Texas judge weighs whether to order an abortion pill off the market in high-stakes hearing

“There’s never really been a case challenging the FDA approval of a drug in this way, when the science is so clear and it’s been on the market for so long and it’s so clearly safe,” said Cat Duffy, a policy analyst at the National Health Law Program, which works to protect abortion access. *** … Read more

Anti-abortion judge tries to keep hearing a secret. The case is whether to take to take mifepristone off the market

Trump-Appointed Judge Tries To Keep Hearing In Major Abortion Pill Case Secret A day later, the Washington Post confirmed that Kacsmaryk had scheduled a hearing in secret, only planning to reveal its existence to the public at the last minute, reportedly reasoning that the short notice might dissuade protesters from showing up. He’d told the … Read more

South Carolina ‘death penalty for those who have abortions’ GOP bill – news round-up

21 South Carolina GOP Lawmakers Propose Death Penalty for Women Who Have Abortions The “South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023” would amend the state’s code of laws, redefining “person” to include a fertilized egg at the point of conception, affording that zygote “equal protection under the homicide laws of the state” — up … Read more

Republicans push wave of bills that would bring homicide charges for abortion

The bills have been introduced in states such as Texas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Some explicitly target medication abortion and self-managed abortion; some look to remove provisions in the law which previously protected pregnant people from criminalization; and others look to establish the fetus as a person from the point of conception. Read … Read more

Virginia – embryos as chattel

Virginia judge uses 19th-century slavery law to rule frozen embryos are property Frozen human embryos can legally be considered property, or “chattel”, a Virginia judge has ruled, basing his decision in part on a 19th-century law governing the treatment of enslaved people. Read more at The Guardian Judge Uses A Slavery Law To Rule Frozen … Read more

Friends sued in Texas for allegedly helping woman obtain abortion pills

Three in Texas sued for wrongful death after allegedly helping woman obtain abortion pills Three women in Texas have been sued for wrongful death over allegations that they helped a friend obtain abortion pills to receive an abortion, the first case of its kind since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. Read … Read more

Girls in Texas could get birth control at federal clinics — until a dad sued

In his opinion, Kacsmaryk agreed, writing that “the use of contraception (just like abortion) violates traditional tenets of many faiths, including the Christian faith plaintiff practices.” Moreover, Kacsmaryk, who is a Christian, said the existence of federal clinics operating in Texas, where state law otherwise requires parental permission for teenage girls to receive contraception, posed … Read more

South Carolina woman arrested for allegedly using pills to end pregnancy

South Carolina is one of just three states, alongside Nevada and Oklahoma, that explicitly criminalizes self-managed abortion. The state was also the first to bring charges on behalf of a fetus successfully against a pregnant pesourson. In 1997, Cornelia Whitner was found guilty for criminal child neglect, after taking crack cocaine during the third trimester … Read more