Category Archives: Abortion

Democratic states stockpile abortion pills as legal fight for access looms

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US supreme court has preserved access to mifepristone for now, but blue states announce plans to safeguard abortion rights

Despite a reprieve by the US supreme court, a growing number of Democratic states are stockpiling abortion pills as the legal fight for access to the abortion drug mifepristone is set to continue.

On Friday, the supreme court decided to temporarily block a lower court ruling that would have significantly restricted the availability of mifepristone, an FDA-approved abortion medication.

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US supreme court expected to rule on abortion pill access lawsuit – live

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Justices consider appeal by White House following lower court order reimposing restrictions on drug mifepristone

Speaking of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, two polls were released today concerning the men that tell us … not much new.

The first, from the Wall Street Journal, confirms that Trump remains the most popular figure among contenders for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024. The WSJ was one of the few surveys that found Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has not entered the race yet but is widely expected to, with an edge over Trump in a survey released last December. That trend has now reversed: in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Trump gets 51% support, and DeSantis 38%. The former president also beats DeSantis even in a poll that includes other potential Republican candidates – none of whom crack double-digit support.

The possible charges are two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion related to a business expense for one year of taxes, and the gun charge, also a potential felony.

Two senior law enforcement sources told NBC News about “growing frustration” inside the FBI because investigators finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago. A senior law enforcement source said the IRS finished its investigation more than a year ago.

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ACT becomes first Australian jurisdiction to offer free universal access to abortions

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The healthcare program will be available for surgical and medical abortions up to 16 weeks’ gestation

The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to offer free universal access to abortion services, prompting calls for the rest of the country to follow suit.

From Thursday, ACT residents who wish to access abortion healthcare will be able to do so without charge, regardless of whether they have a Medicare card.

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Democratic senators condemn federal judge’s ruling to block abortion drug

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Lawmakers from New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin decry the ruling, now on hold by supreme court until at least 19 April

Top Democratic senators across the US are pushing back after a federal judge in Texas decided to block the FDA-approved abortion drug mifepristone.

On Sunday, the New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand criticized as an “outrage” Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision, which is currently halted until at least Wednesday 19 April by the supreme court.

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‘They created this’: are Republicans willing to lose elections to retain their abortion stance?

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The right has, for decades, relied on abortion to rally their conservative base, but now their unified policy is flagging

Democrats have taken multiple actions in response to what they say is a “draconian” and “dangerous” decision by a federal judge in Texas threatening access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the US.

Several Democratic governors have begun to stockpile doses of the drugs used in medication abortions. Nearly every Democrat in Congress signed onto an amicus brief urging an appeals court to stay the decision, while some called on the Biden administration to simply “ignore” the ruling, should it be allowed to stand. A group of House Democrats introduced a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) final approval over drugs used in medication abortion.

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US supreme court justice blocks ruling that limits abortion pill access – live

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Temporary pause on lower court rulings gives court additional time to consider a longer stay

Danco Laboratories has said that they will continue to distribute the abortion pill, according to an email from the company.

Reuters reported that the company emailed a statement confirming that they will still continue to dispense Mifeprex to its customers.

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Biden administration asks US supreme court to halt abortion pill restrictions

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Limits slated to go into effect at 12.01am Saturday following lower court’s order revoking the FDA’s approval of mifepristone

The Biden administration appealed to the US supreme court on Friday asking it to halt an appellate ruling that adds onerous restrictions to a key abortion drug. The restrictions were slated to go into effect at 12.01am on Saturday morning.

The ruling at the center of the emergency application to the high court was issued on Wednesday night by the fifth circuit court of appeals. The US Department of Justice had asked the appeals court to block a lower court order revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone in 2000.

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Ron DeSantis signs bill approving six-week abortion ban in Florida

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Bill gives governor key political victory ahead of expected presidential campaign

The Republican-dominated Florida legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, as he prepares for an expected presidential run.

DeSantis, a Republican, later signed the bill into law. “We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” he said in a statement. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.

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Donald Trump reportedly sues former lawyer Michael Cohen for $500m – as it happened

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Lawsuit claims former fixer breached attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself, among other allegations

Tennessee’s neighbor Kentucky is having its own reckoning with gun violence after a mass shooting in Louisville on Monday left five people dead.

But as the Washington Post reports, the partisan divide over what to do about these repeated acts of violence is as wide as ever in the solidly Republican state. The Post tuned into public events held by two freshman House representatives from the state, one the sole Democrat in its delegation, the other a Republican.

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Fate of US abortion drug hangs in balance ahead of Friday deadline

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Mifepristone will lose its FDA approval this week unless an appeals court intervenes in a case likely to reach the supreme court

FDA authorization for a key abortion drug could be nullified after Friday, unless an appeals court acts on a Biden administration request to block last week’s ruling suspending approval of the drug.

The drug, mifepristone, is used in more than half of all the abortions in the US. The ruling, issued by a federal judge in Texas, applies across the country.

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Senate calls on supreme court chief justice to investigate Clarence Thomas’s ‘gift’ trips – as it happened

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Judiciary committee will review supreme court justice’s undeclared luxury travel with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow

Donald Trump is trying to prevent his former vice-president, Mike Pence, from testifying to the grand jury investigating the January 6 insurrection, NBC News reports:

Earlier this month, Pence decided to drop his legal challenge to the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the insurrection at the Capitol in addition to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago.

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US appeals Texas judge’s ruling to suspend abortion pill approval

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Justice department calls decision ‘especially unwarranted’ because it undermines the FDA’s scientific judgment

The US government on Monday appealed a Texas judge’s decision to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of a key abortion drug, saying the ruling endangered women’s health by blocking access to a pill long deemed safe.

In a filing with the 5th US circuit court of appeals, the Department of Justice (DoJ) called judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision on the drug mifepristone “especially unwarranted” because it would undermine the FDA’s scientific judgment and harm women for whom the drug is medically necessary.

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Women in England and Wales ‘feel pressured to opt for medical abortions’

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Underfunded services resulting in more women choosing cheaper at-home abortion pill, study finds

Overstretched and underfunded abortion services in England and Wales are leaving women feeling pressured into opting for the cheaper at-home pill rather than a surgical procedure, according to research.

The proportion of medical abortions – using pills – rose from 47% in 2011 to 87% in 2021, while very few abortions are now administered surgically, finds research from the London School of Economics.

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‘What next?’ Schumer lambasts Texas judge’s abortion pills ruling

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Democrats including Senate majority leader warn of ‘dangerous new precedent’ set by ruling and vow to fight it

Democratic lawmakers are doubling down on outrage against Friday’s ruling that threatens access to a widely used abortion medication, saying the ruling sets a “dangerous new precedent” that could harm future medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Make no mistake, the decision could throw our country into chaos,” said the Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on a call with reporters on Saturday. “Republicans have completely eviscerated the FDA as we know it and threatened the ability of any drug on the market to avoid being prohibited.

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Democrats condemn judge’s ‘draconian’ decision threatening abortion drug

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Party members call on Biden to do more to protect reproductive rights amid conflicting judicial rulings on mifepristone

Democrats angrily denounced as “dangerous” and “draconian” a decision by a Texas judge that threatens access to a widely used abortion medication, while demanding the Joe Biden White House do more to protect reproductive rights.

Nearly a quarter-century after the Food and Drug Administration approved the abortion pill mifepristone, the federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Friday sought to invalidate the agency’s decision, handing down an unprecedented order that – if upheld – would severely restrict access to one of the most commonly used methods of terminating a pregnancy.

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‘Unborn human’: the anti-abortion rhetoric of Texas judge’s ruling

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Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a ruling on Friday aiming to suspend the FDA’s approval of abortion drug mifepristone

Texas-based federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Friday issued a ruling aiming to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a common abortion drug approved for use 23 years ago that has been consistently found to be safe and effective.

It is widely believed that the anti-abortion groups who brought the case challenging the FDA’s authorization of the drug did so in Amarillo, Texas, so that it would be certain to land on the desk of this particular judge. Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by Donald Trump, is known for disregarding precedent and for weighing in on the far-right side of culture war issues.

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Idaho governor signs law banning adults from helping minors get abortions

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‘Abortion trafficking’ law mandates up to five years in prison for acting without parental consent even when child has been raped

The Republican governor of Idaho, Brad Little, signed a bill into law on Wednesday that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.

The law is the first of its kind in the US, creating a new crime of “abortion trafficking”, barring adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or “recruiting, harboring or transporting the pregnant minor” without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian.

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Florida closes in on six-week abortion ban while also allowing no-permit gun carry

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Abortion legislation needs to move through house before gaining DeSantis’s likely signature while gun-carry law enacted today

Florida took another step to the right on Monday when the state senate approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Republican governor and expected presidential candidate Ron DeSantis – who on the same day signed into law a bill allowing the public to carry concealed guns without a permit.

The latest proposal to restrict reproductive rights must still be approved by the house in the state legislature before it reaches the governor’s desk. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.

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‘The dominating issue’: judicial election will decide fate of abortion in Wisconsin

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Control of state’s supreme court will ultimately decide fate of 1849 abortion ban that was revived in June, after Roe was overturned

One weekend in late March, McKenzie Schroeder offered to drive her friend across the Wisconsin border into Illinois to get an abortion. Abortion has been illegal in Wisconsin since June, when the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, reviving the state’s 1849 near-total abortion ban.

“If you’ve never been in that situation, you can never understand how a woman feels if they’re pregnant and don’t know what to do,” said Schroeder, 30, who lives in Sun Prairie and works for a property management company and as a waitress. “I don’t think that any human being on the face of the earth should control what I do with my body.”

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‘Historic moment’ as El Salvador abortion case fuels hopes for expanded access across Latin America

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Human rights court hears seriously ill woman denied procedure as advocates call for change in region with world’s most restrictive abortion laws

Human rights activists in Latin America hope that a historic court hearing over the case of a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion despite her high-risk pregnancy could open the way for El Salvador to decriminalize abortions – and set an important precedent across the region.

The inter-American court of human rights (IACHR) this week considered the historic case of the woman, known as Beatriz, who was prohibited from having an abortion in 2013, even though she was seriously ill and the foetus she was carrying would not have survived outside the uterus.

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