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There is plenty of disturbing news these days about the attempts to roll back the right to abortion. There is no question about it 鈥� we are living in a country where politicians are as determined as ever to obstruct access to basic reproductive rights. But there have been recent bright spots. I can鈥檛 live up to the hilarity of my colleague鈥檚 鈥淎nyone Can Legally Say 鈥楨at Shit, Bob鈥欌�� blog, but I can promise good news.

For starters, federal district court judges in Alabama and Arkansas blocked outrageous restrictions on abortion access. The Alabama law was extreme: It amended the state鈥檚 law related to parental consent for an abortion. If a teen is unable to obtain parental consent 鈥� or fears doing so 鈥� she may seek a court order allowing her to proceed with an abortion without her parents鈥� consent. This is already a daunting obstacle to abortion access. But Alabama decided to add insult to injury by forcing the teen to stand trial, including allowing the court to appoint a lawyer for the fetus. The law was so absurd that Jessica Williams was all over it on .

The Arkansas laws were a grab bag of one insulting, harmful restriction after another, including a ban on a safe and medically proven abortion method, which would have made abortion completely unavailable for some women as the pregnancy progressed. And, as a real throwback, Arkansas tossed in a requirement that effectively required the woman鈥檚 partner to receive notification of the abortion and then gave him the ability to block her abortion. Even if the woman had been raped. Really.

In another state 鈥� one that does not start with A, lest you think all abortion fights happen in states that start with A 鈥� the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit successfully prohibiting anti-abortion extremists from blocking the entrance to the last remaining abortion clinic in Kentucky. Back in May, anti-abortion individuals physically blocked the entrance of the clinic, preventing patients from entering or leaving the clinic.

Talk about a throwback 鈥� we had not seen these types of clinic blockades since the early 1990s, in part because Congress passed a law in 1994 preventing individuals from blocking the entrance of a reproductive clinic called the or FACE Act. As a result of the Justice Department鈥檚 lawsuit and a tremendous coming together of the national and local community 鈥� including , , , , and national and local law enforcement 鈥� patients were able to access the clinic last week while hundreds of anti-abortion protestors descended on Louisville, Kentucky.

Arkansas's law required the woman鈥檚 partner to receive notification of the abortion and then gave him the ability to block her abortion. Even if the woman had been raped. Really.

The next two cases are not about striking down ridiculous, extreme laws or literally keeping the clinic doors open, but they are about expanding access to abortion. Back to the letter A: Alaska. As a result of , the Alaska Medical Board decided to change antiquated restrictions on abortion later in pregnancy, including a requirement that abortion later in pregnancy must be performed in an operating room. Alaskan women seeking an abortion later in their pregnancy were required to fly to Seattle to get care. Now, women will be able to get care in their home state.

And here鈥檚 another victory in the 鈥渁ccess expansion鈥� category 鈥� Skagit County, Washington. We under the state鈥檚 Reproductive Privacy Act to challenge Skagit County鈥檚 public hospital鈥檚 refusal to provide abortion. We got an amazing decision in the lower court, but the hospital appealed. Yesterday, we reached an agreement with the hospital. The hospital agreed to drop the appeal and to start providing abortion. This victory is so important for women in that area.

There are obviously many fights still on the horizon, and in many parts of the country, women struggle to get the care they need because of #BullshitLaws passed by politicians. (I wanted to swear, too.) But we keep fighting. And we (often) keep winning. And we will keep doing so until all women are able to get the care they need.