abortion bans

Here’s the latest example of how conservatives have gamed state supreme courts to restrict abortion

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In Ohio, for instance, Republican lawmakers threatened to strip state courts of their jurisdiction to hear abortion law challenges after voters constitutionally protected access to the procedure last November. In 2023 alone, the Brennan Center identified 124 bills undermining judicial independence introduced in 29 states, with legislation passing in Utah, Idaho, and Mississippi. Both parties … Read more

Kamala Harris is the worst nightmare of America’s far right | opinion

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What’s the underlying goal here? The same as in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale – authoritarian fascism organized around male dominance. In this worldview, anything that challenges the traditional male roles of protector, provider and controller of the family threatens the social order. Strong women and LGBTQ+ people also weaken the heroic male warrior. Brutality, force … Read more

Alarm Bells Over JD Vance’s Support for Tracking Women Who Have Abortions

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Citing reporting from The Lever, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow warned viewers about Vance’s endorsement of a request by at least 19 Republican attorneys general who asked the Biden administration to allow them access to the medical records of people who travel across state lines, including to states that allow abortion care. “They want the right … Read more

Nebraska top court upholds law combining abortion and gender-affirming care restrictions

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A Nebraska law that combined abortion restrictions with another measure to limit gender-affirming healthcare for minors does not violate a state constitutional amendment requiring bills to stick to a single subject, the state supreme court ruled on Friday. Read more at The Guardian  

The Republican party remains the party of denying women human rights | opinion

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In other words, the revision would protect women’s right to privacy around pregnancy and birth control-related healthcare, and Vance was having none of it. As Talking Points Memo put it: “The news has been filled with proposed or actual laws which would attempt to restrict travel to receive abortions in other states, charge those who … Read more

Iowa’s ban on abortions after 6 weeks will go into effect next week

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A district court judge for Polk County said the law can be fully enforced starting July 29 at 8 a.m. CT, to allow time for medical providers to receive notice of the change. The ACLU of Iowa tried earlier this month to petition the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear the case, but the court denied that … Read more

Why do abortion “exceptions” rarely include mental health?

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“It’s one stigma on top of another: abortion is stigmatized, mental health is stigmatized — and [if] you need an abortion for a mental health issue, you’re just adding stigma on stigma,” Sobel told Salon. “So it’s most challenging for people in that situation to access care, and as we’ve already said, most of the … Read more

Texas city to vote on ban on people helping patients traveling for abortion

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Come November, residents of Amarillo, Texas, will vote on an ordinance that would declare Amarillo a “sanctuary city for the unborn” and ban people from helping patients travel through Amarillo to access abortions – what the ordinance calls “abortion trafficking”. It would also ban people from possessing or distributing abortion pills within Amarillo city limits. … Read more

Arkansas official rejected valid abortion ballot signatures, lawsuit claims

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“Our compliance with the law is clear and well-documented,” Lauren Cowles, executive director of Arkansans for Limited Government, said in a statement. “The secretary of state’s refusal to count valid signatures is an affront to democracy and an attempt to undermine the will of the people.” Read more at The Guardian