Tag Archives: abortion rights

HHS Sec: Abortion Pill Ruling Imperils Others Drugs

The Hill reports: HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra said the move by a federal judge in Texas to block the approval of a type of abortion medication could have far-reaching effects on the status of other federally-approved medications and vaccinations. “When you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you’re not talking about just mifepristone,” Becerra said on CNN. “You’re …

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How Judge Shopping Resulted In Abortion Pill Ruling

The Washington Post reports: Since Kacsmaryk joined the federal bench in 2019, many of his decisions have been wins for the right. In a practice known as “judge shopping,” conservative groups have zeroed in on the Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas as a go-to place to challenge a wide range of Biden administration policies. Because Amarillo is …

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AMA Blasts Abortion Pill Ruling: Drug Is Safe, Effective

From the president of the America Medical Association: Today’s court decision from a federal district court in Texas staying longstanding approval of mifepristone flies in the face of science and evidence and threatens to upend access to a safe and effective drug that has been used by millions of people for more than 20 years. The court’s disregard for well-established …

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BREAKING: Christianist Texas Judge Bans Abortion Pills

Reuters reports: A federal judge on Friday stayed federal regulators’ approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, partially granting a request by anti-abortion groups and dealing another setback to abortion rights in the United States. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, allows the Biden administration one week to appeal the decision. The Hill reports: The FDA …

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Idaho Gov Signs Nation’s First “Abortion Trafficking” Bill

Boise Public Radio reports: Idaho is poised to become the first state in the country to make it a crime to help a minor get an abortion without their parent’s consent after Gov. Brad Little signed the bill into law Wednesday. That’s according to Planned Parenthood, the pro-abortion rights group which has said it intends to challenge the law. Barring …

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Michigan Gov Signs Repeal Of “Zombie” Abortion Ban

The Detroit News reports: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, surrounded by a packed room of pink-wearing lawmakers, advocates, doctors and others, on Wednesday signed legislation to repeal Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban. “Who would like to see me slay a zombie?” Whitmer exclaimed before signing the legislation, calling the ban a “threat coming back to haunt us all.” The Michigan House voted 58-50 …

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Liberals Win Control Of Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: Wisconsin voters on Tuesday gave control of the state’s highest court to liberals for the first time in 15 years, instantly reshaping politics in the Badger State by putting the state laws most celebrated by conservatives at risk of being overturned — including a 19th Century-era ban on abortions. Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former …

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Florida Dem Party Chair Arrested In Abortion Protest

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book and nine others were released from jail after being arrested Monday night on trespassing charges for protesting a six-week abortion ban that’s poised to pass the Legislature. “We know what we’re fighting for,” Fried said in an interview Tuesday. “If it takes us getting arrested …

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Florida Senate Passes Near-Total Ban On Abortions

The Associated Press reports: The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican prepares to launch his expected presidential candidacy. The proposal must still be approved by the House before it reaches the governor’s desk. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks. A six-week ban …

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Idaho GOP Votes To Criminalize “Abortion Trafficking”

Axios reports: The Idaho legislature on Thursday evening passed the nation’s first law that makes it illegal for minors to travel out-of-state to get an abortion without parental consent. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk. This is the first time that a state has put a law on the books that restricts its residents from interstate travel for …

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Tuberville Blocks Military Promotions Over Abortion

The Hill reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) move to block more than 160 promotions for military officers and commanders over the Pentagon’s decision to provide service members with expanded access to abortion is dividing Republicans and drawing the ire of Defense Department officials. At issue for Tuberville is the Pentagon’s recently enacted policy that covers expenses and grants leave to …

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Court Temporarily Blocks Wyoming’s New Abortion Ban

The Casper Star-Tribune reports: Abortion is legal again in Wyoming after a Teton County judge Wednesday temporarily blocked a new ban on the procedure while a new legal challenge winds through the courts. The Life is a Human Right Act took effect on midnight Saturday after Gov. Mark Gordon [photo] allowed it to become law without his signature. The legislation, …

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GOP Utah Gov Signs Bill Banning All Abortion Clinics

ABC News reports: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has signed a bill into law banning abortion clinics in the state, making it the latest to restrict the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Cox, a Republican, signed H.B. 467 after it passed the state Senate on March 2 and state House on March 3, both along party lines. …

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Florida House Advances Near-Total Ban On Abortion

The Associated Press reports: A proposed six-week abortion ban received overwhelming approval from a Florida House committee Thursday as even Democrats acknowledged there’s nothing they can do to stop it from eventually becoming law. The proposal is moving along while a 15-week abortion ban signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year is still being challenged. The new …

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17 SC Reps Back GOP Death Penalty For Abortion Bill

Law & Crime reports: Seventeen Republican lawmakers in South Carolina sponsored a bill that would redefine “person” under the state’s criminal law to include a fertilized egg. Should the measure pass, it would mean that under the state’s penal code, a pregnant person who undergoes an abortion could be subject to all applicable punishments, including the death penalty. Chairman of …

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Florida Bill Would Require Rape Victims To Provide Proof Of Their Rape In Order To Apply For Abortion Exception

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Floridians who are raped would need to show evidence of that crime if they want an exception under the proposed six-week abortion ban, a requirement that advocates say would traumatize victims of sexual violence even more. Victims of rape or incest would have to provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record or …

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Three Texas Women Sued For “Assisting” Abortion

The Texas Tribune reports: A Texas man is suing three women who he claims assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy under the state’s wrongful death statute, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban on abortion last summer. Marcus Silva is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general of Texas and architect of the state’s prohibition …

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Texas Bill Creates Special Prosecutor On Abortion Laws

The New Republic reports: A Republican lawmaker in Texas has introduced a bill to appoint a state special prosecutor to handle abortion law violations, among other issues, The Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener reported Thursday. The bill, introduced in the state House of Representatives Wednesday, would let the state supreme court appoint a special prosecutor to handle violations of Texas election …

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Canada Repeals Anti-LGBTQ “Indecency” Laws

Reuters reports: Canada has expunged historic indecency and anti-abortion laws targeting women and the LGBTQ community, the government said on Tuesday, in a criminal justice system reform that will allow people convicted under such offences to clear their records. The repealed laws had targeted women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals’ access to abortion as well as …

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New Florida Bill Would Effectively Outlaw All Abortions

Florida Politics reports: A “heartbeat” bill filed in the Senate could impose one of the strictest laws against abortion in the country. SB 300, filed by Fort Pierce Republican Sen. Erin Grall, would ban doctors from knowingly performing or inducing a termination of pregnancy after the sixth week of gestation. This would represent a change from the current 15-week threshold, …

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