Roe v Wade is on deck

[lpetrich]

Amid the unraveling of abortion rights, five Texas-based district attorneys — among nearly 90 DAs and attorneys general across the country — have vowed to not prosecute abortion-related crimes, calling the criminalization of abortion care “a mockery of justice.” Bolstering the show of resistance, city councils in Texas, including in Austin and Dallas, have passed local resolutions directing their police departments to “deprioritize” investigations into criminal offenses related to abortion and refrain from surveillance of abortion care.

While Texas Right to Life and the Freedom Caucus differ on some anti-abortion priorities, they both plan to push back on those measures by seeking to empower district attorneys throughout the state to prosecute abortion-related crimes in other jurisdictions when the local district attorney fails or refuses to do so.

They might go further, like appointing new AG's.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are working to mitigate some of the damage by introducing measures that would add exceptions to the state’s abortion ban for survivors of rape; repeal the 1925 abortion statute and ensure that patients are not prosecuted; and put a constitutional amendment protecting abortion directly on the ballot. The proposed ballot measure requires approval from the GOP-controlled Legislature, likely dooming it from the start despite the fact that polls show the majority of Texas voters support abortion in “all or most cases.”

The Republicans have gerrymandered themselves into a legislative majority, one which will be hard to dislodge. Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options | The Texas Tribune

 

[crazyfingers]

Can it be called Texas-stan now?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

South Carolina Supreme Court bans 6-week abortion ban... back to 20-week ban.

The 3-2 decision allows abortion to remain legal in the state until 20 weeks of pregnancy, and is a setback for Republican lawmakers who had hoped this year to ban abortion after conception.

The majority opinion noted that while the state may limit a person’s right to privacy “any such limitation must be reasonable” and “afford a woman sufficient time to determine she is pregnant and take reasonable steps to terminate that pregnancy.” The court said that six weeks is “quite simply, not a reasonable period of time for those two things to occur.”

Four of the court’s five justices are registered Republicans, while Chief Justice Donald Beatty is a Democrat, and all were appointed by the Republican-controlled legislature.

And now we await for the GOP to fix the imbalance on the State Supreme Court.

It is an interesting ruling as it might preclude a right to abortion without expressing directly as such. If South Carolina banned abortion, the question would be whether the Supreme Court finds likewise. It could be interpreted that they are saying that abortion can't both be legal and there be a 6 week limit.

Of course, a full ban on abortion gets very tricky, very quickly, when you need to ban the daily birth control pill.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Another state doesn't want abortion to save the woman's life:

Republicans Want 12 Randos to Decide if Your Emergency Abortion Is Legal

Virginia’s proposed abortion ban could let a jury decide if an emergency abortion was really necessary.

www.vice.com

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Dems control the House in Virginia, if I'm not mistaken. Not by a lot, but presumably enough to stop that bill. We knew the pro-life movement was authoritarian, but this really is madness. Reading the article, doesn't even sound like it has much support among the anti-life of the woman movement. Pro-lifers seem to be straying around like cats, uncertain what to do now, especially after Kansas and the local courts. Some want to go all in, others want to try and slow down, or others want a complete ban, but are weary about how no to get walloped in an election from it.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Dems control the House in Virginia, if I'm not mistaken. Not by a lot, but presumably enough to stop that bill. We knew the pro-life movement was authoritarian, but this really is madness. Reading the article, doesn't even sound like it has much support among the anti-life of the woman movement. Pro-lifers seem to be straying around like cats, uncertain what to do now, especially after Kansas and the local courts. Some want to go all in, others want to try and slow down, or others want a complete ban, but are weary about how no to get walloped in an election from it.

Yeah, it won't go anywhere but the point is that it indicates their position. Same as Texas suing over Biden reminding hospitals that they still needed to perform emergency abortions. It's clear the hardliners prefer dead women to abortions.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Dems control the House in Virginia, if I'm not mistaken. Not by a lot, but presumably enough to stop that bill. We knew the pro-life movement was authoritarian, but this really is madness. Reading the article, doesn't even sound like it has much support among the anti-life of the woman movement. Pro-lifers seem to be straying around like cats, uncertain what to do now, especially after Kansas and the local courts. Some want to go all in, others want to try and slow down, or others want a complete ban, but are weary about how no to get walloped in an election from it.

Yeah, it won't go anywhere but the point is that it indicates their position. Same as Texas suing over Biden reminding hospitals that they still needed to perform emergency abortions. It's clear the hardliners prefer dead women to abortions.

Naw... they are just so grossfully ignorant of sex, the reproduction system, and medical care, they believe all the bullshit "pro-life" propaganda. Like the Ohio child rape case. They figured it was a lie, because that never happens.

 

[ZiprHead]

Police investigate Illinois Planned Parenthood fire as arson

CHICAGO (AP) — A fire at a central Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic is being investigated as arson, Peoria police said Tuesday, just days after the state enacted sweeping abortion protections.

apnews.com

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And more clear evidence that they believe in sacrificing the women:

Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted. (Published 2023)

Rape victims and patients with complicated pregnancies are confronting the limits of state abortion laws.

www.nytimes.com

The exceptions aren't being granted.

Idaho woman shares 19-day miscarriage on TikTok, says state's abortion laws prevented her from getting care

Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa, Idaho, shared her 19-day long miscarriage on TikTok after she said she was denied care due to Idaho's new abortion ban.

abcnews.go.com

An exception of them trying to kill the woman.

Fundamentally, it comes down to the same thing we have seen elsewhere: if the woman is still alive it's evidence the abortion isn't needed. If she dies, too bad.

The Salem Witch Trials come to mind.

 

[Oleg]

And more clear evidence that they believe in sacrificing the women:

Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted. (Published 2023)

Rape victims and patients with complicated pregnancies are confronting the limits of state abortion laws.

www.nytimes.com

The exceptions aren't being granted.

Idaho woman shares 19-day miscarriage on TikTok, says state's abortion laws prevented her from getting care

Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa, Idaho, shared her 19-day long miscarriage on TikTok after she said she was denied care due to Idaho's new abortion ban.

abcnews.go.com

An exception of them trying to kill the woman.

Fundamentally, it comes down to the same thing we have seen elsewhere: if the woman is still alive it's evidence the abortion isn't needed. If she dies, too bad.

The Salem Witch Trials come to mind.

Eh, for the Idaho woman, she miscarried at 6 weeks. D&C is not standard of care until after the first trimester. Would be nice if ABC included that in its story, rather than spread misinformation.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And more clear evidence that they believe in sacrificing the women:

Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted. (Published 2023)

Rape victims and patients with complicated pregnancies are confronting the limits of state abortion laws.

www.nytimes.com

The exceptions aren't being granted.

Idaho woman shares 19-day miscarriage on TikTok, says state's abortion laws prevented her from getting care

Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa, Idaho, shared her 19-day long miscarriage on TikTok after she said she was denied care due to Idaho's new abortion ban.

abcnews.go.com

An exception of them trying to kill the woman.

Fundamentally, it comes down to the same thing we have seen elsewhere: if the woman is still alive it's evidence the abortion isn't needed. If she dies, too bad.

The Salem Witch Trials come to mind.

Eh, for the Idaho woman, she miscarried at 6 weeks. D&C is not standard of care until after the first trimester. Would be nice if ABC included that in its story, rather than spread misinformation.

D&C is used when the uterus doesn't empty itself properly on it's own.

 

[blastula]

Supreme Court’s Inquiry Into Leak Included Interviews With Justices - NY Times

The Supreme Court’s internal investigation into who leaked a draft of the opinion last year overturning the landmark decision that had established a constitutional right to abortion included talking to all nine justices, the marshal of the court said on Friday.

But the justices — unlike dozens of law clerks and permanent employees of the court — were not made to sign sworn affidavits attesting that they had not been involved in the leak of the draft opinion overruling Roe v. Wade and that they knew nothing about it.

The clarification by the marshal, Gail A. Curley, who oversaw the inquiry, followed widespread speculation over its scope and limitations. In a 20-page report on Thursday, Ms. Curley disclosed that the investigation had not turned up the source of the leak while leaving ambiguous whether it had extended to interviewing the justices themselves.

She added: “I followed up on all credible leads, none of which implicated the justices or their spouses. On this basis, I did not believe that it was necessary to ask the justices to sign sworn affidavits.”

Ms. Curley did not indicate whether she searched the justices’ court-issued electronic devices and asked them to turn over personal devices and cellphone records, as she did with other personnel. She also did not address whether she had interviewed any of the justices’ spouses, another question that arose after her report was made public.

More here.

Inside the Supreme Court Inquiry: Seized Phones, Affidavits and Distrust - NY Times

On Thursday, the court issued a 20-page report disclosing that the marshal’s monthslong search for the leaker had been fruitless, and detailing embarrassing gaps in internal policies and security. While noting that 97 workers had been formally interviewed, the report did not say whether the justices or their spouses had been.

A day later, the court was forced to issue a second statement saying that the marshal had in fact conferred with the justices, but on very different terms from others at the institution. Lower-level employees had been formally interrogated, recorded, pressed to sign affidavits denying any involvement and warned that they could lose their jobs if they failed to answer questions fully, according to interviews and the report.

In contrast, conversations with the justices had been a two-way “iterative process” in which they asked as well as answered questions, the marshal, Gail A. Curley, wrote. She had seen no need for them to sign affidavits, she said.

Instead of putting the matter to rest, Friday’s statement heightened concerns about a double standard for justices.

“They weren’t subjected to the same level of scrutiny,” said one court worker on Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the court’s confidentiality rules. “It’s hard to imagine any of them suffering meaningful consequences even if they were implicated in the leak.”

The investigation was basically a farce then, kind of like the Kavanaugh investigation.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

And more clear evidence that they believe in sacrificing the women:

Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted. (Published 2023)

Rape victims and patients with complicated pregnancies are confronting the limits of state abortion laws.

www.nytimes.com

The exceptions aren't being granted.

Idaho woman shares 19-day miscarriage on TikTok, says state's abortion laws prevented her from getting care

Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa, Idaho, shared her 19-day long miscarriage on TikTok after she said she was denied care due to Idaho's new abortion ban.

abcnews.go.com

An exception of them trying to kill the woman.

Fundamentally, it comes down to the same thing we have seen elsewhere: if the woman is still alive it's evidence the abortion isn't needed. If she dies, too bad.

The Salem Witch Trials come to mind.

They write shit laws with vague disclaimers that can go either way, so they provide themselves the political cover... all the while putting people that are alive at risk of not being alive, and certainly by decreasing their quality of life... and potentially endangering their capability of having children down the road as well.

These legislators are monsters.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Toni]

Minnesota becomes first state to pass bill protecting abortion rights post-Dobbs

"These are our values," said the bill's lead author. "This is what we believe.”

www.motherjones.com

After more than 14 hours of debate, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill on Saturday that would establish a “fundamental right” to abortion in the state. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, has said he will sign the Protect Reproductive Options Act, known as the PRO Act, into law. The move makes Minnesota the first state to pass a law guaranteeing the right to abortion in the wake of the Dobbs decision, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

Abortion is already legal in Minnesota as a result of a 1995 state Supreme Court decision. The bill will not have a major impact on Minnesotans’ current access to abortions, but would make it harder to restrict abortion rights in the future.

 

[lpetrich]

Democratic governors form alliance on abortion rights | AP News

Democratic governors in 20 states are launching a network intended to strengthen abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision nixing a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy and instead shifting regulatory powers over the procedure to state governments.

...
The group includes executives of heavily Democratic states like California, where voters overwhelmingly approve of abortion rights, but also involves every presidential battleground state led by a Democrat, including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tony Evers of Wisconsin.

Twenty governors are forming a new coalition to support abortion rights - The Washington Post

The governors involved in the alliance hail from states with Democratic trifectas — such as New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan — as well as those with divided governments like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

...
Newsom refers to the alliance as a “firewall to fight for and protect providers [and] patients.” California and several other states have recently enshrined abortion rights into state law or constitutions, required most insurance plans to cover the cost of the procedure, and put millions toward helping patients obtain an abortion.

West Coast States Launch New Multi-State Commitment to Reproductive Freedom, Standing United on Protecting Abortion Access | California Governor - 2022 Jun 24, when the Supreme Court revoked Roe vs. Wade. All three West Coast contiguous-US states joined in: WA, OR, CA.

Democratic governors in 20 states form reproductive rights alliance | News From The States

The alliance so far includes:

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Delaware Gov. John Carney, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

 

[lpetrich]

Abortion pill could be pulled off market by Texas lawsuit | AP News

A Texas lawsuit with a key deadline this month is posing a threat to the nationwide availability of medication abortion, which now accounts for the majority of abortions in the U.S.

The case filed by abortion opponents who helped challenge Roe v. Wade seeks to reverse a decades-old approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

If a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump sides with them, it could halt the supply of the drug mifepristone in all states, both where abortion is banned and where it remains legal.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

“Our representatives in Congress created the FDA and gave the FDA the responsibility to make sure that drugs are safe before they’re allowed on the market … the FDA failed that responsibility,” said Julie Blake, senior counsel for the group.

They argue the FDA overstepped its authority in approving mifepristone by using an accelerated review process reserved for drugs to treat “serious or life-threatening illnesses.”

But in its legal response, the agency said it didn’t accelerate the drug’s approval, which came four years after the manufacturer first submitted its application to market the pill.

We live in a post-facts matter America. It has been enough to allege things since SCOTUS went dark. So now we wait and see if a Federal Judge overturns an FDA drug approval on a fake technicality.

 

[Shadowy Man]

“Our representatives in Congress created the FDA and gave the FDA the responsibility to make sure that drugs are safe before they’re allowed on the market … the FDA failed that responsibility,” said Julie Blake, senior counsel for the group.

They argue the FDA overstepped its authority in approving mifepristone by using an accelerated review process reserved for drugs to treat “serious or life-threatening illnesses.”

But in its legal response, the agency said it didn’t accelerate the drug’s approval, which came four years after the manufacturer first submitted its application to market the pill.

We live in a post-facts matter America. It has been enough to allege things since SCOTUS went dark. So now we wait and see if a Federal Judge overturns an FDA drug approval on a fake technicality.

Remember, the courts deal in *opinions*.

 

[lpetrich]

Governor Katie Hobbs on Twitter: "Today, Arizona officially joined the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, joining other Governors who agree that the decision to start a family is not one for the government to make. (vid link)" / Twitter

Arizonans elected me because I made a promise that I will defend reproductive rights, and intend to keep that promise.

I will use my authority to veto any bill that further restricts safe and legal abortion access without hesitation.

To reinforce my commitment to reproductive freedom, I am proud to join this coalition of Governors who understand that whether someone wants to start a family is not a decision for the government to make.

Making her the 21st governor to join that alliance.