Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights per draft opinion (Update: Dobbs opinion official) (1 Viewer)

[LovesMusic7360]

Not long ago Kari Lake proclaimed Arizona's abortion law was a great law and wanted it the law of the state.

Now that she has gotten her way, she is lobbying for it to be repealed.

As I have been saying since 2022, the overwhelming vast majority of women aren't going to vote for the man who proudly boasts that he got rid of Roe V. Wade. Nor are those women going to vote for a forced birther politician.

Turns out, republican belief in "pro life" was all just lies to get votes. Who is surprised? I sure am not.

How many forced birthers will do the same about face?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ka ... r-BB1ltx3I.

Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake is actively lobbying state lawmakers to overturn a 160-year-old law she once supported that bans abortion in almost all cases, a source with knowledge of her efforts told CNN.

 

[Optimus Prime]

In the year Roe v Wade was overturned, at least 200 people in the US were prosecuted for conduct relating to their pregnancies – the highest number of cases in a single year ever recorded, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The report, compiled by the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, is the first comprehensive accounting of pregnancy-related criminal charges between June 2022 and June 2023, but researchers warn that it is still probably an undercount.

“To be perfectly honest, I think we’re scratching the surface of what is happening,” said Wendy Bach, a University of Tennessee law professor and the report’s principal investigator.


The vast majority of prosecutions documented in the report do not involve abortions. However, five cases mention allegations of an abortion, an attempted abortion, or “researching or exploring the possibility of an abortion”, according to the report. Only one was charged under a statute meant to criminalize abortions. The rest involved a bevy of other laws, such as a statute that bans the “abuse of a corpse”.

Four of those cases took place in states that ban abortion or are hostile to the procedure.

More than 200 of the 210 recorded prosecutions involve allegations of substance use during pregnancy. In almost 200 of the cases, prosecutors charged people using statutes that criminalize child abuse, neglect, or endangerment – charges that treat an embryo or fetus as a person, complete with rights and protections that may compete with that of the person carrying them. More than 100 prosecutions recorded by Pregnancy Justice took place in Alabama, a state whose supreme court recently ruled that embryos were “extrauterine children”.

Most of the cases also involved statutes under which prosecutors do not need to prove that any harm was done to a fetus or infant. Rather, prosecutors must show that a defendant posed some “risk” to the pregnancy – which could lead to criminalization of behavior that is not actually dangerous, advocates say.……

More than 200 pregnancy-related prosecutions in first year post-Roe

Study finds highest yearly number of prosecutions related to pregnancy – and experts say that is likely an undercount

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Stevie Nicks has released a forthright new single, The Lighthouse, inspired by the fight to reinstate abortion rights in the US.

Nicks wrote the robust, swaggering rock song in the aftermath of the June 2022 decision by the US supreme court to overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that Americans had a constitutional right to abortion.

“It seemed like overnight, people were saying, ‘What can we, as a collective force, do about this?’” Nicks said. “For me, it was to write a song. It took a while because I was on the road. Then early one morning I was watching the news on TV and a certain newscaster said something that felt like she was talking to me – explaining what the loss of Roe v Wade would come to mean. I wrote the song the next morning and recorded it that night.


“That was September 6, 2022. I have been working on it ever since. I have often said to myself, ‘This may be the most important thing I ever do. To stand up for the women of the United States and their daughters and granddaughters – and the men that love them.’ This is an anthem.”…..

Stevie Nicks releases song inspired by fight for abortion rights: ‘Don’t let them take your power’

Fleetwood Mac singer addresses American women in The Lighthouse, encouraging them to make a stand as abortion rights dominate US election campaigning

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Austin over its reproductive health fund that helps city residents pay to travel out of state to have an abortion. This is the second lawsuit against the city since it appropriated $400,000 to pay for abortion-related expenses earlier this month.

Here’s what you need to know:

The background: Texas banned nearly all abortions in summer 2022. As part of its 2024-2025 budget, the City of Austin appropriated $400,000 to help city residents who have to travel out-of-state pay for airfare, gas, hotel stays, child care, food and companion travel. Other cities have passed similar budget items, including San Antonio.

In late August, former Austin City Council member Don Zimmerman sued over the provision, arguing the city couldn’t use taxpayer dollars to pay for activity that would be illicit within Texas. Paxton’s lawsuit is separate from Zimmerman’s case.

Why Texas sued: Paxton argues in the filing that this budget line item violates the gifts clause of the Texas Constitution, because awarding these funds to individuals does not serve a “legitimate public purpose.”

“No city in Texas has the authority to spend taxpayer money in this manner,” Paxton said in a statement. “In this case, the City of Austin is illegally seeking to use public funding to support travel expenses for out-of-state abortions. The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities from doing so.”...........

Paxton sues Austin over abortion travel fund

The city has appropriated $400,000 to help residents travel out of state for abortions. This is the second lawsuit targeting the fund.

www.texastribune.org

 

[Optimus Prime]

PHOENIX (AP) — When Lesley Chavez found out she was pregnant at age 16, she saw her daughter as a blessing from God and never considered an abortion, a view reinforced by her devout Christian mother. If she could have voted at the time, Chavez would have opposed expanding abortion access.

But 10 years later — as she and other Arizona residents braced for a possible ban on nearly all abortions — Chavez drove over 300 miles (480 kilometers) to California to help a friend get one. That experience with someone she knew who was struggling financially and couldn’t support another child was the final push that changed Chavez’s stance on the issue.

“I just kind of felt like, dang, if I didn’t have nobody, I would want someone like me to be there. I would want someone that’s not going to judge me and actually help,” she said.

Now, she helps deliver that message to other Latinos in Arizona, one of nine states that is considering constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion rights.

As abortion-rights groups court Latino voters through door-knocking and Spanish-language ads, they say the fast-growing group could determine the outcome of abortion ballot measures across the U.S., particularly in states such as Arizona and Florida with large Latino populations.…..

Abortion-rights groups are courting Latino voters in Arizona and Florida

Abortion-rights groups are courting Latino voters through door-knocking and Spanish-language ads. They say the fast-growing group could determine the outcome of abortion ballot measures across the U.S., particularly in states such as Arizona and Florida with large Latino populations.

apnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Ron DeSantis is making a concerted effort to maintain draconian limits on abortion access in Florida that have led to accusations the rightwing Republican governor is conducting a “state-sponsored intimidation campaign” against abortion rights and trampling on civil liberties in the state.

A near total ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effect in Florida in May after the state supreme court ruled that the right to an abortion was no longer covered by the privacy clause in the Florida constitution.

Passage of legislation called Amendment 4 would change the state constitution to prohibit government interference with the right to an abortion before the viability of a fetus, which typically begins around the 24th week of a pregnancy.


But registered voters in Florida have recently reported unannounced visits from law enforcement personnel that appear to be part of an all-out drive by DeSantis to use state government agencies and public funds to block passage of Amendment 4, which would enshrine in the state constitution a woman’s right to an abortion.

The experience of Isaac Menasche is a cautionary tale. In early September, Menasche received an unexpected visitor at his home in the Florida Gulf coast city of Fort Myers – a plainclothes detective with a badge and a folder stuffed with documents containing Menasche’s personal information.

They included copies of his driver’s license and a petition form he had signed months ago at a local farmer’s market on behalf of a campaign to qualify a pro-choice referendum for the statewide ballot in this year’s general election.

The detective who turned up on Menasche’s doorstep wanted to know why his signature on the petition form did not match the one on his driver’s license. The retired 71-year-old attorney conceded the point but explained that his signature can sometimes vary. The officer left shortly thereafter.

“The experience left me shaken,” wrote the New Jersey native on his Facebook page that same day. “It was obvious to me that a significant effort was exerted to determine if indeed I had signed the petition. Troubling that so much resources were devoted to this.”………

Ron DeSantis accused of ‘intimidation campaign’ against abortion rights

Florida voters report law enforcement personnel visits that appear to be part of drive to block passage of Amendment 4

www.theguardian.com

 

[Taurus]

So, many moons ago, during a discussion on abortion I forecasted this and the Pro-Lifers all said it was over the top paranoia.

 

[Optimus Prime]

So, many moons ago, during a discussion on abortion I forecasted this and the Pro-Lifers all said it was over the top paranoia.

We were also told states wouldn't do anything to stop women from travelling to another state to get an abortion

"No one stops anyone from going to Las Vegas just because gambling is illegal in their state"

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

So, many moons ago, during a discussion on abortion I forecasted this and the Pro-Lifers all said it was over the top paranoia.

I remember that, I thought it was over the top... you were right.

 

[MT15]

If they succeed in some of these efforts, that will start the ball rolling and it will pick up the pace. They have to be stopped at the ballot box. We’ve all seen the results historically if they are not stopped.

 

[Optimus Prime]

A Georgia judge has struck down the state’s abortion ban on Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Fulton county judge, Robert McBurney, issued an order that said abortions must be regulated as they were before the state’s law took effect in 2022.……

Georgia judge strikes down state’s abortion ban, allowing care to resume

Fulton county judge issues order that abortions must be regulated as they were before law took effect in 2022

www.theguardian.com

 

[cuddlemonkey]

A Georgia judge has struck down the state’s abortion ban on Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Fulton county judge, Robert McBurney, issued an order that said abortions must be regulated as they were before the state’s law took effect in 2022.……

Georgia judge strikes down state’s abortion ban, allowing care to resume

Fulton county judge issues order that abortions must be regulated as they were before law took effect in 2022

www.theguardian.com

Just saw this and was coming to post it.

"For these women, the liberty of privacy means that they alone should choose whether they serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability," McBurney wrote. "It is not for a legislator, a judge, or a Commander from The Handmaid's Tale to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb any more so than society could — or should — force them to serve as a human tissue bank or to give up a kidney for the benefit of another."

 

[Taurus]

Just saw this and was coming to post it.

"For these women, the liberty of privacy means that they alone should choose whether they serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability," McBurney wrote. "It is not for a legislator, a judge, or a Commander from The Handmaid's Tale to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb any more so than society could — or should — force them to serve as a human tissue bank or to give up a kidney for the benefit of another."

This judge mostly gets it. It's not privacy though, it's self-ownership.

 

[MT15]

I just saw it as well. This gives me hope. My pull quote is this one:

 

[LA - L.A.]

A Georgia judge has struck down the state’s abortion ban on Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Fulton county judge, Robert McBurney, issued an order that said abortions must be regulated as they were before the state’s law took effect in 2022.……

Georgia judge strikes down state’s abortion ban, allowing care to resume

Fulton county judge issues order that abortions must be regulated as they were before law took effect in 2022

www.theguardian.com

I think this is good on two levels:

The most important thing is it's good for any woman who gets pregnant and every person that cares about them.

On the political level, this will force every Republican running in this election to publicly rail against the court's decision and promise to make abortion illegal, because they risk losing their election if they don't. This entrenches abortion as a primary issue in the upcoming election and that's good for anti-Republican voter turn out. That's very good for our society and government.

 

[LA - L.A.]

This judge mostly gets it. It's not privacy though, it's self-ownership.

Yeah, it's forced servitude which is forbidden by the Constitution.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I think this is good on two levels:

The most important thing is it's good for any woman who gets pregnant and every person that cares about them.

On the political level, this will force every Republican running in this election to publicly rail against the court's decision and promise to make abortion illegal, because they risk losing their election if they don't. This entrenches abortion as a primary issue in the upcoming election and that's good for anti-Republican voter turn out. That's very good for our society and government.

I’ll admit my cynical side wondered if part of the timing of this ruling was

“There! Now there’s no need to rage vote in November”

 

[Optimus Prime]

Sept 30 (Reuters) - California's attorney general on Monday sued a Catholic hospital accused of refusing to provide an emergency abortion in February to a woman whose water broke prematurely, putting her at risk of potentially life-threatening infection and hemorrhage.

Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka of discriminating against pregnant patients and violating the state's law requiring hospitals to provide necessary emergency care.

The lawsuit, opens new tab, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, seeks a court order to stop the hospital from denying medically necessary abortions in the future, as well as civil penalties.

"Providence is deeply committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients and provides emergency services to all who walk through our doors in accordance with state and federal law," a Providence spokesperson said in an email, adding that the hospital was reviewing the lawsuit. "We are heartbroken over Dr. Nusslock's experience earlier this year."

The woman, chiropractor Anna Nusslock, was driven to another hospital 12 miles (19 km) away and was dangerously hemorrhaging by the time she reached the operating table, according to the lawsuit.

Nusslock, who was pregnant with twins, said at a press conference on Monday that doctors at Providence agreed that she needed an abortion to avoid life-threatening complications.

However, doctors said that they could not provide one because the Catholic-affiliated hospital's policy prohibited any intervention while they could hear "fetal heart tones" unless her life was in immediate danger, Nusslock added.

Before she left for nearby Mad River Community Hospital, a nurse gave her a bucket full of towels "in case something happens in the car," Nusslock said.

The hospital's policy "inflicted on me needless protracted pain, bleeding and trauma," Nusslock added.

Bonta said Nusslock's ordeal was reminiscent of women's experiences in Republican-led states where abortion is banned. In California, Bonta added, the law is clear that hospitals must provide an abortion if it is medically necessary……..

https://www.reuters.com/legal/california-sues-catholic-hospital-refusing-provide-emergency-abortion-2024-09-30/

 

[Optimus Prime]

The politics of abortion rights have shifted massively toward Democrats since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Nothing makes that clearer than the fact that the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, hemmed and hawed for months about whether he would vote in his home state of Florida to establish a constitutional right to an abortion.


Trump ultimately said he would vote no. But lots of other Republicans are arriving at a different decision.

A remarkable number are apparently about to do something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: vote for the right to an abortion.

Nearly a dozen states will feature ballot measures on abortion rights this November, and recent polls show that many more Republicans are prepared to vote for those rights than have been in recent years.

The number could even approach a majority in some states, these polls suggest.
Polling on this is still limited, with more of the higher-quality polls in states that are also key to the battles for president and Senate.

But just about all of them show GOP support for abortion rights measures outpacing states that had similar ballot measures in recent years.

An exit poll in Michigan in 2022 showed 14 percent of Republicans supported that state’s ballot measure, and that number went to 18 percent in neighboring Ohio in 2023.


Recent polls of the states holding 2024 ballot measures show Republican support between 28 and 54 percent.


The high water mark for these polls is in the West, in Arizona and Nevada. Recent Fox News polls show 50 percent of Arizona Republicans plan to vote for that state’s abortion rights amendment, while 54 percent of Nevada Republicans plan to do the same…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/30/polls-show-big-increase-republicans-planning-vote-abortion-rights/