Abortion Rights Ballot Effort In Arkansas Thwarted By Republican AG
State Attorney General Tim Griffin rejected a proposed ballot measure to enshrine limited abortion rights in the state constitution. The proposal won't appear on the 2024 ballot. Also in the news, Texas Supreme Court justices hear arguments over the state's strict law.
Arkansas Advocate:
Arkansas AG Rejects Proposed Ballot Measure To Make Abortion Access A Constitutional Right
A proposed constitutional amendment ensuring a limited right to abortion in Arkansas will not appear on the 2024 statewide ballot, Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in a Tuesday opinion. His seven-page letter to Steven Nichols, the Arkansan who submitted the proposal, pointed out several aspects of the ballot language that Griffin said need clarity or other improvements before he can consider it worthy of approval. (Vrbin, 11/28)
Abortion updates from Texas —
Austin Bureau:
Texas Supreme Court Appears Hesitant To Clarify Abortion Ban
Several of the Texas Supreme Court’s Republican justices appeared hesitant on Tuesday to clarify an emergency exception in the state’s abortion ban despite claims from nearly two dozen women that they were forced to continue medically dangerous pregnancies. “Our job is to decide cases, not to elaborate and expand laws in order to make them easier to understand or enforce,” Justice Brett Busby said. (Goldenstein, 11/28)
The Hill:
Texas AG’s Office Argues Women Should Sue Doctors — Not State — Over Lack Of Abortion Access
Lawyers in the Texas attorney general’s office said Tuesday that women should sue their doctors, not the state, over a lack of access to abortion in defending the state’s strict law. Beth Klusmann of the Texas Attorney General’s Office made that point in oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in a case challenging Texas’s abortion ban, which bars doctors from providing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected — typically around six weeks into pregnancy — with exceptions only for cases in which the life of the mother is at risk. (Elbein, 11/28)
In other abortion developments —
St. Louis Public Radio:
Illinois Abortions Jump In Year After Supreme Court Decision
Health workers in Illinois are performing about 1,800 more abortions per month on average than before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to data compiled by the Society for Family Planning, a health worker-led nonprofit that advocates for abortion rights. Missouri and many other states banned the procedure after the court’s June 2022 ruling. But the report found the number of abortions nationwide increased slightly, fueled in part by people seeking the procedure in Illinois and other states that didn’t institute bans. (Fentem, 11/28)
CNN:
Chris Christie Says He Wouldn’t Sign 6-Week Federal Abortion Ban
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban as president because he does not believe such legislation aligns with the views of the American public. “One thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally,” the GOP presidential candidate said Tuesday on “CNN This Morning,” pointing to recent victories at the ballot box for supporters of abortion rights since the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned last year. (Main, 11/28)
The Hill:
Supreme Court To Confront Post-Roe Abortion Battles
Supreme Court justices are slated to delve into disputes surrounding abortion during their final session this year, revealing the legal battlefronts forming in the wake of the high court’s stunning decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Several key cases are headed to the justices. One is Idaho’s emergency request to fully enforce its abortion law, a ruling that is possible as soon as this week. At the justices’ Friday conference, they are scheduled to consider whether to take up an appeal seeking to overturn a Supreme Court precedent allowing laws that ban anti-abortion activists from approaching people outside abortion clinics. (Schonfeld, 11/29)
