United States

N.Y. moves to shield abortion medication prescriptions after Louisiana indicts doctor

“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday signed a bill to shield the identities of doctors who prescribe abortion medications, days after a physician in the state was charged with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor in Louisiana.  The new law, which took effect immediately, allows doctors to request for their names to be left off abortion pill bottles and instead list the name of their health-care practices on medication labels….”
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New York doctor faces criminal charges for prescribing abortion pills to Louisiana patient

"A Louisiana grand jury on Friday indicted a New York doctor for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a minor patient in the southern state, in what appears to be the first criminal case against an abortion provider since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter and her company Nightingale Medical have been charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, The Associated Press reported. The patient’s mother, who prosecutors say ordered the pills online for her daughter, has also been charged with the same felony crime, according to the AP...."
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NH abortion ban: Bill to prohibit procedure after 15 weeks, introduced then withdrawn

"New Hampshire legislators introduced — and then immediately withdrew — a bill to ban abortions after 15 weeks in the Granite State Monday. The first public hearing on the bill, HB 476, was held on Monday morning in front of the House Judiciary committee. However, prime sponsor Rep. Katy Peternel, R-Wolfeboro, said she had decided to withdraw the bill. “After careful review, it has become clear that there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way,” said Peternel in a statement. “Without consensus among the pro-life organizations across New Hampshire, this bill does…
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Pentagon ends paying for travel for abortion and other reproductive care

"The Pentagon has rescinded a Biden administration policy that reimbursed service members and dependents for travel to states where abortion and other reproductive health procedures are legal. The Pentagon’s Defense Travel Management Office issued the memo on Wednesday, ending reimbursements immediately.  The move, which is already drawing criticism from women in Congress, reverses a 2023 policy enacted under then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after the repeal of Roe v Wade. The policy provided paid leave and travel reimbursement for troops and their families who had to cross state lines because they were stationed in a state where abortion and other reproductive care, such as in vitro…
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Manitoba law that restricts protests near abortion clinics comes into effect

"A new Manitoba law restricting protests near clinics and hospitals where abortions are performed is to take effect Saturday. The NDP government introduced a bill last year that creates buffer zones of between 50 and 150 metres around such health facilities, as well as the homes of abortion providers...."
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Activists whose videos accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal remains plead to felony

“Two anti-abortion activists who made sensational videos of Planned Parenthood officials nearly a decade ago pleaded no contest this week to a felony count of illegally recording someone without consent. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt secretly filmed Planned Parenthood executives in California and edited the clips in a way that purported to show them selling fetal remains. Monday’s plea deal and felony conviction ends a criminal case that has dragged through the court system since 2017….”
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Trump uses executive power to reinstate anti-abortion pacts

“President Donald Trump on Friday used his executive authority to restore U.S. participation in two international anti-abortion pacts, including one that cuts off U.S. family planning funds for foreign organizations if they provide or promote abortions. Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which opponents call the "global gag rule" because they say it silences abortion advocates. Established by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984, it has been rescinded by each Democratic president since then and reinstated when a Republican returns to the White House….”
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Senate Dems block GOP’s first abortion bill

“A GOP-led abortion bill failed in the Senate due to Democratic opposition on Wednesday, a sign of where the party is drawing the line on bipartisan cooperation. After a week marked by Senate Democrats’ willingness to work with their Republican counterparts on both an immigration bill and confirming former Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of State, every Democrat voted against legislation that would “prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”…”
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Biden declares Equal Rights Amendment adopted, sparking a debate about his abortion legacy

“President Joe Biden’s Friday announcement declaring the Equal Rights Amendment part of the U.S. Constitution is reviving long-simmering tensions in the abortion-rights movement about the outgoing president’s legacy on reproductive rights. The last-minute move, three days before the end of Biden’s term, has sparked arguments between Biden’s defenders and his detractors over its significance, since even the White House acknowledged the announcement does not have the force of law. And the president’s declaration is also fueling a broader debate about whether Biden did enough to prepare for and respond to the fall of Roe v. Wade….”
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Defining fetal viability among GOP priorities after Missourians overturn abortion ban

"The day he was sworn in as speaker of the Missouri House, Jon Patterson declared that defining fetal viability could be a difficult task. A surgeon serving his fourth term in the legislature, Patterson said despite the vagueness of the medical phrase, the decision by voters to overturn Missouri's abortion ban means lawmakers have no choice but to try. "What I'll tell you is, if you took 10 doctors and lined them up and said 'what's the definition of fetal viability,' you'd get 10 different answers," Patterson said at a press conference last week. "Our citizens deserve to know what…
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Study shows growing support nationwide for expanded access to abortion pills

"Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to allow states to regulate abortion access, support for expanded access to abortion pills has significantly increased, including among those living in states with abortion bans, according to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. A sample of more than 7,000 women nationwide between the ages of 15 and 49 answered surveys in December 2021 prior to the Dobbs decision, and a random sampling of half the same population was surveyed again in June 2023 after the decision. The surveys gauged support for two models of expanded access to…
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Thousands of people are leaving abortion-ban states, study shows

"States with strict abortion bans are losing residents, particularly younger people, which could have long-term economic implications. In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a recent analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that the 13 states with total abortion bans collectively lost roughly 36,000 residents per quarter. That is the net difference between people leaving versus those moving into these states, a news release from CBS News shows...."
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Proposal would outlaw use of abortion pills and tighten rape exception

"A new bill would further clamp down on abortions in Indiana by banning procedures using pills and requiring women to file an affidavit of rape to meet one of the state’s few exceptions. Its future is uncertain since it was filed by a Senate Republican — Indianapolis Sen. Mike Young — who has clashed with caucus leadership over Indiana’s abortion ban. The ICC reached out for comment but received no response. “This is a government intrusion into medicine and healthcare with no other purpose but to put extreme ideology into law and take medical options away from patients,” said Indianapolis OB-GYN…
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House speaker fight, battles over abortion rights and taxes loom as Missouri lawmakers return

"Republican factional fights are nothing new in the Missouri General Assembly.  But what is new this year is the venue — the House of Representatives, where a sophomore lawmaker accusing his colleagues of corrupt politics seeks to upset the usually routine election of a speaker. State Rep. Justin Sparks of Wildwood admits history is against him in his attempt to prevent state Rep. Jon Patterson of Lee’s Summit from becoming speaker. Patterson, who was majority leader in the previous General Assembly, was designated as the GOP candidate for speaker months ago....
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With lawsuits and legislation, Texas Republicans take aim at abortion pills

"Since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states like Texas to ban nearly all abortions, the number of pregnancy terminations in the United States actually increased. This paradox, which pleases abortion advocates as much as it frustrates their conservative counterparts, hinges mostly on pills. An average of 2,800 Texans receive abortion-inducing medications through the mail each month from states that still allow abortion, according to #WeCount, a tracking project from the Society of Family Planning...."
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