Supreme Court wipes out lower court rulings in Texas abortion battle

The governor ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures last year, which the attorney general then said applied to "any type of abortions."

Jan. 25, 2021
By Pete Williams

The Supreme Court handed a victory to advocates of abortion rights Monday, wiping off the books lower court rulings that had upheld a Texas order banning nearly all abortions in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures in late March to conserve hospital resources and personal protective equipment. Attorney General Ken Paxton then said the order applied to "any type of abortions," including medication abortions that do not involve surgery.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-wipes-out-lower-court-rulings-texas-abortion-battle-n1255549

USA – Campus researchers find disinformation on medication abortion webpages

BY ERIC ROGERS | SENIOR STAFF
Jan 25, 2021

UC Berkeley School of Public Health researchers found that four out of the five most presented webpages in response to “abortion pill” queries on Google were less than 50% accurate, in a study published Thursday.

Of the top five most presented webpages, three were anti-abortion, according to lead researcher and first-year doctoral student Betsy Pleasants. She added that these anti-abortion webpages — American Pregnancy Association, Abortion Pill Rescue and Abortion Procedures — had “very limited” factual and clinical information and are covertly affiliated with religious organizations.

Continued: https://www.dailycal.org/2021/01/24/campus-researchers-find-disinformation-on-medication-abortion-webpages/

Strategies shift in U.S. abortion debate as Biden takes office

By David Crary The Associated Press
Posted January 23, 2021

Anti-abortion leaders across America were elated a year ago when Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to appear in person at their highest-profile annual event, the March for Life held every January.

The mood is more sober now — a mix of disappointment over Trump’s defeat and hope that his legacy of judicial appointments will lead to future court victories limiting abortion rights.

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/7595526/abortion-debate-biden-change/

Biden readies sweeping rollback of Trump-era abortion crackdown

"We have a ton of work to do to undo the harm over the last four years," said Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.

Jan. 18, 2021
By Chloe Atkins, NBC News

President-elect Joe Biden is poised to roll back several of the Trump administration's most restrictive sexual and reproductive health policies, including limits on abortion.

Reproductive rights advocates expect Biden to quickly overturn Trump-era rules, like banning federal funds for foreign and national health organizations that promote and provide abortion and giving employers more freedom to deny free contraceptive coverage for their workers.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-readies-sweeping-rollback-trump-era-abortion-crackdown-n1254552

How Anti-Abortion Terrorism Fueled The MAGA Attack On The Capitol

LAUREN RANKIN
LAST UPDATED JANUARY 15, 2021

Last week, the world watched in horror as a pro-Trump mob, urged by the President himself, attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Thousands of angry people, rushed the Capitol building, overwhelming the law enforcement officers who were staged outside. They smashed windows and broke down doors; thousands of them flooded into the Capitol building itself. For several hours, they occupied congressional offices and triumphantly paraded through the House and Senate floors, wreaking havoc and calling for violence against and death for politicians and police officers, alike. By the end of the seditious melee, five people were dead.

One of the people there was John Brockhoeft, who posted online about his presence at the Capitol. Brockhoeft isn’t just any Trump supporter. He’s also a convicted anti-abortion terrorist.

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/01/10265551/anti-abortion-terrorism-capitol-riot-attack

Planned Parenthood president: Saying abortion is a small part of what group does is stigmatizing

By KK Ottesen
Dec. 29, 2020

Alexis McGill Johnson, 48, is a political scientist, social justice advocate, and president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood. She is co-founder and former co-director of the Perception Institute, an anti-bias research group.

You served on the board of Planned Parenthood for nearly a decade [before] actually running the organization. Can you talk about how you first got involved?

I literally was just walking down the street and saw a billboard that I now know was run by [Life Always]. It had a little Black girl’s face on it, and she just was cute. [Laughs.] And so I got closer, and I saw the words underneath that said, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.” I’m from New Jersey. My family had moved to Georgia. And so I would travel on holidays and see billboards like that and would totally write that off as being, you know, something that happened in really conservative states. And when I saw it in New York City — it was in SoHo — I just was shocked, like, What is going on here?

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/planned-parenthood-president-saying-abortion-is-a-small-part-of-what-group-does-is-stigmatizing/2020/12/18/e85b88f6-2dd1-11eb-860d-f7999599cbc2_story.html

29.12.2020

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How the Hyde Amendment Hearing Can Affect the Future of Abortion Rights

Reproductive rights and justice organizations weigh in on the historic House hearing.

BY CHELSEY SANCHEZ
DEC 9 2020

Over the course of more than four decades, Congress has annually renewed the Hyde Amendment, a highly controversial measure that reproductive rights activists say keeps abortion inaccessible to marginalized communities. That could all change, however, as the House Appropriations Committee held a historic, virtual hearing yesterday on the disproportionately negative impacts of the amendment.

Simply put, the Hyde Amendment broadly bars federal funding for abortion costs, meaning Medicaid recipients—who overwhelmingly come from communities of color or low-income communities—lack abortion coverage.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a34906333/hyde-amendment-facts/

Abortion Clinics Are Rapidly Closing. Many Won’t Come Back

BY ABIGAIL ABRAMS
DECEMBER 2, 2020

Dr. Yashica Robinson is an optimist—and that, she says, is fortuitous. As one of the last abortion providers in Alabama, a willingness to see the bright side is practically a job requirement.

For much of the past year, Robinson, who is the medical director at the Huntsville-based Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives, and her staff have fought to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19, while simultaneously battling a state effort to suspend all abortion services during the pandemic. “We will continue to be innovative and be creative and find ways that we will make this work,” she says, with characteristic resolve.

Continued: https://time.com/5916746/abortion-clinics-covid-19/

What Joe Biden’s Election Means For Abortion Rights

December 1, 2020
Sarah McCammon

Like many abortion rights opponents, Tom McClusky is feeling good about battles won under President Trump during his four years in office.

"He has probably done more pro-life things than many Republicans who have had two terms," McClusky said.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/935947603/what-joe-bidens-election-means-for-abortion-rights

Biden Could Expand Abortion Access, Even Without the Senate

The path lies not in legislation but through the deregulation of mifepristone—the only drug the FDA has approved to safely and effectively terminate an early pregnancy.

Nov 28, 2020
Greer Donley

Joe Biden is now poised to become the next president of the United States. His victory, however, is bittersweet for many Democrats, especially those for whom abortion rights are a top issue. Democrats lost seats in the House of Representatives, and their odds for a Senate majority seem to be dwindling. Just eight days before the election, Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Without a Senate majority and with a hostile Supreme Court, some may wonder whether any progress on abortion rights can be made in the next four years.

Abortion-rights advocates need not accept that all is lost. They simply need to look outside legislation and the courts for their answer.

Continued: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/biden-abortion-access/616913/