Protest at music festival triggers discussion about Planned Parenthood’s services
Commenters also debated co-sleeping following charges in an Iowa infant’s death.
Commenters also debated co-sleeping following charges in an Iowa infant’s death.
After an anti-abortion group protested at a music festival that supported organizations like Planned Parenthood, social media users highlighted the range of services Planned Parenthood offers. Meanwhile, an Iowa mother charged with the death of her infant fueled debate about co-sleeping with babies, and a New Jersey law strengthening statewide reproductive health care protections prompted conversation about traveling for abortion care.
In light of these conversations, communicators may outline the services that reproductive health clinics offer, share safe sleep practices, and recirculate information about abortion laws.
What’s trending nationally in conversations about reproductive health
On August 29, singer Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields music festival raised millions of dollars for nonprofits—including reproductive health organizations like Planned Parenthood—with philanthropist Melinda French Gates pledging to match the amount raised. The festival drew protests from Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion group, over its support for Planned Parenthood. Online, Rodrigo and French Gates received widespread praise for supporting reproductive health. In response to the protests, social media users stressed that Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of reproductive health services, not just abortions, and advocated for abortion and reproductive health care access.
Last week, an Iowa mother was charged with child endangerment resulting in death after her infant son died in November 2025. The mother reported falling asleep while breastfeeding the infant in bed and waking up to find him unresponsive. Authorities also alleged that another infant in her care had previously died following a co-sleeping incident. The case prompted discussion online about co-sleeping. Some parents emphasized the risks of sleeping in bed with a baby, while others asserted they routinely co-sleep without incident. Several commenters also described accidentally falling asleep while breastfeeding or caring for newborns while sleep-deprived.
On August 20, New Jersey’s governor signed a law restricting state agencies from assisting with certain out-of-state investigations or legal proceedings involving reproductive care that is legal in New Jersey, like abortion, and creating penalties for threatening, intimidating, or physically obstructing people accessing reproductive health care facilities. In response, social media users discussed traveling across state lines for abortion care, with some commenters questioning why someone could face investigation in one state for receiving care that was legal in another. Some explicitly framed New Jersey’s action as a response to abortion bans in states like Texas and Florida and called for other states to adopt similar protections.
Recommendations for public health professionals
The Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. These helpful tips can be used when creating content, updating web and FAQ pages, and developing strategy for messaging about reproductive health.
Conversations about Planned Parenthood provide an opportunity to clarify that its clinics provide services beyond abortion. Messaging may highlight the wide range of services Planned Parenthood offers, including contraception, STI testing, cancer screenings, and pregnancy and postpartum care, while explaining that these clinics help increase access to care for many communities. Communicators may also direct people to local reproductive health clinics where they can access these services nearby
Discussions about co-sleeping highlight both differing views about bed-sharing and the practical challenge of avoiding accidental sleep while feeding or caring for an infant. Messaging may stress that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend bed-sharing (sleeping on the same surface) with an infant due to the risk of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome. Colloquially, some people use “co-sleeping” to mean “bed-sharing,” but co-sleeping can also describe sleeping on separate beds in the same room. Communicators may explain that if parents might fall asleep while feeding or comforting a baby in bed, the AAP urges parents to make sure there are no pillows, blankets, or other items that could cover the baby’s face or overheat them and to move the baby to their own bed as soon as they wake up. Messaging may emphasize that the safest way for babies to sleep is on their backs in their own sleep space with no other people, like a crib or bassinet with only a firm, flat mattress and fitted sheet. Messaging may also include tips to help babies and parents get regular sleep and to help parents stay awake during feedings.
Conversations about traveling for abortion care may raise legal questions and fear for residents of states with restrictive abortion laws. Communicators may emphasize that it is legal to travel out of state for an abortion. Communicators may direct people to the Repro Legal Helpline, which provides free, confidential legal services for people seeking abortion. Other resources include the National Network of Abortion Funds, which connects people to donation-based organizations that can help pay for abortions and associated costs; Plan C, which offers information about accessing abortion pills by mail; and AbortionFinder.org, which directs people to reputable abortion providers.
Insights reported by Public Good News, with communication guidance from the experts behind Infodemiology.com.