Judge Blasts Mississippi’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Saying It ‘Smacks Of Defiance’ After He Previously Ruled Against A 15-Week Ban
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves signaled that he'll likely rule against Mississippi's abortion ban that's tighter than a previous bill he'd decided was unconstitutional. The hot-button topic continues to resonate across the country.
The Associated Press:
Mississippi Abortion Law 'Smacks Of Defiance,' US Judge Says
A federal judge indicated Tuesday that he is likely to block a Mississippi law that will ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The new law puts a cutoff point for abortion at about six weeks, when many women may not yet know they're pregnant. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves heard arguments about a request from the state's only abortion clinic, which wants him to block the law from taking effect July 1, as scheduled. (Wagster Pettus, 5/21)
The Washington Post:
He Already Struck Down One Abortion Ban. Now The Judge Says A New Bill ‘Smacks Of Defiance.’
Mississippi’s law, which bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, is part of a nationwide barrage of restrictions, pushed for by the religious right and meant to challenge the Constitution and force the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Roe v. Wade. In most cases, the goal is not a law’s enaction, but the legal challenges and appeals that could pave a path to the high court and its conservative majority. (Thebault, 5/21)
The Associated Press:
Alabama House Approves 'Born Alive' Abortion Bill
Doctors would face prison sentences if they fail to treat babies "born alive" after an attempted abortion, under a bill approved Tuesday night by the Alabama House of Representatives. The measure patterned after legislation in Texas was approved after more than an hour of contentious debate. It comes a week after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation seeking to outlaw almost all abortions in the state. Representatives voted 66-18 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama Senate. (Chandler, 5/22)
The Washington Post:
#BoycottGeorgia For Its Abortion Bill? Two Major Film Productions Just Said They Would.
Two major Hollywood productions have announced that they plan to avoid filming in Georgia because of the stringent antiabortion bill the state’s Republican legislature signed into law earlier this month. The show “The Power,” a drama series for Amazon Studios that is based on a female-centric science fiction novel of the same name, decided to pull scouts who were scouring the state for potential filming locations and said that it would not be filming any of the show in the state. (Rosenberg, 5/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Georgia Abortion Law: Boycott Heats Up As TV Show And Kristen Wiig Movie Bail
“We had no problem stopping the entire process instantly,” “The Power” director Reed Morano told Time, adding that there was “no way” her project would give its production money to Georgia. Location scouts had reportedly been working in Savannah, Ga., for several months in preparation for Morano’s arrival, Time reported. “[I]t felt wrong to us to go ahead and make our show and take money/tax credit from a state that is taking this stance on the abortion issue. We just couldn’t do it,” Morano said on Instagram. (D'Zurilla, 5/21)
The Associated Press:
Louisiana: Anti-Abortion Constitutional Language Nears OK
Louisiana lawmakers took another step Tuesday in efforts to chip away at abortion rights, nearing final passage of a bill that would ask voters to rewrite the state constitution to ensure it offers no protections for the procedure. The constitutional change, which has been enacted in some other conservative states, is one of several anti-abortion measures proposed in Louisiana’s legislative session, including a bill nearing final passage that could ban the procedure as early as six weeks of pregnancy. (Deslatte, 5/21)
The Hill:
Wisconsin Governor Vows To Veto Abortion Restriction Bills Passed By State Lawmakers
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) on Tuesday vowed to veto abortion restrictions the state assembly passed last week, saying that government should allow women to make their own health care decisions. "We shouldn’t be limiting the right for women to make their own healthcare decisions," Evers said on Twitter. "That’s why I’ll veto the bills passed by the Assembly last week if they arrive on my desk. It’s time to listen to women. #StopTheBans" (Wise, 5/21)
The Associated Press:
Nevada Lawmakers Close To Repealing Tough Abortion Rules
Nevada lawmakers are bucking a national trend of restrictive abortion laws by voting to repeal requirements that physicians document a pregnant woman’s marital status and tell her about the “emotional implications” of an abortion. Democrats in the Assembly passed the bill in a largely party-line vote on Tuesday, the same day protesters across the country decried actions in other statehouses that toughen abortion laws. Nevada has the first overall female-majority Legislature in the country. (Tarinelli, 5/22)
KCUR:
Kansas Paid Outside Law Firms $899,000 In Losing Effort To Defund Planned Parenthood
A day after Kansas notified Planned Parenthood in May 2016 that it would cut off its participation in Medicaid, the nonprofit group sued to block the move. So Kansas hired three high-powered East Coast law firms to defend it in a case that would slog on for nearly three years before Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration agreed to drop the termination effort in April. (Margolies, 5/21)
The New York Times:
As Some States Limit Abortion, Others Move To Protect Abortion Rights
As conservatives in states like Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri race to pass some of the strictest limits on abortions in decades, a pushback is developing as well. In Democratic-held or Democratic-leaning states, abortion rights supporters who are alarmed by the new laws and by the threat represented by a more conservative Supreme Court are trying to repeal abortion restrictions or limit the government’s say over women’s reproductive decisions. (Taylor and Turkewitz, 5/21)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: Answering Questions About New Abortion Laws
Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, joined WAMU’s Sasha-Ann Simons Tuesday on “1A” to answer listeners’ questions about the strict new abortion laws passed by Alabama, Missouri and other states and the future of Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the country. Also on the panel were NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg and Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an obstetrician/gynecologist and an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis who also provides abortion services in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. You can listen to the hourlong discussion here. (5/21)
