Category Archives: Roe v Wade

US law will overrule states for abortions in cases of medical emergencies

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Biden administration insists federal law would overrule state bans, protecting providers who perform emergency abortions

Physicians must continue to offer abortions in cases of medical emergencies without exception, Joe Biden’s administration said on Monday, as it insisted federal law would overrule any total state bans on abortion.

In a letter to healthcare providers, the president’s health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects providers from any purported state restrictions should they be required to perform emergency abortions.

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Texas woman given traffic ticket says unborn child counts as second passenger

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Brandy Bottone, who is 34 weeks pregnant, pulled over by police for driving in high-occupancy vehicle lane for two or more people

A pregnant woman in Texas told police that her unborn child counted as an additional passenger after being cited for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, offering up a potentially clever defense for motorists navigating the legal landscape following the supreme court’s striking down of nationwide abortion rights last month.

Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas, tried to fight a ticket for driving with only one passenger in an HOV lane – which requires at least two people in the car – by arguing that her unborn baby should count as her second passenger.

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Biden signs executive order to protect US abortion access and urges Americans to ‘vote, vote, vote’ – as it happened

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It’s official; Biden has formally signed an executive order protecting access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare services.

Here is a previous post detailing what is in the executive order.

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Joe Biden to sign executive order protecting access to abortion

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Move by president signals start of White House fightback after supreme court struck down Roe v Wade

Joe Biden is to sign an executive order offering protections to millions of American women denied the constitutional right to an abortion.

The move signals the start of a White House fightback after the supreme court last month struck down Roe v Wade, its landmark ruling that for half a century had legalised abortion nationwide.

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Colorado governor issues executive order to protect abortion access

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Jared Polis pledges that his state will not assist other states in criminal or civil investigations into abortions

The Democratic governor of Colorado has mandated that his state will not cooperate with any investigations into abortions led by other states.

Jared Polis signed an executive order on Wednesday pledging that the western US state will not assist other states in criminal or civil investigations used to prevent people from accessing abortions.

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10-year-old rape victim forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana for abortion

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Case places prominent anti-abortion figures in position of balancing rights of women and girls while defending restrictions

The case of a 10-year-old child rape victim in Ohio who was six weeks pregnant, ineligible for an abortion in her own state, and forced to travel to Indiana for the procedure has spotlighted the shocking impact of the US supreme court ruling on abortion.

The story of the girl came to light three days after the court overturned a nationwide right to terminate pregnancy, and Ohio’s six-week “trigger ban” came into effect.

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‘People want me dead’: abortion providers fear violence after Roe overturned

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Danger is a daily reality for the health workers, and moments of upheaval raise the risk, expert says

Boulder, Colorado, has for decades made its abortion providers feel welcome. The city council passed one of the country’s first laws regulating how close demonstrators could get to patients seeking reproductive care, and residents took to the streets in protest when it became clear that the supreme court was ready to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, as it did last month.

“Boulder is probably the most pro-choice community in the country,” said Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic. “But there are people in the community who want me dead.”

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Texas supreme court blocks order that allowed abortions to resume

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New decision temporarily overturns stay issued by lower court last week, and illustrates legal chaos for US abortion providers

The Texas supreme court on Friday overturned a block on a state abortion ban linked to the recent US supreme court decision reversing Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling granting nationwide rights to abortion.

The order – an emergency motion for temporary relief – ordered parties on both sides of the abortion issue to submit briefings to the court by 7 July on a lawsuit seeking to delay implementation of so-called trigger bans, which would outlaw abortions in Texas in most circumstances.

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Biden urged to do more to defend abortion rights: ‘This is a five-alarm fire’

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Furious Americans have taken to the streets, but many Democrats believe Biden has failed to capture the urgency and anger

High above America’s capital, pro-choice activists scaled a construction crane, inching across its latticed steel arm, to affix a banner with a message for the president to see. It read: “BIDEN PROTECT ABORTION.”

In the days since the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, legions of furious Americans have taken to the streets to protest a decision that was once unimaginable. But as a new reality takes shape, many are demanding the president and Democratic leaders do more to defend reproductive rights.

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Biden calls court’s Roe ruling ‘tragic reversal’ during meeting with Democratic governors – as it happened

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Speaking first, New York governor Kathy Hochul, said her state is acting quickly to shore up women’s reproductive rights in its constitution and protect access to contraception and other rights.

“This is frightening time for women all across our nation, a lot of fear and anxiety out there,” she said.

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Facebook and Instagram removing posts with mentions of abortion pills

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In light of the supreme court’s verdict, memes and status updates on social media on how to access the medicines have exploded

Facebook and Instagram have begun removing posts related to abortion pills, as posts about such medication spiked following the supreme court’s ruling stripping away constitutional protections for abortions.

Memes and status updates explaining how people can obtain abortion pills in the mail have exploded across social platforms in recent days.

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Why US women are deleting their period tracking apps

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Even before the supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the trend to ditch the apps began amid fears of prosecution

Many American women in recent days have deleted period tracking apps from their cellphones, amid fears the data collected by the apps could be used against them in future criminal cases in states where abortion has become illegal.

The trend already started last month when a draft supreme court opinion that suggested the court was set to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked, and has only intensified since the court on Friday revoked the federal right to abortion

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Fears of violence against pro-choice protests intensify amid wave of attacks

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Use of teargas and arrests by police and targeting by anti-abortion activists disrupts demonstrations in multiple states

Fears over police violence and attacks by anti-abortion activists have been growing following a wave of incidents at demonstrations against the US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which upheld the constitutional right to an abortion.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered at protests objecting to the ruling. The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful but some have seen incidents of police violence – including attacks on protesters – and an incident of a car driving dangerously through marchers.

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California to vote on adding abortion rights protection to state constitution

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The amendment added to this year’s ballot is part of Democrats’ aggressive strategy to expand access to abortion

California voters will decide in November whether to guarantee the right to an abortion in their state constitution, a question sure to boost turnout on both sides of the debate during a pivotal midterm election year as Democrats try to keep control of Congress after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade.

The court’s ruling on Friday gives states the authority to decide whether to allow abortion. California is controlled by Democrats who support abortion rights, so access to the procedure won’t be threatened anytime soon.

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Louisiana judge blocks abortion ban amid uproar after Roe v Wade ruling

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State temporarily blocked from enforcing ban as other US states pass ‘trigger laws’ designed to severely curtail access to abortion

A Louisiana judge on Monday temporarily stopped the state from enforcing Republican-backed laws banning abortion, set to take effect after the US supreme court ended the constitutional right to the procedure last week.

Louisiana is one of 13 states which passed “trigger laws”, to ban or severely restrict abortions once the supreme court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that recognized a right to the procedure. It did so on Friday, stoking uproar among progressives and protests and counter-protests on the streets of major cities.

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US supreme court rules in favor of high school football coach over on-field prayers – as it happened

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Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch argued that football coach Joseph Kennedy had a right to publicly pray after games because he was not requiring others to participate in the practice.

“Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a high school football coach because he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet prayer of thanks,” Gorsuch wrote.

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Israel eases abortion regulations in response to ‘sad’ Roe v Wade ruling

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New rules will remove abortion approval committees and grant access to abortion pills at local health clinics

Israel has eased its regulations on abortion access, in what the health minister said was a response to last week’s “sad” US supreme court ruling overturning Roe v Wade.

The new rules, approved by a parliamentary committee, grant women access to abortion pills through the country’s universal health system and remove a longstanding requirement that women appear physically before a special committee before they are permitted to terminate a pregnancy.

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Many US companies move to pay travel costs for employees seeking abortions

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Tech firms and banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, add ‘critical healthcare’ package

Many US corporate giants have moved swiftly to provide support and financial assistance to employees seeking abortions in states that outlawed the procedure following the US supreme court’s decision on Friday to overturn its landmark Roe v Wade ruling.

With potentially millions of women soon looking to cross state lines for the procedure, many employers have added “critical healthcare” packages to employees benefit packages.

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‘They set a torch to it’: Warren says court lost legitimacy with Roe reversal

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Top Democrats again call for appointing additional justices to blunt conservative super-majority which made ruling possible

Leading Democrats on Sunday continued calling the supreme court’s legitimacy into question after it took away the nationwide right to abortion last week, and some again lobbied for appointing additional justices to the panel so as to blunt the conservative super-majority which made the controversial ruling possible.

The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren suggested to ABC’s This Week that there was urgency to do that because supreme court justice Clarence Thomas indicated within Friday’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling that he’s open to reconsidering precedents guaranteeing contraception, same-sex marriage rights and consensual gay sex.

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Anger as protests continue across US after supreme court overturns Roe

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In New York demonstrations fell on Pride weekend, as thousands gathered downtown to celebrate and give voice to anger

Protests over a US supreme court decision that overturned abortion rights continued across the country this weekend. In New York, thousands marched to voice their anger at the ruling that came at the end of a dizzying week around not just reproductive rights but also gun carry laws and the US Capitol attack.

“Not your uterus, not your choice,” many shouted as the demonstrations progressed in Washington DC., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and Austin.

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