Idaho Governor Calls Abortion Law ‘Unwise’ but Signs It Anyway

The law, modeled after one in Texas, bans abortions after about six weeks and allows some people — including relatives of rapists — to sue abortion providers.

By Mike Baker
March 23, 2022

Gov. Brad Little of Idaho signed a strict new abortion bill into law on Wednesday, even as he expressed grave concerns about the wisdom and constitutionality of the measure and warned that it could retraumatize victims of sexual assault.

Modeled after a new law in Texas, the Idaho legislation bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — before many women are aware they are pregnant — and allows family members of what it calls “a preborn child” to sue the abortion provider. Mr. Little, a Republican, said the law could conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, which established a constitutional right to abortion.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/us/idaho-abortion-brad-little.html

Texas clinics’ lawsuit over abortion ban ‘effectively over’

Texas abortion providers say their best hope of stopping the nation’s most restrictive abortion law is all but over

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press
11 March 2022

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dealt essentially a final blow to abortion clinics’ best hopes of stopping a restrictive law that has sharply curtailed the number of abortions in the state since September and will now fully stay in place for the foreseeable future.

The ruling by the all-Republican court was not unexpected, but it slammed the door on what little path forward the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed Texas clinics after having twice declined to stop a ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/texas-clinics-lose-court-strict-abortion-law-83390700

Missouri lawmaker seeks to stop residents from obtaining abortions out of state

The measure could signal a new strategy by the antiabortion movement to extend its influence beyond the GOP-led states poised to enact tighter restrictions if the Supreme Court weakens its landmark precedent upholding abortion rights.

By Caroline Kitchener
March 8, 2022

The pattern emerges whenever a Republican-led state imposes new restrictions on abortion: People seeking the procedure cross state lines to find treatment in places with less-restrictive laws.

Now, a prominent antiabortion lawmaker in Missouri, from where thousands of residents have traveled to next-door Illinois to receive abortions since Missouri passed one of the country’s strictest abortion laws in 2019, believes she has found a solution.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/missouri-abortion-ban-texas-supreme-court/

Anti-abortion lawyers target those funding the procedure for potential lawsuits under new Texas law

Attorneys who helped design Texas’ novel abortion ban have asked a judge to allow them to depose the leaders of two abortion funds, seeking information about anyone who may have “aided or abetted” in a prohibited procedure.

BY ELEANOR KLIBANOFF
FEB. 23, 2022

For nearly six months, as Texas’ novel abortion law has wended its way through the courts, abortion providers and opponents have been locked in a stalemate.

The law, known as Senate Bill 8, empowers private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. With one exception as soon as the law went into effect, abortion providers in Texas have stopped performing these prohibited procedures — so opponents haven’t tried to bring one of these enforcement suits.

Continued: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/23/texas-abortion-sb8-lawsuits/

From abortion to guns to critical race theory, new laws encourage private citizens to sue each other, but the result could lead to chaos and legal vigilantes

Kelsey Vlamis
Sat, January 29, 2022

A new slate of laws is
popping up that law enforcement agencies won't be upholding. Instead, private
citizens, like your neighbor or your coworker, would be the enforcer.

A law passed in Texas last year banned all abortions during the first six weeks
of pregnancy. As the means of enforcement, the bill encourages private citizens
to sue abortion providers — or anyone who assists in an abortion — and get
awarded at least $10,000 if they win.

Continued: https://news.yahoo.com/abortion-guns-critical-race-theory-170000476.html

‘Insidious,’ ‘draconian,’ ‘cruel’: New Texas abortion law empowers vigilantism, experts say

Abortion advocates in Texas say the law will encourage their opponents to flood courts with lawsuits that will cripple their ability to operate.

July 24, 2021
By Adam Edelman

For Anna Rupani, harassment comes with the job.

As the co-executive director at Fund Texas Choice — a practical-support abortion fund in Texas that helps women travel to places, both in and out of the state, where they can receive abortion care — she’s been the target of protests, violent threats, online bullying and terrifying mail.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/insidious-draconian-cruel-new-texas-abortion-law-empowers-vigilantism-experts-n1274642

Even people who oppose abortion should fear Texas’s new ban

The law could give a roadmap to any state that wants to target a federal right, from gun ownership to free speech.

By Julia Kaye and Marc Hearron
July 19, 2021

This spring, the Texas legislature dropped the charade that its years-long campaign to shutter abortion clinics was ever about patient safety and simply banned abortion outright. Texas Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) prohibits abortions beginning at approximately six weeks of pregnancy — before many people even realize they are pregnant. Our organizations, along with Planned Parenthood Federation of America and other partners, have sued to block S.B. 8 on behalf of a coalition of Texas abortion clinics, doctors, health center staff, abortion funds, practical support networks and clergy, because the law will cause profound harm to Texans and is plainly unconstitutional.

But even those opposed to abortion should be alarmed by this law, which could draw a road map for states and localities looking to dismantle constitutional rights with impunity.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/07/19/texas-sb8-abortion-lawsuits/