Abortion Restrictions Modeled After Texas Law Proposed In Ohio

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio GOP Lawmakers Introduce Abortion Ban Modeled After Texas Law
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to replicate the abortion ban passed in Texas and facing a challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court. House Bill 480, introduced Tuesday, would allow anyone to sue a doctor who performs an abortion or an individual who "aids or abets" an abortion. Anyone who performs or assists in an abortion could face a fine of at least $10,000 per abortion. (Balmert, 11/2)

AP: 2 Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Texas-Style Abortion Restriction
Two Republican state lawmakers in Ohio introduced Texas-style legislation Tuesday that could effectively end all abortions in the state. Reps. Jena Powell and Thomas Hall unveiled their bill in the heavily Republican Ohio House a day after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the Texas law on which it is modeled. A majority of justices signaled they would allow abortion providers to pursue a court challenge to the law. (Smyth, 11/3)

In news about Texas' abortion law —

Vox: Supreme Court Likely To Rule Against Texas’s Abortion Ban SB 8 — But There’s A Catch 
It appears likely that Justices Brett Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett will switch sides and provide the fifth (and maybe a sixth) vote against Texas. At one point in the argument, Kavanaugh pointed to a brief filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition, which argued that, if SB 8 is allowed to stand, “it will undoubtedly serve as a model for deterring and suppressing the exercise of numerous constitutional rights” — including the Second Amendment. Kavanaugh appeared to view such an outcome as untenable, and that’s bad news for SB 8. (Millhiser, 11/1)

The Atlantic: The Anti-Abortion Movement Can Lose Its S.B. 8 Case And Still Win 
For anti-abortion activists, Texas’s recent law, Senate Bill 8, must have seemed like magic—a way to stop abortion immediately, without the grind of constitutional litigation and its attendant legal fees. The law prohibits abortion when fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy, but outsources enforcement to private citizens, who can collect at least $10,000 each time someone performs or “aids or abets” an abortion. Texas claims that this exotic structure insulated it from suit, and at first, the Supreme Court seemed to agree, letting the law go into effect without saying a word and then writing a pro forma order explaining that its hands were tied. For abortion foes, it must have all seemed too good to be true. The Court doesn’t seem sold on S.B. 8 anymore. (Ziegler, 11/2)

The Texas Tribune: Gun Rights Group Opposes Texas’ Abortion Law, Joins Clinics In Legal Fight
Abortion-rights advocates have found an unexpected ally in their fight to overturn Texas’ controversial abortion law: gun rights advocates, fearful that the same novel mechanism employed to enforce the statute could later be applied to infringe on gun ownership. That issue played a key role in oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, where justices discussed how Texas’ method of implementing its abortion law could put other constitutional rights at risk. (Oxner and Barragan, 11/2)

Business Insider: The Texas Abortion Law Is Putting Doctors In A Bind. One Had To Turn Away A 14-Year-Old Kid Or Risk A Lawsuit
But for many of [Dr. Blair Cushing's] patients in McAllen, a city buried deep in southern Texas that's located just about eight miles from the US-Mexico border, going out of state is not an option. It would mean crossing the vastness of Texas to get to a neighboring state, which isn't viable for people who are undocumented or people who have responsibilities they can't abandon like kids or a job. "When you're talking about going out of state, if you're talking driving distance, this is literally 12 hours in any one direction to get to the nearest state border," Cushing explained. "You're also in a fairly remote community, so there's no real direct flights to somewhere else. Very, very few, so, good luck." (Dzhanova, 11/2)

People: This Texas Woman Had To Travel 1,500 Miles For An Abortion 
Before Rebecca* learned she was eight weeks and one day pregnant, there were weeks when the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. But in mid-September, after realizing she "wasn't feeling myself for a series of days," Rebecca decided to take an at-home pregnancy test "to get peace of mind." "I wanted to rule that out and think it was maybe something else, just other environmental circumstantial things that I hadn't considered," she tells PEOPLE. "So I took the pregnancy test and was very surprised when it came back positive. It was not expected." (Mazziotta, 11/2)

Also —

Miami Herald: National Abortion Ban Would Lead To 21% Jump In Pregnancy Deaths
A national ban on abortions would lead to a 21% annual jump in the number of pregnancy-related deaths, or about 140 additional deaths each year, according to a new study. And people of color, low income people and individuals with chronic or acute health conditions would be disproportionately affected. Black people face the greatest risks, followed by Hispanic people; a hypothetical nationwide abortion ban would lead to a 33% and 18% increase in deaths, respectively, from serious pregnancy complications in these groups in the years following the ban. (Camero, 11/2)

AP: Pregnant Woman's Death Puts Spotlight On Polish Abortion Law
A Polish hospital said Tuesday that doctors and midwives did everything they could to save the lives of a pregnant woman and her fetus in a case that has put the spotlight on a new restriction on Poland’s abortion law. The 30-year-old woman died of septic shock in her 22nd week of pregnancy. Doctors did not perform an abortion, even though her fetus was lacking amniotic fluid, according to a lawyer for the family. (Gera, 11/2)