Abortion Rights

Office of the Attorney General Files Appeal to Texas Supreme Court, Blocking District Judge’s Ruling and Leaving Abortion Law in Place

"In response to a Texas judge ruling Friday that said the state’s abortion ban must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges, the Office of the Attorney General filed what is called a Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal directly to the Texas Supreme Court...."
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New law to make small change to Texas’ near-total abortion ban

"Today, Texas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Under state law, abortions are legal if the patient's life is at risk, but some doctors say that's not clearly defined. State law says doctors who perform abortions could face life in prison and fines of up to $100,000. That’s why Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to clarify the law. “The purpose of [House Bill] 3058, the new bill, was to ensure that there was an affirmative defense for physicians, that they would not have to be concerned about liability for using their…
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Idaho health care providers can refer patients for abortions out of state, judge rules

"A federal judge has ruled that it would violate Idaho medical providers’ free speech rights to sanction them for referring patients to out-of-state abortion services, rejecting the state attorney general’s interpretation of Idaho’s abortion ban. Idaho’s law makes it illegal to perform or attempt to perform an abortion, a crime punishable by two to five years in prison. It also makes it unlawful for health care professionals to assist in the provision or attempted provision of one, with the penalty being the suspension or loss of their medical license...."
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Planned Parenthood seeks injunction for two sections of NC abortion law

"Planned Parenthood and a Duke Health doctor have renewed their request for a preliminary injunction against portions of North Carolina’s new abortion law. Documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court target two pieces of the law that otherwise took effect July 1. Meanwhile, the judge in the case rejected defendants’ request to delay the next hearing in the case. The new law permits abortions through 12 weeks of pregnancy, but blocks the procedure with exceptions afterward. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued a June 30 order temporarily blocking one portion of the law, labeled the “IUP Documentation Requirement” in court paperwork. That…
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Abortion-Rights States Begin Shielding Digital Data Near Clinics

"States positioning themselves as abortion safe havens are beginning to shield location information that can be gleaned from mobile phones, and to protect the privacy of other data that can show who is visiting a health-care facility. Beginning this summer, Washington, Connecticut, and New York are establishing first-of-their-kind data privacy safeguards for health-related information, in part to prevent anti-abortion groups from targeting people who terminate their pregnancies. A similar Nevada law will take effect next March...."
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Ohio abortion clinics continue to help out-of-state patients as bans are put in place

"As groups await legal battles on abortion, as well as hope for a November ballot initiative to include reproduction rights in the Ohio Constitution, abortion clinics are also looking to help surrounding states where bans have taken hold. Indiana has been the most recent state surrounding Ohio to see an abortion ban approved — set to start on August 1 — and with it struggles for Planned Parenthoods in the state to care for patients, even those seeking other reproductive services. While Ohio awaits the state Supreme Court’s decision in a case regarding an indefinite pause to the six-week abortion ban in the state,…
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Police at the hospital: Abortion battle heats up in Poland

"...An ever closer alliance between the Polish government and the Catholic Church has led to a radical tightening of abortion laws in recent years. In 2020, the PiS-controlled Constitutional Court removed the risk of serious fetal malformation as a condition allowing for legal abortion, creating a climate of fear and mistrust among doctors and women...."
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Abortions in Florida topped 38,000 in the first six months of 2023

"Amid a legal battle about the future of abortion rights in Florida, more than 38,000 abortions were performed in the state during the first half of 2023, according to a newly posted report on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website. The report, dated July 3, said 38,244 abortions had been performed this year...."
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What it’s like for doctors in Wisconsin to follow an 1849 abortion law in 2023

"The three women sitting around a table at a busy lunch spot share a grim camaraderie. It’s been more than a year since an 1849 law came back into force to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin. Now these two OB-GYNs and a certified midwife find their medical training, skill, and acumen constrained by state politics. “We didn’t even know germs caused disease back then,” said Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist who lives in Green Bay...."
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An effort to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution is more than halfway to its goal

"Abortion rights supporters have collected nearly half a million petition signatures for their campaign to place the issue before voters on the 2024 ballot. ...Gilmore is one of thousands of volunteers collecting signatures for the constitutional amendment proposal. Its title reads: "Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion" and its summary states, "No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider."..."
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Biden’s HIPAA expansion for abortion draws criticism, lawsuit threats

"The Biden administration’s effort to wield the nation’s premier health-privacy law to protect abortion rights is under fire from Republicans who accuse the president of overreaching — and from Democrats who call it too weak. The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to release a final rule later this year that would expand the protections of the decades old Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, with the aim of shielding people who seek, obtain or provide abortions from red state probes — one of the most concrete steps the administration has taken to defend abortion rights since…
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