A South Australian MP’s mad anti-abortion bill shows the culture wars are far from over

Liberal Ben Hood’s forced-births proposal demands outcomes both cruel and ridiculous

Van Badham
Thu 26 Sep 2024

I spend an uncommon amount of time in South Australia for a person who doesn’t actually live there; I’d never heard of South Australian Liberal MP Ben Hood until his current private member’s bill to repoliticise abortion in the worst possible way.

Appointed directly by his party to fill a casual upper house vacancy last year, Hood was last before the will of the people when he contested Mt Gambier’s House of Assembly seat for the Liberal party in 2022 and lost. But with an electoral mandate of zero, the MP is now famous – congratulations, Ben – for reinflaming debate on the settled issue of abortion.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/26/a-south-australian-mps-mad-anti-abortion-bill-shows-the-culture-wars-are-far-from-over

26.09.2024

Opinion

anti-choice legislation

UK – Parents call for abortion law change

June 3, 2024
Kris Holland & Sam Read, BBC News, Northamptonshire

A couple who have a daughter with Down's syndrome called for a change in the law on abortion. Steve and Natalie, from Northampton, said the birth of Verity, 15 months ago, had changed their view on the current legislation.

At the moment, pregnancies which involved foetuses with Down's syndrome could be terminated up to the point of birth. The couple want legislation for Down's syndrome amended so that it is in line with the 24-week cut-off for standard pregnancies, which Natalie said was "about equality".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wwejn2kxlo

03.06.2024

News

1967 Abortion Act

Antenatal Results and Choices

anti-choice legislation

Down Syndrome

Down's Syndrome

Down's Syndrome Association

South Carolina’s All-Male Supreme Court Upholds Radical Abortion Ban

The ban effectively wipes out abortion access in the South.

Tori Otten
August 23, 2023

The South Carolina all-male Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the state’s brutal six-week abortion ban, decimating access to the procedure in the Southeast.

Governor Henry McMaster signed the bill into law in May in a closed-door session, with no fanfare or warning to doctors who could be about to perform a newly illegal procedure. The measure passed only because McMaster called a special legislative session to weigh the abortion ban.

Continued: https://newrepublic.com/post/175143/south-carolina-male-supreme-court-upholds-radical-abortion-ban

23.08.2023

News

anti-choice cruelty

anti-choice legislation

Factbox: U.S. state abortion legislation to watch in 2023

By Gabriella Borter and Sharon Bernstein
July 26, 2023

July 26 (Reuters) - State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-state-abortion-legislation-watch-2023-2023-07-26/

26.07.2023

News

anti-choice legislation

pro-choice legislation

A year after Dobbs and the end of Roe v. Wade, there’s chaos and confusion

June 24, 2023
Vanessa Romo

One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, putting an end to the constitutionally protected right to access abortion, the health care landscape has become increasingly fragmented and complex to navigate, spawning widespread confusion.

So far, more than a dozen states have enacted extremely restrictive abortion bans, with the majority making no exceptions for rape or incest. And many more are waiting on legal challenges to make their way through the courts. In Texas, private citizens can sue abortion providers and those who assist patients seeking an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2023/06/24/1183639093/abortion-ban-dobbs-roe-v-wade-anniversary-confusion

24.06.2023

News

anti-choice cruelty

anti-choice legislation

USA – Here’s what abortion foes have been up to in the year after Dobbs draft leak

Anti-abortion activists have flooded state legislatures with proposals to criminalize pregnancy termination or to add burdensome regulations

BY: SOFIA RESNICK
MAY 3, 2023

Anti-abortion leaders could not stop paraphrasing Winston Churchill last June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a victory that took 50 years to realize.

“While we celebrate the momentous ruling in Dobbs, we must remember that overturning Roe was not the beginning of the end, but it was the end of the beginning,” said Kristen Waggoner, CEO of the leading anti-abortion law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, on a webcast days after the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Continued: https://www.penncapital-star.com/civil-rights-social-justice/heres-what-abortion-foes-have-been-up-to-in-the-year-after-dobbs-draft-leak/

The states to watch in the fight for US abortion rights

After Roe v Wade repeal, states across the United States continue to grapple with restricting or protecting abortion rights.

28 Apr 2023

State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023, including details on a law that took effect in North Dakota this week broadly banning abortion and the defeat of abortion ban bills in South Carolina and Nebraska.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/28/the-states-to-watch-in-the-fight-for-us-abortion-rights

28.04.2023

News

anti-choice legislation

pro-choice legislation

Polish parliament rejects controversial abortion bill before elections

By Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl
Mar 7, 2023

Parliament rejected a controversial bill that aims to further restrict one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe on Tuesday, with some conservative members of the ruling PiS saying off the record that they did not want the bill to cause a new wave of street protests ahead of the upcoming elections.

The controversial “Abortion is murder” bill was submitted to parliament by popular anti-abortion activist Kaja Godek and her “Life and Family” foundation, aiming to sanction those publicly promoting abortion in Poland and abroad, as well as those advising and distributing materials on the topic of abortion.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/polish-parliament-rejects-controversial-abortion-bill-before-elections/

07.03.2023

News

anti-choice legislation

Here’s What States Are Doing to Abortion Rights in 2023

In the first full legislative session after Roe v. Wade was overturned, states across the country are looking to further restrict or better protect abortion rights. ProPublica looked at what abortion legislation is on the table in 2023.

by Megan Rose
Feb. 8, 2023

For 50 years, Roe v. Wade shut down the biggest ambitions of the anti-abortion movement. Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned that decision, unleashing a flurry of abortion legislation across the nation. And anti-abortion advocates have eager partners in Republican-controlled legislatures across the country.

“It’s exciting because our hands have been untied,” Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said. “We’re going to see what we can do and do it.”

Continued: https://www.propublica.org/article/us-abortion-legislation-2023

Republican-controlled House pushes for new abortion restrictions

Bills not expected to advance in Senate but underscore Republican majority’s legislative priorities ahead of 2024 election

Lauren Gambino in Washington
Wed 11 Jan 2023

The Republican-led House on Wednesday pressed ahead with a pair of anti-abortion measures, despite warning signs that the issue had galvanized the opposition in the wake of the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade last year.

Voting mostly along party lines, Republicans first approved a bill that would compel doctors to provide care for an infant who survives an attempted abortion – an occurrence that is exceedingly rare.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/11/new-abortion-restrictions-bills-republicans-house-congress