Biden and Harris give forceful campaign statements blaming Trump for ending right to abortion access
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris marked the second anniversary of the US supreme court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade with forceful campaign statements that laid the blame squarely on Donald Trump for ending the national right to abortion.
In a video released on Monday, Biden pledged to restore the right to an abortion and “protect American freedom” if he is re-elected.
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Vice President Kamala Harris just took the stage to address a crowd at the University of Maryland, her first event of the day to mark the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision.
Maryland is a deep-blue state with an abortion referendum on the ballot and a surprisingly competitive Senate race that could help determine the balance of power in Congress. Ahead of Harris’s remarks, Maryland Democrats and reproductive rights leaders emphasized the stakes in November.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for the state’s open seat, said Trump was “proud as a peacock” for setting in motion the fall of Roe, and warned that Republicans saw the state as an opportunity to win back control of the chamber.
Speaking before Harris, she said of Republicans: “Make no mistake about it. They would take the first opportunity to ban abortion nationwide.”
Alsobrooks faces Larry Hogan, the state’s former two-term Republican governor, who, in a sign of the fast-shifting politics of abortion, has recast himself as “pro-choice” and said he supports the state’s abortion referendum.
Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, urged voters who want to protect access to abortion to send Alsobrooks with him to the Senate.
“Larry Hogan’s undergoing some election year conversion like none other I’ve ever seen,” the senator said, pointing to Hogan’s record as governor, when he vetoed a law that would have expanded abortion access.
“A vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to put the Maga Republicans in charge of the United States Senate.”
In November, Maryland voters will decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion and “reproductive freedom,” in the state’s constitution. It is widely expected to pass because of broad support for protecting abortion access, which is legal in the state.
Trump has not denied, much less shown remorse, for his actions. Instead, he proudly takes credit for overturning Roe.
In a court of law, that would be called an admission. Some would say, a confession.
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Continue reading...Policies are ‘one-two punch’ for women caught in criminal justice system, report’s author says
The number of women on probation or parole who must seek permission to travel for an abortion more than doubled to 635,000 in two years since the supreme court overturned the federal right to abortion, a new report finds.
Fourteen states have near-total abortion bans and 21 restrict the procedure. Together with near ubiquitous travel restrictions imposed by probation and parole, more than half of women on probation or parole in the US must seek permission to travel before obtaining an abortion.
Continue reading...The Italian prime minister also stated the EU will not directly contribute to a $50bn loan to Ukraine agreed at the summit
Israel is falling into a trap laid by Hamas in its war in Gaza, Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference closing the G7 summit in Bari that affirmed her role as a leading figure in Europe. The Italian prime minister also stated that the EU will not directly contribute to a $50bn loan to Ukraine agreed by the G7 leaders.
And she underlined her status by declaring that she will start talks on Monday about the allocation of top jobs in the EU on the basis that Europe has to accept the verdict of the people reflected in the results of last week’s European parliament elections.
Continue reading...Group, known as Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May and will also be involved in school board races
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has launched a political action committee that is targeting popular ballot amendments on abortion access and marijuana legalization that will be voted on in November.
The group, known as the Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May, Politico first reported. The committee is chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff who was previously the Republican’s campaign manager during his unsuccessful presidential primary run.
Continue reading...As expected, Right to Contraception act falls short of garnering the 60 votes Senate Democrats needed to advance the bill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill that would have recognized a legal right to contraception, weeks after Donald Trump made – and quickly walked back – comments indicating he was willing to restrict access to birth control.
As expected, the Right to Contraception act fell short of garnering the 60 votes Senate Democrats needed to advance the bill. Before the vote, Democrats in effect acknowledged that they were daring Republicans to go on the record opposing the right to something that almost all American women use at some point in their lifetime.
Continue reading...First-of-its-kind bill on mifepristone and misoprostol passed state legislature and is expected to be signed into law by governor
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 on Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor.
Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly known as “abortion pills”, say it would protect expectant mothers from coerced abortions. Numerous doctors, meanwhile, have said it will make it harder for them to prescribe the medicines they use for other important reproductive healthcare needs, and could delay treatment.
Continue reading...Dr Ingrid Skop has argued in favor of forcing rape and incest victims as young as nine or 10 to carry pregnancies to term
One of the US’s leading anti-abortion activists has been appointed to a Texas health committee tasked with reviewing maternal deaths.
The move worries reproductive justice advocates who say the state’s abortion ban – among the strictest in the US – has placed pregnant women’s lives in jeopardy. The appointment could undermine the committee’s ability to accurately examine the impact of the law on deaths during and in the immediate aftermath of pregnancy, they say.
Continue reading...Nearly double number of signatures needed turned in to get measure to enshrine abortion rights in constitution on ballot
Activists in Nevada, a key state in the upcoming US presidential elections, announced on Monday afternoon that they had turned in nearly double the number of signatures they need to get an abortion-related measure on the November ballot.
Nevada currently allows abortions up until fetal viability, or the point at which an infant can survive outside the womb, which is generally pegged to around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Continue reading...Supporters gather enough valid signatures to put measure – that would enshrine abortion rights into constitution – on to ballot
Voters in Colorado will have a say on abortion rights this fall after supporters collected enough valid signatures to put a measure on the ballot, part of a national push to pose abortion rights questions to voters since the US supreme court removed the nationwide right to abortion.
The Colorado measure officially made the ballot on Friday and would enshrine abortion rights into the constitution in a state which already allows abortion at all stages of pregnancy despite the supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade.
Continue reading...Republican US senator from Alabama best known for delivering widely ridiculed State of the Union speech in March
Katie Britt, the Republican US senator from Alabama best known for delivering a widely ridiculed State of the Union speech in March, marked the run-up to Mother’s Day on Sunday by introducing a bill to create a federal database to collect data on pregnant people.
The More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (Moms) act proposes to establish an online government database called “pregnancy.gov” listing resources related to pregnancy, including information about adoption agencies and pregnancy care providers, except for those that provide abortion-related services.
Continue reading...Democrats pick up support of two Republicans to repeal 1864 law reinstated three weeks ago as governor is expected to ratify repeal
Arizona lawmakers are poised to repeal the state’s 160-year-old statue banning nearly all abortions.
The 1864 law, which was reinstated by the state’s supreme court three weeks ago, made abortion a central focus in the battleground state and galvanized Democrats seeking to enshrine abortion rights.
Continue reading...Time magazine called the ex-president’s plans ‘an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world’
Donald Trump has warned that Joe Biden and his family could face multiple criminal prosecutions once he leaves office unless the US supreme court awards Trump immunity in his own legal battles with the criminal justice system.
In a sweeping interview with Time magazine, Trump painted a startling picture of his second term, from how he would wield the justice department to hinting he may let states monitor pregnant women to enforce abortion laws.
Continue reading...After decrying state supreme court ruling on ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, lawmakers ensure its potential to take effect
After days of nationwide debate over the Arizona supreme court’s recent decision to uphold a near-total abortion ban from the 19th century, Arizona’s Republican-controlled statehouse has again quashed an effort to repeal the ban.
Republicans, who hold a one-seat majority in both the Arizona house and senate, on Wednesday shot down a procedural measure in the statehouse that would have enabled the chamber to vote on a bill to repeal the ban. Just one Republican, the representative Matt Gress, voted with the house’s 29 Democrats, but the 30-30 split was not enough to move forward.
Continue reading...Opposition parties say women’s rights dealt blow after package approved by Georgia Meloni’s cabinet
Italian opposition parties have said women’s rights in Italy have been dealt a “heavy” blow after parliament passed a measure by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government allowing anti-abortion activists to enter abortion consultation clinics.
The measure forms part of a package of initiatives approved by Meloni’s cabinet that will be funded by the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, of which Italy is the biggest beneficiary, and was put to the lower house in a confidence vote on Tuesday. The package of measures is expected to comfortably pass in the senate, too.
Continue reading...Chance Brannon firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022 and had plans to attack a power station and a Pride celebration
A former US marine was sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for firebombing a southern California Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022, federal prosecutors said.
Chance Brannon, 24, pleaded guilty in November to four felony counts, including malicious destruction of property by fire as well as explosives and intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility.
Continue reading...Most cases of abortion are illegal in Germany, which report is expected to say is not compatible with international standards
Abortions in Germany should be legalised within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a government-appointed commission is expected to recommend on Monday.
While abortion is rarely punished, it remains illegal in Germany, except for specific circumstances including when a woman’s life is in danger, or she is a victim of rape, while the prerequisite for any termination is a consultation with a state-recognised body.
Continue reading...Focus on reproductive rights has yielded big wins and Democrats hope threat of more Republican bans will mobilize voters
Kamala Harris’s Friday visit to Arizona was planned before the state’s top court upheld a 160-year-old law that bans almost all abortions. But the news galvanized the vice-president’s message, one that has already yielded stunning victories for liberals since Roe v Wade fell nearly two years ago.
That message is simple: abortion bans happen when Republicans are in charge.
Continue reading...Republican presumptive nominee struggles to articulate position on divisive issue after meeting with House speaker
Facing the press alongside the House speaker, fellow Republican Mike Johnson, Donald Trump bragged: “We broke Roe v Wade.”
The former president made the stark admission about his dominant role in attacks on abortion rights at the end of a week in which the rightwing Arizona state supreme court ruled that an 1864 law imposing a near-total ban could go back into effect.
Continue reading...‘They’ve turned the clock to the 1800s’, said the US vice-president as she excoriated ex-president as ‘architect of healthcare crisis’
Kamala Harris pinned the blame for Arizona’s abortion ban squarely on Donald Trump, who she described as the “architect of this healthcare crisis” in a speech at a campaign event in Tucson on Friday.
The state was left reeling after the Arizona supreme court ruled earlier this week that a civil war-era law banning abortion in the state with almost no exceptions is now enforceable.
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