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

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/

Restrictions on Abortion Care Prevent Critical Access For Millions of Women

Despite widespread public support for abortion care, less than half of states would protect abortion rights should Roe v. Wade be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

1/21/2021
by RAEGAN MCDONALD-MOSLEY

Friday, Jan. 22 marks the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The day is cause to celebrate 48 years of women having the legal ability to decide for themselves if, when and under what circumstances to have a child. However, access to abortion care remains deeply inequitable.

And without question access to abortion care has increased women’s professional and economic vitality despite pervasive efforts to restrict access to those who need it most.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2021/01/21/roe-v-wade-restrictions-on-abortion-care-prevent-critical-access-for-millions-of-women/

21.01.2021

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Amy Coney Barrett’s First Abortion Ruling Is No Surprise

The Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday puts abortion patients’ health at risk.

Jan 14, 2021
Rewire News Group Staff

The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Tuesday in a ruling that puts abortion patients’ health at risk—the first abortion-related ruling with Amy Coney Barrett on the bench.

The decision in FDA v. ACOG reinstates a federal policy that requires medication abortion patients to pick up their abortion medications in person. Providers had challenged the policy because of the pandemic and a federal court had blocked it. The ruling puts that policy back in place.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2021/01/14/amy-coney-barretts-first-abortion-ruling-is-no-surprise/

The Supreme Court Won’t Explain Why It Just Greenlit New Abortion Restrictions

The court issued its first abortion decision since Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed.

By LEAH LITMAN
JAN 14, 2021

On Tuesday evening, the Supreme Court released its first abortion decision since Senate Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s successor. The court’s unexplained, unsigned order allows the government to restrict access to the abortion pill. It also provides a strong signal that the new court is willing to indulge restrictions on abortion, even though it did not bother to explain why. Some may be inclined to write off the court’s decision since the incoming Biden administration could change the specific regulation at issue in the case, which required women to pick up mifepristone in person from a medical facility. But the decision serves as a standing invitation to states to impose yet more draconian restrictions on abortion.

Continued: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/the-supreme-court-abortion-pill-order.html

USA – This week’s SCOTUS ruling sends a ‘chilling signal’ on the future of abortion rights

Abortions have been available by mail during coronavirus. Not anymore.

Caroline Kitchener
Jan. 13, 2021

Julie Amaon wanted to make the process as easy as possible. Her organization — Just the Pill — began facilitating abortions by mail in October. After they scheduled a call with a doctor, patients in Minnesota would typically receive their pill in the mail within 72 hours. Amaon, a family medicine doctor and medical director for Just the Pill, always followed up with a care package: Oreos, sanitary pads and a bag of peach mango herbal tea.

The entire operation screeched to a halt Tuesday night, when the Supreme Court lifted a national injunction that allowed women to access the abortion pill remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. Since July, patients had been able to request an abortion pill without ever setting foot in a clinic or a doctor’s office, an accommodation instituted to protect patients from the virus.

Continued: https://www.thelily.com/this-weeks-scotus-ruling-sends-a-chilling-signal-on-the-future-of-abortion-rights/

Supreme Court Grants Trump Administration Request to Endanger Abortion Patients During the Pandemic

In its First Abortion Decision Since Justice Barrett’s Confirmation, the Court Allowed the Trump Administration to Subject Abortion Patients to Needless Covid-19 Risk

JANUARY 12, 2021
American Civil Liberties Union

WASHINGTON — In its first ruling on abortion with Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the bench, the Supreme Court today reinstated a federal policy that requires patients seeking a medication used for early abortion care to incur unnecessary COVID-19 risks by traveling to a health center for the sole purpose of picking up a pill and signing a form.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy requires patients seeking mifepristone to pick up the pill in person at a hospital, clinic, or medical office, even when the patient has already been evaluated by a clinician using telehealth or at a prior in-person visit and will be receiving no medical services at the time. During the pandemic, this travel exposes patients to needless COVID-19 risks relating to transportation, childcare, and other interpersonal contact. With today’s decision from the Supreme Court, the in-person pill pick-up requirement will go back into effect immediately.

Continued: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-administration-request-endanger-abortion-patients-during

Supreme Court Revives Abortion-Pill Restriction

In their first abortion case since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, the justices reinstated a requirement that women seeking medication abortions pick up a pill in person.

By Adam Liptak, New York Times
Jan. 12, 2021

WASHINGTON — In the Supreme Court’s first ruling on abortion since the arrival of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court on Tuesday reinstated a federal requirement that women seeking to end their pregnancies using medications pick up a pill in person from a hospital or medical office.

The court’s brief order was unsigned, and the three more liberal justices dissented. The only member of the majority to offer an explanation was Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who said the ruling was a limited one that deferred to the views of experts.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/supreme-court-abortion-pill.html

’A crisis moment’: States, advocates brace for new fight over abortion rights

Driving the burst of activity is the rightward shift of the Supreme Court, which has cast uncertainty on the future of Roe v. Wade.

Jan. 11, 2021
By Chloe Atkins

With reproductive rights in the spotlight after the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett last fall, conservative and liberal states are even more divided over abortion.

Across the South and the Midwest, Republican legislators have introduced laws that would limit abortions or try to ban them altogether in hope of undermining decades of precedent. At the same time, Democratic-led states are cementing abortion rights and making abortions more accessible.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/crisis-moment-states-advocates-brace-new-fight-over-abortion-rights-n1253665

Democrats can now think ‘bigger and bolder’ on abortion. What can we actually expect?

The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, but Democrats just won control of the Senate

Caroline Kitchener
Jan. 7, 2021

2020 did not leave abortion rights advocates with much hope for the future of Roe v. Wade.

Their position was tenuous from the outset. After Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh was confirmed in October 2018, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — a conservative — became the crucial swing vote on abortion cases. Conservatives strengthened their majority in October, when President Trump nominated Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace longtime women’s rights champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her death in September.

Continued: https://www.thelily.com/democrats-can-now-think-bigger-and-bolder-on-abortion-what-can-we-actually-expect/

07.01.2021