USA – ‘A battle to the death’: The next abortion cases en route to the Supreme Court

The cases moving through federal courts could further roll back abortion access, even if Biden wins in November.

By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN
July 1, 2024

The Supreme Court’s decision to sidestep key legal questions in its abortion decisions this term sets up another showdown as early as next year.

And the next wave of lawsuits around the procedure — including challenges targeting the ability of patients to cross state lines for abortions, the regulation of abortion pills, and minors’ ability to get an abortion without parental consent — is already moving toward the high court.

Continued: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/01/next-supreme-court-abortion-cases-00166134

Supreme Court decision allows pregnant people in Idaho to access emergency abortion care — for now

By Jen Christensen, CNN
Thu June 27, 2024

Pregnant people in Idaho should be able to access abortion in a medical emergency in Idaho, at least for now.

The Supreme Court formally dismissed an appeal over Idaho’s strict abortion ban on Thursday, blocking enforcement of the state’s law where it conflicts with federal law. With Thursday’s decision, the state would not be allowed to deny an emergency abortion to a pregnant person whose health is in danger, at least while the case makes its way through the courts.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/26/health/emtala-emergency-care-scotus/index.html

USA – ‘Very clear’ or ‘narrow and confusing’? Abortion lawsuits highlight confusion over emergency exceptions

N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
Jan 27, 2024

A North Dakota judge's recent decision to deny a request blocking part of the state's restrictive abortion law highlights an issue abortion-rights advocates say is impacting doctors nationwide: The exceptions in strict abortion laws can be vague, causing medical providers to question when they can perform an abortion in a medical emergency.

A lawsuit in North Dakota is one of several recently filed by advocates seeking to clarify and expand the circumstances under which doctors can provide abortions during medical emergencies in states with strict abortion bans. Mary Ziegler, a professor of law at University of California, Davis, said the emergency exceptions written into these laws can be confusing for physicians and, given their high penalties, can lead doctors to "err on the side of protecting themselves and not providing care to patients."

Continued: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/27/abortion-lawsuits-emergency-medical-exceptions/72339103007/

Texas Medical Board remains silent on abortion laws, despite calls for more guidance

The Texas Supreme Court has asked the licensing board to offer doctors guidance on how to interpret the medical exception to the state’s abortion ban. Some doctors say that wouldn’t be enough reassurance.

BY ELEANOR KLIBANOFF
DEC. 21, 2023

Last week, in rejecting Kate Cox’s bid to terminate her nonviable pregnancy, the Texas Supreme Court called on the Texas Medical Board to offer doctors more guidance on how to interpret the state’s abortion laws.

“While the judiciary cannot compel executive branch entities to do their part, it is obvious that the legal process works more smoothly when they do,” the justices wrote.

Continued: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/21/texas-medical-board-abortion/

Blue-state doctors launch abortion pill pipeline into states with bans

by Caroline Kitchener, The Washington Post
July 23, 2023

The doctor starts each day with a list of addresses and a label maker.

Sitting in her basement in New York's Hudson Valley, next to her grown children's old bunk beds, she reviews the list of towns and cities she'll be mailing to that day: Baton Rouge, Tucson, Houston.

A month ago, a phone call was the only thing the doctor could offer to women in states with abortion bans who faced unexpected pregnancies. Hamstrung by the laws, she could only coach them through the process of taking abortion pills they received from overseas suppliers.

Continued: https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2023/jul/23/blue-state-doctors-launch-abortion-pill-pipeline/

In Washington, FDA lawsuit is part of larger strategy to preserve abortion access

Court ruling preserves status quo in several states as fight continues elsewhere over abortion pill

BY: KELCIE MOSELEY-MORRIS
APRIL 19, 2023

As the nation grapples with continuing changes in court rulings affecting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a drug used in abortion care, Washington state’s competing lawsuit and other offensive and defensive moves related to abortion are working exactly as officials and advocates say they intended.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office filed a lawsuit against the FDA in late February, about a month after the federal agency announced it would keep mifepristone, a drug used in tandem with another to end a pregnancy of up to 10 weeks’ gestation, under restrictions associated with its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies program — also known as REMS.

Continued: https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/04/19/in-washington-fda-lawsuit-is-part-of-larger-strategy-to-preserve-abortion-access/

Doctors weren’t considered in Dobbs, but now they’re on abortion’s legal front lines

July 3, 2022
Selena Simmons-Duffin

Historically, doctors have played a big role in abortion's legality. Back in the 1860s, physicians with the newly-formed American Medical Association worked to outlaw abortion in the U.S.

A century later, they were doing the opposite.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/03/1109483662/doctors-werent-considered-in-dobbs-but-now-theyre-on-abortions-legal-front-lines