Ken Paxton’s latest Texas abortion argument is a breathtaking abdication

If Texans lose their children, their fertility, or even their lives, it’s simply not Texas’ problem.

Nov. 29, 2023
By Andrea Grimes, journalist and activist

“There’s gonna be some hard calls.” That’s how a lawyer with the Texas Attorney General’s office callously shrugged off the question of how, and indeed whether, doctors are allowed to save the lives of pregnant women during a hearing at the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s hearing put the state’s disregard for its own responsibility to protect and defend “life” in devastating relief.

Continued: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/texas-abortion-ban-supreme-court-ken-paxton-rcna127147

The women who made painful choices challenge Texas’s severe abortion ban

The state supreme court will consider arguments from 20 women who say they were denied medically necessary abortions

Carter Sherman
Tue 28 Nov 2023

After Danielle Mathisen and her husband realized they would be having a baby girl, they started calling her “Mini”. “We figured she would be a mini-me,” Mathisen said.

For months, Mathisen’s pregnancy appeared normal. Genetic testing went well. Her parents were thrilled – this would be the first grandchild in the family.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/texas-supreme-court-hears-extreme-abortion-ban-lawsuit

Gynaecologist charged in Poland with helping patients obtain abortions

NOV 25, 2023
Notes from Poland

A gynaecologist has been charged in Poland with unlawfully helping patients obtain abortions, a crime in Poland that carries a prison sentence of up to three years.

Prosecutors say that the doctor, Maria Kubisa (pictured above), provided women with abortion pills without checking whether doing so was justified under Poland’s strict abortion law. She denies the accusation and says the authorities are trying to “intimidate” her.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/11/25/gynaecologist-charged-in-poland-with-helping-patients-obtain-abortions/

20 women are now suing Texas, saying state abortion laws endangered them

November 15, 2023
Selena Simmons-Duffin

Cristina Nuñez's doctors had always advised her not to get pregnant. She has diabetes, end-stage renal disease and other health conditions, and when she unexpectedly did become pregnant, it made her extremely sick. Now she is suing her home state of Texas, arguing that the abortion laws in the state delayed her care and endangered her life.

Nuñez and six other women joined an ongoing lawsuit over Texas's abortion laws. The plaintiffs allege the exception for when a patient's life is in danger is too narrow and vague, and endangered them during complicated pregnancies.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/15/1213188342/20-women-sue-texas-over-abortion-laws

Nationalist leader convicted for violence against Polish abortion protester “Grandma Kate”

NOV 6, 2023
Notes from Poland

Polish nationalist leader Robert Bąkiewicz has received a binding conviction for his involvement in a “hooligan act” of violence against a prominent protester for women’s and LGBT rights, Katarzyna Augustynek, widely known by her nickname of “Grandma Kate” (Babcia Kasia).

Bąkiewicz, who stood as a candidate for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party at last month’s parliamentary elections, has dismissed the ruling as a politically motivated decision by a biased judge. He says that he will not comply with the order to undertake community service and pay compensation to his victim.

Continued: https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/11/06/nationalist-leader-convicted-for-violence-against-polish-abortion-protester-grandma-kate/

Ohio: One woman’s story shows why abortion rights matter

Rini Jeffers, The Chronicle-Telegram
Nov 04, 2023

When she found out she was pregnant last year, Katie was thrilled.

She’d always wanted kids, plural, and she and her husband already had a beautiful little girl, born the year before. The first pregnancy had gone normally and their daughter was healthy; there was so much to look forward to for the Lorain County couple.

Then came the blood tests.

Continued: https://chroniclet.com/news/371148/one-womans-story-shows-why-abortion-rights-matter/

04.11.2023

How to Spot Abortion-Related Misinformation

Between pregnancy “crisis centers” and “abortion pill testing,” there's a lot of questionable info out there. Here's how to tell what's evidence-based and what's not.

Lux Alptraum
Oct 24, 2023

In mid-September, the New York Times Opinion section ran a piece with a shocking headline. “In Poland, Testing Women for Abortion Drugs Is a Reality. It Could Happen Here,” the paper breathlessly declared.

As I read the piece, I felt a shudder of panic go down my spine. For years, abortion advocates have been confidently assuring people that abortion pills cannot be detected in the system when they’re taken by mouth. An effective test for abortion pills could have terrifying ramifications—at a bare minimum, it could discourage people from seeking follow-up care after a self-managed abortion.

And yet, at the same, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right here. What was the scientific justification for developing such a test?

Continued: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-spot-abortion-misinformation/

Her body, her choice: Why a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy must be upheld
For abortions within 24 weeks of gestation, there is no legal requirement for pregnant persons to approach courts for permission. Yet, the petitioner in a recent case was forced to approach the Supreme Court, as healthcare providers disregarded her decisional autonomy to terminate her pregnancy.

Written by Dipika Jain
October 15, 2023

A 27-year-old married woman, mother of a four-year-old and a one-year-old, filed a petition with the Supreme Court to terminate an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. Her husband was the sole earning member of the family, supporting the family, his sister and his mother. The petitioner discovered her pregnancy late due to Lactational Amenorrhea, a condition where breastfeeding suppresses menstruation. She was dealing with postpartum depression and was not mentally prepared to have a third child, which led to a suicide attempt. She approached several healthcare providers to terminate her pregnancy, but most doctors declined as she was 20 weeks pregnant. On October 4, 2023, she approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for abortion under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act along with the associated Rules.

Continued: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/her-body-her-choice-woman-terminate-pregnancy-upheld-8983912/

15.10.2023

lactational amenorrhea

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

postpartum depression

An Alabama woman was imprisoned for ‘endangering’ her fetus. She gave birth in a jail shower

Exclusive: Ashley Caswell, one of a growing number of jailed pregnant women in Etowah county, is suing officials after she was denied care

Sam Levin in Los Angeles
Fri 13 Oct 2023

In March 2021, sheriffs in Etowah county, Alabama, arrested Ashley Caswell on accusations that she’d tested positive for methamphetamine while pregnant and was “endangering” her fetus.

Caswell, who was two months pregnant at the time, became one of a growing number of women imprisoned in the county in the name of protecting their “unborn children”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/13/alabama-pregnant-woman-jail-lawsuit

California Brings First-Time Lawsuit Against Anti-Abortion Movement’s ‘Abortion Pill Reversal’ Scheme

“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance—not lies and misinformation,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

10/9/2023
by JENIFER MCKENNA and CARRIE N. BAKER, Ms. Magazine

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit on Sept. 21 against a chain of California crisis pregnancy centers and its national parent organization for false advertising of “abortion pill reversal” (APR)—an unproven and possibly dangerous high-dose progesterone intervention the anti-abortion movement claims can “reverse” an underway medication abortion. This is the first lawsuit in the country challenging the CPC industry’s promotion of APR.

AG Bonta’s complaint charges RealOptions Obria, a five-site crisis pregnancy center chain in Northern California, and the Ohio-based Heartbeat International with violating California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition law by falsely advertising “abortion pill reversal” as safe and effective. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block further dissemination of the misleading claims, in addition to other remedies and penalties available under state law.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/10/09/abortion-pill-reversal/

09.10.2023