Tag Archives: abortion rights

Time Magazine reports: Pope Francis said Saturday that abortion can never be condoned, even when the fetus is gravely sick or likely to die, and urged doctors and priests to support families to carry such pregnancies to term. Speaking to a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, Francis said the opposition to abortion isn’t a religious issue but a human one. “Is it …

ABC News reports: A federal court in Mississippi on Friday temporarily blocked the state’s new “fetal heartbeat” law that bans abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The law was set to take effect July 1. “Here we go again,” U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves wrote in his opinion. “Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability.” …

Law & Crime reports: A 51-year-old Brooklyn man who threatened to murder a sitting U.S. Senator for their criticism of President Donald Trump pleaded guilty on Friday, meaning he now faces up to 10 years behind bars. Michael Brogan, ostensibly a pro-life man, was accused of threatening to kill an unidentified U.S. Senator “in retaliation for the United States Senator’s …

CBS News reports: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday signed a bill that bans abortions on or beyond the eighth week of pregnancy without exceptions for cases of rape or incest, making it among the most restrictive abortion policies in the nation. Under the law that comes into force Aug. 28, doctors who violate the eight-week cutoff could face five …

Entertainment Weekly reports: Leslie Jones joined “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost on the Saturday Night Live season 44 finale over the weekend, decked out in the red robes worn by the women in The Handmaid’s Tale. Jones soon ripped off the robes to reveal her bold, defiant black T-shirt with the word “Mine” written across the front, above a white …

NPR reports: The Kansas Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Friday. The landmark ruling now stands as the law of the land in Kansas with no path for an appeal. Because it turns on the state’s constitution, abortion would remain legal in Kansas even if the Roe v. Wade case that established a …

New York Magazine reports: A total abortion ban criminalizing the procedure and classifying it as a homicide cleared a committee Tuesday and will now be debated at the Texas House of Representatives. If House Bill 896 becomes law, abortion could carry penalties ranging from a state jail felony to a capital felony, and patients who seek the procedure could in …

The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from an anti-abortion group that surreptitiously recorded Planned Parenthood employees. The justices joined lower courts Monday in allowing Planned Parenthood’s racketeering and other claims against the Center for Medical Progress to proceed. Two members of the group also are facing criminal charges in California over the secret recordings. The …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Should pregnant women be monitored by the state? That’s what a Louisville lawmaker is proposing out of frustration with a flurry of bills in the current legislative session meant to restrict or eliminate abortion in Kentucky. “It’s so arrogant of a bunch of legislators,” said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Louisville Democrat and supporter of abortion …

The Hill reports:  Conservative commentator and radio host Ben Shapiro has reportedly lost a second advertiser after giving a controversial speech at the annual March for Life anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Calm, a relaxation and meditation app, responded to users condemning Shapiro’s speech on Twitter, writing late Friday night that the company did do not “align with” …

The Jewish Forward reports: Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, appearing Friday as the keynote speaker of the annual March for Life on the National Mall in Washington, shared with his audience a head-scratching scenario about abortion and Adolf Hitler. “The argument, I guess here, would you kill baby Hitler?” he started off, in a clip posted to Twitter. “And the truth …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a setback to Louisiana and Kansas, turning away their appeals of lower court rulings that blocked their efforts to end public funding to Planned Parenthood, a national women’s healthcare and abortion provider, through the Medicaid program. The justices’ decision to turn away both states’ appeals leaves intact lower court rulings that …

Technically not a live video, since the show was taped in New York City last weekend. But I was there and you’ll enjoy this. The second Golden Probes taped on Saturday. In the words of creator Lizz Winstead, the satirical awards show “honors so many shitbags.” Hosted by Margaret Cho and featured presenters including Stormy Daniels, Michelle Buteau, Dan Savage …

Politico reports: A majority of voters want the next Supreme Court justice to support abortion rights, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted in the immediate wake of Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement last week. With the prospect that President Donald Trump’s pending pick to replace Kennedy could join with the existing four justices appointed by Republican presidents to overturn …

“Given the fact that the left wants to make this all about abortion –  and I think it’s much bigger, I think we have religious liberty, we’ve got freedom of speech, the First Amendment in the crosshairs of the left. But they want to make it about life and if I were the president, I’d say, ‘Game on. I’m going …

USA Today reports: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, giving President Trump and Senate Republicans an opportunity to create a solidly conservative court that could last for decades. Kennedy’s long-rumored decision to step down July 31 will touch off a titanic battle between conservatives and liberals in the nation’s capital, on the airwaves, and in states represented by key …

As I reported yesterday, Mike Pence is in Colorado today to keynote the annual convention of Focus On The Family, one of the nation’s largest, most powerful, and most vicious anti-LGBT hate groups. Miranda Blue reports on his speech at Right Wing Watch: Pence began his speech by delivering greetings from Trump, “a good friend of mine, who’s a leader, …

The Kansas City Star reports: In a live video posted to Facebook, a Missouri lawmaker cuts off the head of a chicken while announcing he wants to stop abortions in the state. State Rep. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, posted the video Monday afternoon. In it, he segues from saying that God entrusted humans to protect and care for …

The Hill reports: President Trump has picked an anti-abortion advocate to lead federal family planning programs. Teresa Manning, who has worked for the Family Research Council, will serve as the deputy assistant secretary for population affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, The Hill confirmed Monday. In her role, Manning will help oversee the distribution of Title X …

The Associated Press reports: The White House says President Donald Trump is appointing the former president of a leading anti-abortion organization to a senior position at the Department of Health and Human Services. Charmaine Yoest, who actively supported Trump in his campaign, will serve as assistant secretary of public affairs at HHS. From 2008 until February 2016, she was president …