Abortion

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An Arizona judge helped revive an 1864 abortion law. His lawmaker wife joined Democrats to repeal it

When it was Shawnna Bolick’s turn to speak, the words tumbled out of her.

https://apnews.com/article/arizona-abortion-ban-clint-shawnna-bolick-c69f0af6b0eeea11e4bcdc21cb7c908f?

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? GOP clouds abortion

The Republican frontrunner in Nevada's hotly contested Senate race is quietly reframing his work with a conservative group he led last year, de-emphasizing its opposition to abortion, Axios' Stephen Neukam writes.

• Sam Brown — seeking the GOP nomination to unseat Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) — is the most recent Republican to try to cloud their anti-abortion views ahead of the 2024 election

Why it matters: In midterms and state elections, the GOP has been punished for orchestrating the fall of Roe v. Wade.

? Other Republicans have tacked to the middle on abortion:

• Arizona MAGA Republican Kari Lake, who's seeking a Senate seat in that swing state, previously supported an abortion ban in the state but has since come out against such a measure.
• Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican running for a Senate seat in heavily Democratic Maryland, vetoed a bill when he was governor that would have widened access to abortion. This week, Hogan said he's "pro-choice."

? Veep watch: With former President Trump playing down abortion, insiders were surprised Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — one of the top contenders for running mate — leaned into the issue on "Meet the Press."

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The number of births continues to fall, despite abortion bans

Births continued a historic slide in all but two states last year, making it clear that a brief post-pandemic uptick in the nation’s birth numbers was all about planned pregnancies that had been delayed temporarily by COVID-19.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/05/21/the-number-of-births-continues-to-fall-despite-abortion-bans/?

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Louisiana Legislature approves bill classifying abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final legislative passage Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-louisiana-legislature-controlled-substance-06ea3e8df86b72b473efe8fc71054ddf?

Louisiana cracks down on abortion pills

By Chelsea Brasted and Carlie Kollath Wells

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

A person in Louisiana caught with the abortion medications mifepristone or misoprostol without a prescription could soon face up to 10 years in prison. Why it matters: Louisiana, which has one of the country's highest maternal mortality rates, will be the first state to classify the medications as controlled substances. The classification requires providers to take additional steps to track who prescribes and receives the medications. Doctors have said the new rules will further complicate the provision of care and could increase deaths among postpartum women, according to WWNO's Rosemary Westwood. The medications have uses beyond abortion, such as helping prevent ulcers and treating constipation and postpartum haemorrhages. Vice President Kamala Harris called the bill "unconscionable" on X when it cleared the state House of Representatives earlier this week. "Donald Trump did this," she wrote.

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Texas Supreme Court rejects lawsuit over abortion ban exceptions

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled against 22 women who suffered complications during pregnancy who had sued the state over its near-total abortion ban.

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/31/texas-abortion-ban-supreme-court?

Challenge to abortion ban rejected

Pregnant Texans with severe complications will likely continue seeking abortions outside the state after the Texas Supreme Court declined to clarify when a medical emergency justifies an abortion.

Why it matters: While the Texas abortion ban includes a few exceptions, the Friday ruling against 22 women who suffered complications during pregnancy did not provide the clarity patients and doctors sought.

• The ruling places the onus largely on doctors to make decisions and fails to protect women's health as the exceptions intended, Emily Berman, a professor at the University of Houston's Law Center, tells Axios.

The big picture: Under Texas' abortion ban, which took effect in 2022, a licensed physician can perform an abortion only if the pregnant person's life is at risk or if the pregnancy "poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function."

• The provider must also attempt to save the fetus.

Catch up quick: The lawsuit filed in March 2023 didn't seek to overturn Texas' ban but to clarify when medical exceptions are allowed under the law.

• Critics of Texas' ban have said the ambiguity over when exceptions are allowed has contributed to confusion among doctors — who can be charged with a first-degree felony if they violate the law.

State of play: A Democratic state district judge in Austin ruled last summer that the state could not prosecute doctors who terminated a complicated pregnancy in their "good faith judgment." The order was almost immediately blocked through an appeal by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

• The state could still amend the law to better indicate to doctors when an abortion is going to be permissible, as it did with ectopic pregnancies, Berman says.

What we're watching

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? Dem-leaning doctors step up

By Maya Goldman

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

? The wave of state abortion restrictions that began after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade has led Democratic-leaning doctors to become an organizing and political force against such laws. Those doctors say many of the new laws jeopardize patients' health and restrict their own ability to practice medicine. Their push coincides with the erosion of the historical alliance between Republicans and the American Medical Association, which has staked out progressive stances on topics including trans care and gun violence. It's also reminiscent of how the 2010 Affordable Care Act sparked a wave of political activism among Republican-leaning doctors who were eager to push back on what they saw as an intrusive government. ?️ In Ohio, doctors have worked to pass a ballot measure that enshrined reproductive rights into the state's constitution. In Texas, they've battled in court over a narrow exception to the state's abortion ban. At least six Democratic doctors are running for competitive House seats this year, seizing on voters' concerns about reproductive health and high health care costs, Axios Pro's Victoria Knight reported. In Congress, it's often Republican doctors — who are larger in number and have their own caucus — driving conversations about how medicine is practiced. ? The recent abortion debates also have prompted action by conservative doctors. Membership of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists has increased by more than 500 in the past two years, spokesperson Myriam Diallo said. Go deeper.

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? It depends on where you are

Data: KFF, Guttmacher Institute, Axios research; Map: Axios Visuals Half the states have imposed limits on abortion in the two years since the Supreme Court rejected a federal right to the procedure. The severity of those limits varies significantly; in general, the harshest restrictions are in the South and the Midwest. Court battles over restrictions are ongoing in several states. President Biden has said he wants to codify the abortion rights under Roe v. Wade into federal law, but he hasn't had the votes in Congress to do it. Former President Trump and GOP leaders have said they have no plans to impose a national ban on abortion if Trump is elected, saying regulation should be left to the states. Abortion-rights activists are skeptical of that claim. Today, 17 states have full bans on abortion or allow the procedure only up to 6 weeks of pregnancy. In six states — Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa and Ohio — courts are blocking efforts to impose stricter rules.

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Trump says he’ll work ‘side by side’ with group that wants abortion ‘eradicated’

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.”

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/06/10/223081/?

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The anti-abortion movement is making a big play to thwart citizen initiatives Reeling from a string of defeats, anti-abortion groups and their Republican allies in state governments are using an array of strategies to counter proposed ballot initiatives intended to protect reproductive rights and prevent voters from having a say in the fall elections. Read more.

Why this matters: Abortion rights advocates say many of the strategies build off ones tested last year. They include signature removals from initiative petitions, pushes for competing ballot measures that could confuse voters and months-long delays caused by lawsuits over ballot initiative language.   Where Republicans control the legislature and enact strict abortion limits, a statewide citizens initiative is often the only avenue for protecting access to abortion and other reproductive rights.   The fights over planned statewide ballot initiatives are the latest sign of the deep divisions created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end a constitutional right to abortion.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The Supreme Court’s ruling on mifepristone isn’t the last word on the abortion pill   Outraged Brazilian women stage protests against bill to equate late abortions with homicide   Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024?

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?️ Mapped: 2 years after Dobbs

Data: Myers Abortion Facility Database, Middlebury College. (Shortest path between points used instead of driving distance for counties with few road networks.) Map: Simran Parwani/Axios State abortion bans enacted since Roe v. Wade was overturned — two years ago today — have left residents of nearly a quarter of U.S. counties more than 200 miles from an abortion provider, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes. Keep reading ...

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When abortion access is on the ballot, it wins. But that’s not an option for many states Abortion-rights supporters in several states have used the citizen initiative process to protect access in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to the procedure. But voters in half the states don't have that right, including many of the Republican-controlled states in the South that have passed near total abortion bans since the court ruling. Read more.

Why this matters: 25 states do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve reproductive rights in several states.   In states allowing citizen initiatives and where abortion access has been on the ballot, voters have resoundingly affirmed the right to abortion. Voters in seven states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky, Montana and Ohio, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to curtail them in statewide votes.    There are frustratingly limited options that millions of Americans face in trying to re-establish abortion rights as the country marks the second anniversary since the Supreme Court’s ruling.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ This law is a lifeline for pregnant workers even as an abortion dispute complicates its enforcement   The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Here’s the state of abortion rights now in the US   ‘Everything is at stake’ for reproductive rights this year, Harris says ahead of the Biden-Trump debate

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⚕️ Medical board clarifies abortion rules

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

Texas doctors don't need to wait until a pregnant person is at risk of death to provide them an abortion, per new guidance from the Texas Medical Board. Why it matters: Texas law prohibits performing an abortion, offering exemptions when the life or health of the pregnant patient is at risk. Violators face felony charges, fines or revoked medical licenses. The law has led to confusion and fear among many doctors and patients. The big picture: The Texas Medical Board's new rules offer protections to doctors performing abortions for ectopic pregnancies or previable premature rupture of membranes. Doctors don't need to wait until the condition is life-threatening or will impair a major bodily function to perform an abortion. "This is a very emotional, highly personal issue and subject to exceptionally differing viewpoints," the board said in a news release. Yes, but: The medical board declined to specify conditions that would permit an abortion. Lawmakers would have to make any broader changes to the law. Flashback: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago today, effectively ending all federal protections on abortion. Texas banned abortion in nearly all cases after the court decision. The Texas Supreme Court last month declined to clarify when a medical emergency justifies an abortion. The other side: Many health care providers were seeking more clarity from the medical board on conditions that allow for an abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights says the guidelines "fall far short of the protections needed for pregnant Texans and their doctors." Access challenges

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? Charted: Texans seek abortions elsewhere

By Sareen Habeshian and Megan Stringer

Data: Guttmacher Institute; Note: Includes procedural and medication abortions provided at brick-and-mortar health facilities as well as medication abortions via telehealth and virtual providers; Map: Axios Visuals More than 35,000 patients left Texas last year to obtain an abortion, per estimates from the Guttmacher Institute. Why it matters: The numbers reveal how the abortion landscape has shifted in the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The big picture: Nationally, 171,300 patients traveled out-of-state for abortions last year. Zoom in: New Mexico, which doesn't impose any term restrictions on abortions, was the most popular state for Texans seeking an abortion last year, per the Guttmacher Institute. Around 14,200 Texans traveled to New Mexico for the procedure. Around 6,720 Texans traveled to Kansas, 4,400 traveled to Colorado and 3,580 people traveled to California for an abortion. The bottom line: Whether people should be allowed to travel for abortions, or even receive public money to do so, remains a hotly contested issue across Texas.

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? Dems strike back on abortion rights

By Stephen Neukam

Abortion-rights advocates protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court today to mark the second anniversary of the court overturning abortion rights under Roe v. Wade. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Democratic candidates — from President Biden on down — sought to use the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade's downfall today to make sure voters who punished Republicans over abortion rights in the 2022 midterms turn out again in November. Reproductive rights are among the top issues Democrats hope will motivate voters to show up on Nov. 5, and help the party's candidates overcome concerns about inflation, border security and Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. ⚡️ The anniversary comes at a pivotal moment — three days ahead of the first (and maybe only) presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump. ? Zoom in: Democrats, citing the uneven nature of state abortion laws since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, have cast that chaos as an attack on women's rights — a constant theme in the party's choreographed messaging today. ? Biden released a campaign video taking aim at Trump on abortion rights. ⚖️ Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, said Trump was to blame for the demise of women's reproductive rights because he appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who tipped the scales against Roe. Democrats in competitive Senate races likely to determine control of the chamber next year hit the campaign trail with similar messages. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) all appeared at events in their home states promoting abortion rights. The other side: Trump and other Republicans spent the weekend at an event held by the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition, where Trump took credit for Roe's downfall. Republicans have struggled to find a post-Roe message on reproductive rights, mostly describing it as an issue that should be decided at the state level. Read more

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In wake of Supreme Court ruling, Biden administration tells doctors to provide emergency abortions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration told emergency room doctors they must perform emergency abortions when necessary to save a pregnant woman’s health, following last week’s Supreme Court ruling that failed to settle a legal dispute over whether state abortion bans override a federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-emergency-room-law-biden-supreme-court-1564fa3f72268114e65f78848c47402b?

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Abortion surveillance isn’t new but monitoring has increased post Dobbs, activists say

Abortion surveillance is something former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has said is up to states. But for abortion providers and advocates, surveillance and monitoring by anti-abortion activists has long been the reality. And post-Dobbs many states are actively trying to expand government surveillance.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/07/06/abortion-surveillance-isnt-new-but-monitoring-has-increased-post-dobbs-activists-say/?

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From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond: A resurrection in New Mexico

Diane Derzis bought a clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2010. It was the state’s only abortion provider.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/07/05/from-roe-to-dobbs-and-beyond-a-resurrection-in-new-mexico/?

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Republicans move at Trump’s behest to change how they will oppose abortion

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Committee moved Monday to adopt a party platform that reflects former President Donald Trump’s position opposing a federal abortion ban and ceding limits to states, omitting the explicit basis for a national ban for the first time in 40 years.

https://apnews.com/article/republicans-abortion-party-platform-trump-rnc-5561e857c5501df9864ab8ca666d8bc5?

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Support for legal abortion has risen since Supreme Court eliminated protections, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a rising number support access to abortions for any reason, a new poll finds, highlighting a politically perilous situation for candidates who oppose abortion rights as the November election draws closer.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-biden-election-2024-dobbs-498d14f6e2bbfe1f313f006ad089de4e?

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?️ GOP divided over national abortion ban

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Some Republicans are not happy about the RNC's decision to leave a national abortion ban off of the party platform for the first time in 40 years, Axios' Stef Kight reports. "The RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life," former Vice President Mike Pence said in a statement today. "It has a lot of potential to hurt us," Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Axios. ? "It's the one issue that could divide the Trump base from President Trump," Cramer said over text. "Right now Republicans have enthusiasm for our nominee when the Democrats clearly do not for theirs." "I was surprised because it's been such an important part of our party's platform and what we stand for," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Axios. Go deeper.

[bonnie1962]

If abortion rights had not gone to such extremes I wonder if there would be such a mess over this now. Originally I think it would have shocked and appalled those that voted in favor of abortion. Sadly it is just accepted you could kill your child almost up to the moment of birth Those that make the convoluted claim they do believe it murder of a child but they support a woman's right to do that are now as willing to accept that as the most ardent abortionist.

Now it is the pro life crowd that want to take one giant leap backwards and go to as much of a extreme immediately as the pro abortion crowd. How do they expect  to make such a extreme switch in one leap? It took time for the abortion crowd to get where it was when Roe vs Wade was no longer the law of the land.

Those that say they would never do such a thing and believe it is killing a child but champion a woman's right to do so can rest easy. I would take it to the bank this country will be back to killing babies that could survive outside the mother

[bonnie1962]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1213063929862779

The destruction of this is called a woman's choice, supported  by those that say it is a baby but "I cant tell a woman no"

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J.D. Vance Wants Police To Track People Who Have Abortions

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Donald Trump’s pick for vice presidential nominee, pressured federal regulators last June to kill a privacy rule that prevents police from accessing the medical records of people seeking reproductive services, according to documents reviewed by The Lever. The rule was designed to prevent state and local police in anti-abortion states from using private records to hunt down and prosecute people who cross state lines in search of abortion services.

https://www.levernews.com/j-d-vance-wants-police-to-track-people-who-have-abortions/?

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Panel decides abortion-rights amendment would increase litigation costs for FL

Panelists appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other political opponents of the proposed abortion-rights amendment pushed an administrative committee to abandon precedent and write an estimate boosting the potential cost to taxpayers should the amendment pass in November.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/07/16/panel-decides-abortion-rights-amendment-would-increase-litigation-costs-for-fl/?

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J.D. Vance Wants Police To Track People Who Have Abortions

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Donald Trump’s pick for vice presidential nominee, pressured federal regulators last June to kill a privacy rule that prevents police from accessing the medical records of people seeking reproductive services, according to documents reviewed by The Lever. The rule was designed to prevent state and local police in anti-abortion states from using private records to hunt down and prosecute people who cross state lines in search of abortion services.

https://www.levernews.com/j-d-vance-wants-police-to-track-people-who-have-abortions/