legislation

04 Aug

New law to make small change to Texas’ near-total abortion ban

MollyUnited States, , , , ,
"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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01 Aug

After yearlong fight, a near-total abortion ban is going into effect in Indiana

MollyUnited States, , , , , , , ,
"A sweeping ban on most abortions is scheduled to take effect today in Indiana. It would prohibit abortions at any point during pregnancy except if the woman's life or health is seriously at risk. Abortion would be permitted before 22 weeks of pregnancy if a "lethal fetal anomaly" is detected, or until 12 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest. Late Monday, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers filed a last-minute legal request with the Indiana Supreme Court, asking the justices to rehear their previous legal challenge. The move may delay the law from taking effect by a…
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31 Jul

Lawsuit seeks to prevent prosecutions for helping arrange abortions outside Alabama

MollyUnited States, , , , , ,
"Two clinic owners in Alabama and the ACLU filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to prevent prosecutions of people who provide information or assistance to women who want to travel out of state to get abortions. Alabama law prohibits doctors and others from performing abortions. The two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Dr. Yashica Robinson and Robin Marty, used to run abortion clinics but now provide other health services to women, including prenatal and sexual health care. Both women  said they were afraid to provide information about abortion clinics located in states where the procedure is legal because of statements made by Alabama Attorney…
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25 Jul

Planned Parenthood seeks injunction for two sections of NC abortion law

MollyUnited States, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
"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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24 Jul

Abortion-Rights States Begin Shielding Digital Data Near Clinics

MollyUnited States, , , , , , , , ,
"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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23 Jul

Police at the hospital: Abortion battle heats up in Poland

MollyUnited States, , , , , , ,
"...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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22 Jul

What it’s like for doctors in Wisconsin to follow an 1849 abortion law in 2023

MollyUnited States, , , , , ,
"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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20 Jul

An effort to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution is more than halfway to its goal

MollyUnited States, , , ,
"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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19 Jul

Biden’s HIPAA expansion for abortion draws criticism, lawsuit threats

MollyUnited States, , , , ,
"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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15 Jul

Judge considering temporary block of new abortion law

MollyUnited States, , , , ,
"An Iowa judge on Friday afternoon heard a request to postpone the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just as Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law in front of 2,000 conservative Christians barely a mile away. The hearing in Polk County court ended around 2:45 p.m. The judge said he hoped to have a ruling by the end of the day on Monday, July 17...."
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