Yup. There it is. The fourth #SCOTUS ruling of the day is the #Idaho emergency-#abortion ruling that was inadvertently posted yesterday. The #SupremeCourt allows — for now — #EmergencyAbortions to stabilize patients in Idaho, despite the state’s strict #AbortionBan. The high court ruling applies while #litigation in the matter continues.
The #SupremeCourt would allow #EmergencyAbortionCare in ID despite the state’s #AbortionBan, acc/to Bloomberg #Law, which viewed a copy of a not-yet-released opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website Wed.
The #legislation, which passed the #Louisiana State Senate by a vote of 29 to 7, now goes to Gov #JeffLandry, a #Republican who previously defended the state’s stringent #AbortionBan in court as AG. He is widely expected to sign it.
The vote came after it narrowly cleared the AZ House last wk. The bill is expected to be signed by Gov Katie Hobbs.
The 1864 #law, which predates AZ’s statehood, permits #abortion only to save the patient’s life—& provides NO exceptions for survivors of #rape or #incest.
The law also states the age of consent for a “woman” is 10 yrs.
“This is a fight for freedom, the fundamental freedom to make decisions about one’s own body & not have their government tell them what they’re supposed to do,” the VP said.
VP #KamalaHarris then pivoted to the meat of her argument to #Florida voters: that #Trump was to blame for the #AbortionBan that just went into effect in the state, as well as others like it nationwide.
“Across our nation, we witnessed a full on assault, state by state, on #ReproductiveFreedom, & understand who is to blame: former president Donald Trump did this,” Harris said.
“Donald #Trump hand picked 3 members of the #UnitedStates#SupremeCourt because he intended for them to overturn #Roe, & as he intended, they did.”
#KamalaHarris harkened back to her grilling, as a senator on the judiciary cmte, of 2 of Trump’s #SCOTUS nominees, saying it was clear after their confirmation that the days of nationwide #abortion#access were numbered:
“& it happened just as Donald #Trump intended. Now, present day because of Donald Trump, more than 20 states have #AbortionBans, more than 20 #TrumpAbortionBans. & today, this very day at the stroke of midnight, another Trump #AbortionBan went into effect here in #Florida. As of this morning, 4 million #women in this state woke up w/fewer reproductive freedoms than they had last night. This is the new reality under a Trump #abortion ban.”
"As of midnight, an archaic near-total abortion ban went into effect in Florida. Donald Trump is to blame.
The state now outlaws nearly all abortions after 6 weeks, which is essentially a complete ban since a majority of women don't even know they’re pregnant that early on."
"Trump and the GOP are doing irreparable damage by putting women in a spot where they have lost control over the right to keep their bodies from harm.
This ban has nothing to do with medical concerns. It has everything to do with our lawmakers pandering to religious ideologues who fund Republicans. Nothing more.
Trump and his MAGA cult only care about money, power, and controlling women."
The ban, which took effect on Wednesday, was part of Gov. Ron #DeSantis’s push into cultural #conservatism. But Florida #politics is rarely that simple.
"Donald Trump is playing down the prospect of nationwide abortion restrictions, falsely saying Republicans have long sought to leave abortion law to the states. …
Trump's latest claim is belied by a long history of his party’s fighting to restrict abortion nationally."
US Sol Gen #Prelogar, who argued on behalf of the #Biden admin: "the situation on the ground in #Idaho is showing the devastating consequences" of the conflict between #EMTALA & Idaho's #AbortionBan.
"One #hospital system in Idaho says that right now it's having to transfer #pregnant#women in #medical#crisis out of the state about once every other week. That's untenable & EMTALA does not countenance it."
#Republicans initially resisted Democrats’ attempts to repeal the #law last week. But as Democrats slammed the ban — which allows only an exception to save the life of the mother, & says #doctors prosecuted under the law could face fines & #prison terms of 2-5 yrs.
The 2 rulings put the 2 states in the “most restrictive” category for #AbortionAccess & policies, acc/to the Guttmacher Inst, a research & policy org that advocates for #ReproductiveRights & tracks #abortion#access.
The rulings could lead to the closure of reproductive #health#clinics in the 2 states.
#Florida’s new restrictions would put the #Miami & #Tampa metro areas -w/a combined population of ~9M people- >500 miles from the nearest clinic in a state w/o a near-total or 6wk #AbortionBan.
#Iowa’s Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thurs in a case that could decide the future of #abortion in that state, the latest in a series of #legal battles that threaten abortion #access across the country during a historic #election year.
At issue is a ban passed by the legislature last July that restricts the procedure after 6 wks of pregnancy…. #PlannedParenthood & others immediately sued to block the #law & won a preliminary injunction from a lower court.
During the…hearing in DesMoines, the justices on #Iowa’s highest court asked lawyers for each side how the state’s past #abortion rulings —which in recent yrs narrowed #protections for abortion—apply to the pending law. #AbortionBan#ReproductiveRights#AbortionIsHealthCare
The #Iowa justices questioned whether the case should be sent back to the district court for further arguments & review.
“Every justice on this court has recognized that the state plays a vital role in protecting unborn life. The legislature & the governor agree,” Solicitor Gen Eric Wessan said in his opening stmnt. He urged the 7 justices, all of them #Republican appointees, to rule so that the #6weekBan can proceed.
For now, #abortion remains #legal in #Iowa up to 22 wks of pregnancy. The #law, if upheld, would limit the procedure to a time frame in which many women don’t yet know they are #pregnant. It has limited exceptions for #rape & #incest or if the woman’s life is in danger.
This latest legal battle comes at the end of a flurry of abortion developments nationwide that could have major implications for the presidential election in Nov.
Arizona's top court revived a #law dating to 1864 on Tues that bans #abortion in virtually all instances, another setback for #ReproductiveRights in a state where the procedure already was barred starting at 15 wks of pregnancy.
#MarilynLands, a Dem who made #ReproductiveRights a centerpiece of her campaign in deeply #conservative#Alabama, won a special election to the Alabama Legislature.
Lands’ victory in the suburban district in the #DeepSouth state was celebrated by #Democrats who have attempted to portray the state #GOP as too extreme on #abortion & reproductive rights.
“Today, #Alabama women & families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery & across the nation. Our legislature must repeal AL’s no-exceptions #AbortionBan, fully restore #access to #IVF, & protect the #right to #contraception,” #MarilynLands said.