USA – Feds: Hospitals that denied emergency abortion broke the law

A first-of-its-kind federal investigation has found two hospitals put a pregnant woman's life in jeopardy and violated federal law by refusing to provide an emergency abortion when she experienced premature labor at 17 weeks

By AMANDA SEITZ, Associated Press
May 1, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.

The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion with a federal mandate for doctors to provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/feds-hospitals-denied-emergency-abortion-broke-law-98983330

‘We need to read the room’: GOP divided on abortion as Democrats unite for 2024

Democrats center abortion rights in early stages of presidential campaign while Republicans waver over unpopular position

Lauren Gambino in Washington DC
Sun 30 Apr 2023

Hours after Joe Biden announced his re-election campaign on Tuesday, his vice-president and 2024 running mate, Kamala Harris, delivered a fiery call to action for voters alarmed by the loss of constitutional protections for abortion.

“This is a moment for us to stand and fight,” she said to a packed auditorium at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington and her alma mater. To the “extremist so-called leaders” rolling back access to reproductive rights, Harris warned: “Don’t get in our way because if you do, we’re going to stand up, we’re going to organize and we’re going to speak up.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/republicans-divided-abortion-democrats-united-2024-election

US supreme court blocks ruling limiting access to abortion pill

Federal judge in Texas ruled in early April to suspend FDA-approved mifepristone used in more than half of abortions in US

Poppy Noor and agencies
Sat 22 Apr 2023

The supreme court decided on Friday to temporarily block a lower court ruling that had placed significant restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone.

The justices granted emergency requests by the justice department and the pill’s manufacturer, Danco Laboratories, to halt a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas. The judge’s order would significantly limit the availability of the medication as litigation proceeds in a challenge by anti-abortion groups.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/21/abortion-pill-ruling-latest-news-supreme-court-decision

22.04.2023

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American Civil Liberties Union

Reproductive Freedom Project

Biden’s Budget Is an Opportunity to Promote and Protect Abortion Access

1/9/2023
by BETHANY VAN KAMPEN SARAVIA

Abortion is healthcare, and access to healthcare is a human right everyone is entitled to, no matter their income, hometown, race or gender—and now more than ever, the American people agree with this.

Abortion was one of the defining issues of the midterm elections. It was the number one issue for almost one-third of all voters according to exit polls, and every single ballot initiative addressing abortion was a resounding victory. (“It turns out women enjoy having human rights, and we vote,” Hillary Clinton tweeted.)

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/01/09/biden-budget-2024-abortion-hyde-weldon-amendment/

09.01.2023

USA – Human Rights Watch Letter Concerning the Use of Federal Aid in Abortion Surveillance

Letter Concerning the Use of Federal Aid in Abortion Surveillance

Human Rights Watch
December 8, 2022

Dear President Biden, We the undersigned civil and human rights, civil liberties, and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations write to express our concern that existing forms of federal assistance to state and local law enforcement will be used to support state and local surveillance and investigations of reproductive health activities. We urge you to take steps to prevent this.

Your Administration has expressed its strong commitment to protecting access to reproductive health care, including abortion, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The White House has declared that it is “committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.”[1] As part of its effort to defend access to abortion and other reproductive health care, federal resources should in no way aid or supplement states' criminal investigations of reproductive health decisions. Several states have already taken action to prevent their own state resources from being used in such a matter.[2]

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/08/letter-concerning-use-federal-aid-abortion-surveillance

08.12.2022

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USA – Biden’s efforts to protect abortion access hit roadblocks

The Biden administration is actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women

By AMANDA SEITZ and COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press
December 6, 2022

WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right.

Looking to seize on momentum following a midterm election where voters widely rebuked tougher abortion restrictions, there’s a renewed push at the White House to find ways to help women in states that have virtually outlawed or limited the treatment, and to keep the issue top of mind for voters.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/bidens-efforts-protect-abortion-access-hit-roadblocks-94545376

Biden issues a 2023 pledge to Dems: Hold on to Congress and I’ll sign abortion rights into law

The president’s promise comes as Democrats fear abortion rights is fading as a campaign issue.

By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO and ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN
10/18/2022

President Joe Biden on Tuesday promised that the first bill he’ll send to the next Congress will be legislation to reinstate the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade.

In a speech at a Democratic National Committee event in Washington, Biden also pledged to sign that bill into law around the anniversary of the original Roe ruling in late January.

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/18/biden-to-pledge-legalizing-abortion-on-roe-anniversary-if-dems-expand-majorities-00062268

18.10.2022

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These US Abortion Restrictions Threaten Reproductive Health Everywhere

It’s imperative that advocates not limit their advocacy to the United States but expand it to countries around the world affected by US restrictions.

By Aruna Uprety, Nira Singh Shrestha, Astha Sharma, Giriraj Mani Pokharel and Sumesh Shiwakoty
Septe 23, 2022

The US Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade has sparked debate in the United States about how to protect reproductive freedom. President Biden proposed ending the Senate filibuster rule in order for Congress to pass legislation legalizing abortion rights, and he signed an executive order to “protect access to reproductive healthcare services.” In some states, legislators have enacted new laws that expanded abortion rights. However, what is missing in this debate is similar discourse and concrete actions by Democrats to protect reproductive rights not only in the United States but also in less-developed countries, which are directly affected by Republican attacks on US funding for reproductive health around the world.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/world/global-abortion-access-helms-her-act/

Planned Parenthood maps strategy to protect abortion rights

Planned Parenthood leaders from across the country are meeting in California to discuss how to defend abortion rights

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and ADAM BEAM, Associated Press
September 9, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Planned Parenthood leaders from 24 states gathered in California's capital Friday to begin work on a nationwide strategy to protect and strengthen access to abortion, a counteroffensive aimed at pushing back against restrictions that have emerged in more than half of the country after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Their goal is to emulate the success liberals have had in California, where state lawmakers passed some of the most robust abortion protections in the country this year, culminating in a statewide election this fall that would make abortion a constitutional right in the nation's most populous state.

continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/abortion-leaders-gather-california-talk-strategy-89614443

Biden leans into abortion rights in speech to Democratic activists

The president's remarks about abortion came as he works through refining a midterm stump speech full of increasingly sharp-edged digs at the GOP.

By OLIVIA OLANDER and CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO
Sept 8, 2022

President Joe Biden escalated his attacks on Republicans over abortion rights in a speech to Democratic activists late Thursday, addressing the specifics of what he contends his opponents want: an expansion of abortion bans before many women know they’re pregnant, and an attempt to pass a national ban, which he pledged to veto.

Leaning into the Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights this summer, the president suggested there would be a surge of voter activity in the fall midterm elections pushing back against the high court’s decision. Biden reiterated that abortion could be just the start of Republican attempts to dial back rights, including contraception and same-sex marriage.

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/08/biden-leans-into-abortion-rights-00055819

08.09.2022