Democrats hope to emulate Ohio ballot-measure plan to protect abortion rights
Democrats and abortion rights supporters show enthusiasm for ballot initiatives – but organizers are already meeting interference Read more at The Guardian
Missouri
Voters in at Least 10 States Are Trying to Protect Abortion Rights. GOP Officials Are Throwing Up Roadblocks.
Abortion-rights advocates say the fight to stop voters from protecting access to the procedure looks a lot like the fight to restrict voting rights in general. Many of the same Republican lawmakers who supported laws limiting access to the ballot box also seek to prevent citizen-led drives to enshrine reproductive health care into state constitutions, … Read more
Abortion bans are fueling a rise in high-risk patients heading to Illinois hospitals
“We’re seeing more cases right now (of) people who are later in gestation,” Fowler said. “More adolescents who are later in gestation, who are showing up at hospitals because this is really their last resort. They’ve been referred all over.” Read more at National Public Radio, Inc.
Missouri Supreme Court orders attorney general to let abortion ballot initiative go forward
The court ruled unanimously Thursday that Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) was using “misleading” and “incorrect” arguments to justify delaying his approval of the cost estimates ballot measure that would allow residents to vote on whether to legalize abortion, a crucial step in the certification process. Read more at The Hill
Cori Bush: Medication abortion a ‘lifeline’
“In restrictive states like mine,” Bush said, “medication abortion quite literally saves lives. Forced birth can be deadly. Every person should be able to decide for themselves whether to carry a pregnancy to term or to seek abortion care.” Read more at The Hill
Hospitals in Two States Denied an Abortion to a Miscarrying Patient. Investigators Say They Broke Federal Law.
Doctors told her she might die but she couldn’t have an abortion under state law until she got sicker, documents show. The Biden administration says failing to act violates a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care. Read more at Pro Publica
States add new hurdles to the ballot initiative process making protection reproductive rights more difficult
Ohio Republicans pass a measure that could make it harder to enshrine abortion rights “This is essentially just a way to cheat the system. It is pretty clear this initiative is coming from anti-choice extremists within the Ohio legislature with the goal of finding a way to change the rules so that Ohioans themselves don’t … Read more
Abortion bans are unpopular. Republicans are passing them anyway.
With abortion bans becoming increasingly unpopular, Republican-led statehouses are walking a delicate line: Trying to advance bills that would restrict access to the procedure without drawing attention, circumventing normal processes to cram new policies through as legislative sessions come to a close. Read more at 19th News
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) case
Feds: Hospitals that denied emergency abortion broke the law “It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life,” Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. “I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to … Read more
Missouri health department investigates hospital’s denial of emergency abortion
Missouri’s health department is investigating whether a hospital violated federal health care rules in denying a woman an emergency abortion, an agency spokeswoman confirmed Monday. Read more at NBC News