10 states enacted state-level restrictions on this dangerous method of abortion."

By the numbers: Medication abortion accounted for 54% of all U.S. abortions in 2020, an increase from 39% in 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Go deeper: Pills are the next big abortion battleground

Red states crack down on abortion pills

Several states have moved to restrict access to the pills and more could follow suit.

Abortion

Axios Explains: Abortion

Policymaking

As the Supreme Court <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="considers potentially overturning Roe v. Wade" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-leak-stuns-nation" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-leak-stuns-nation" target="_self">considers potentially overturning Roe v. Wade</a>, abortion rights activists are heralding abortion pills as a potential option in places where clinics may have to close — but several red states are already cracking down on the pills.The big picture: Almost half of U.S. states have banned or tightly restricted abortion pills — two medicines named mifepristone and misoprostol — and more could soon follow suit.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

Axios Finish Line

Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios

Asian Americans hail from dozens of countries — and their experiences in America are starkly different depending on their origins.

Why it matters: This vast, diverse group is often lumped together under the "model minority myth" — the stereotype that all Asian Americans are well-educated, wealthy and successful. 

If you look at averages, Asian Americans appear to be richer and better educated than the average American.

If you disaggregate the data, the model minority myth crumbles. We see high levels of poverty and below-average levels of educational attainment.

But because that data is seldom disaggregated, "Asian Americans have had to make the case over and over again that they suffer from racism and hostility and violence," says Ellen Wu, a history professor at Indiana University. 

The big picture: The U.S. Asian American population doubled from 2000 to 2019, hitting 22 million. Asians are the fastest-growing group in America — outpacing white, Black and Hispanic Americans and projected to pass 46 million by 2060, according to the Pew Research Center.

"They all have very different starting points," says Neil Ruiz, associate director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center.

Consider, for example, an Indian immigrant who comes to the U.S. via H-1B visa for a high-paying gig at a tech company. That person will have a far easier time building generational wealth than a Burmese refugee coming to America to escape conflict, Ruiz says.

By the numbers: The median income of Asian households in the U.S is $85,800, and 54% have college degrees, per Pew.

But only three groups — Indians, Filipinos and Sri Lankans — fall above that household income. And college attainment for many groups is well below the average.

Data: Pew Research Center; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios

The stakes: "So many groups have been neglected and ignored," says Quyên Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

"People are not always convinced that Asian Americans are a legitimate minority group that deserve to be included in affirmative action and diversity initiatives," says Wu.

For example, 30% of Southeast Asians — a region encompassing nations like Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos — don't have high school degrees.

"Because of the model minority myth, these students' silence in classrooms is misinterpreted as understanding instead of a cry for help," Dinh says.

What to watch: Activists and experts see a silver lining in the recent spikes in anti-Asian violence. "There is a new spotlight on the Asian American community," says Dinh.

"Awful things have always happened," Wu says. "But now Asians are collecting the data and recording what's happening, and Asian journalists are amplifying these stories."

Redefining Asian America

Their experiences in America are starkly different depending on their origins.

Asian Americans

Mapped: "Gas prices" searches rise on Google

As the 2022 midterms approach, Axios is tracking what topics are trending.

2022 elections

A choropleth map of the U.S. showing search interest in "gas prices."

Search interest in gas prices has risen steeply in the U.S. as the national average hit an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="unprecedented $5 per gallon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/11/gas-prices-5-per-gallon" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/11/gas-prices-5-per-gallon" target="_self">unprecedented $5 per gallon</a> on June 11, new Google Trends data shows.Driving the news: &quot;Gas prices&quot; was in the top three most searched topics in 121 out of 435 congressional districts during the week of June 6-13, according to data Axios&#x27; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="midterms dashboard" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/midterms-elections-2022-issues-americans-care/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/midterms-elections-2022-issues-americans-care/" target="_self">midterms dashboard</a>.

Data: Google Trends; Map: Will Chase and Jacque Schrag/Axios

National interest in firearms surged in nearly every congressional district in the U.S. after the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, new Google Trends data shows.

The deep orange spots on the map above show where search interest was highest.

Driving the news: “Firearms” was the second or third most searched topic in 409 of 435 districts during the week of May 23–30, according to data for our midterms dashboard.

The week before, "firearms" had cracked third place in only 30 districts, and second place in none. Words like "jobs" and "taxes" typically occupy such spots.

Why it matters: The findings reflect Americans' intense concerns around gun violence and school safety — and how potentially potent the issues could be in this year's elections if public attention holds.

Details: Interest was highest in TX-11, a district neighboring Uvalde and containing part of San Antonio. Seven of the top 10 districts searching “firearms” were in Texas.

Mapped: "Firearms" searches surge on Google

National interest in firearms surged in nearly every congressional district in the U.S. after the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, new Google Trends data shows.<ul><li>The deep orange spots on the map above show where search interest was highest.</li></ul>

People from two congressional districts in Ohio are asking Google about gas prices with more urgency than Americans anywhere else. Abortion is a dominant search in deep-red swaths of Oklahoma, and swing districts in Florida and Nevada.

Driving the news: Axios today launches a dashboard using Google Trends data. The interactive site lets you explore which election-moving topics are driving searches in your own congressional district — and how that compares with other parts of the U.S.

Why it matters: Searches are one way to measure the local relevance of issues.

The big picture: Top-searched issues in individual congressional districts are largely in line with national trends. "Jobs" and "taxes" land in the top two the vast majority of the time.

That reflects pocketbook issues' typical role: The economy is almost always at the top of issues polled. (Some of those searches also may simply reflect people using Google to search for work or calculate their taxes.)

"The biggest issues for the majority of people don't seem to be the adversarial culture war stuff, but the nuts-and-bolts stuff," Alasdair Rae, a data scientist who worked with Axios and Google Trends on the project, told Axios.

Details: The dashboard also shows how other issues — from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to abortion, gas prices, inflation and immigration — are driving searches. 

The dashboard reflects data from the week ending May 23. It doesn't yet reflect the nation's reaction to the mass shooting in Uvalde.

Russia and Ukraine. Oregon's newly drawn 1st Congressional District, which includes part of Portland, has had more search interest related to Ukraine than any other district.

Abortion: FL-23, an open blue seat held by Rep. Ted Deutch (D), who is retiring, has searched about abortion more than any other district. The topic was the third most-searched issue on the list for the district.

Axios' Jacque Schrag notes that interest in abortion is also high in districts in Oklahoma, where the governor last week signed the most restrictive abortion ban in the U.S.

Four of the top 10 districts for abortion searches — NV-03, FL-28, FL-27 and KS-03 — all were categorized as highly competitive districts by FiveThirtyEight.

Google searches about abortion spiked nationally after the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft decision that would reverse Roe v. Wade, but they have since begun to decline.

Gas prices and inflation searches have been rising, illustrating why Republicans are hammering Democrats over those themes.

The data showed that heavily Republican districts were conducting the most searches about gas prices.

Many were in and around the Appalachian region.

GOP Reps. Bill Johnson's OH-6 and Jim Jordan's OH-4 have been searching about gas prices more than any other district.

Axios' Will Chase notes that "relative interest is really low along the Eastern Seaboard and in city areas where people commute rather than drive." 

Search for "the border/immigration," and you'll see many of the districts along the U.S.' southern border light up — as well as the newly drawn 2nd Congressional District in Washington, which borders Canada.

Some border districts have been impacted by a surge in migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Immigration and border issues were being Googled more than most districts in TX-28 ahead of its closely contested Democratic primary runoff between Rep. Henry Cuellar and challenger Jessica Cisneros.

During that time, border and immigration topics were of more interest than abortion in the district, according to the data.

Axios midterms dashboard: What matters 2022

An interactive dashboard that has a choropleth map of U.S. congressional districts' interest in various topics.

People from two congressional districts in Ohio are asking Google about gas prices with more urgency than Americans anywhere else. Abortion is a dominant search in deep-red swaths of Oklahoma, and swing districts in Florida and Nevada.Driving the news: Axios today launches a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="dashboard" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/midterms-elections-2022-issues-americans-care" data-vars-content-id="f858c479-a637-46b9-ad74-4e34f65334c9" data-vars-headline="Axios midterms dashboard: What matters 2022" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/midterms-elections-2022-issues-americans-care" target="_self">dashboard</a> using Google Trends data. The interactive site lets you explore which election-moving topics are driving searches in your own congressional district — and how that compares with other parts of the U.S.

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Red states crack down on abortion pills

Mapped: "Gas prices" searches rise on Google

Mapped: "Firearms" searches surge on Google

Axios midterms dashboard: What matters 2022

Redefining Asian America