Judge Rules Challenge To 173-Year-Old Wisconsin Abortion Ban Can Go On
A lawsuit to repeal the ban can continue after Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper concluded the old bill only prohibits attacking someone to kill their unborn child. Meanwhile, in Iowa, the Republican-controlled legislature will try to enact a six-week abortion ban, using a special session.
AP:
Wisconsin Judge: Lawsuit To Repeal Abortion Ban Can Continue
Wisconsin’s 173-year-old abortion ban outlaws killing fetuses but doesn’t apply to consensual medical abortions, a judge ruled Friday in allowing a lawsuit challenging the ban to continue in the perennial battleground state. Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper said the legal language in the ban doesn’t use the term “abortion” so the law only prohibits attacking a woman in an attempt to kill her unborn child. (Richmond, 7/7)
AP:
Iowa Republicans Will Pursue A 6-Week Abortion Ban During A Special Session That Starts Tuesday
Iowa’s Republican-controlled Legislature will aim to enact a ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy during a rare special session that starts Tuesday, a draft of the bill released Friday shows. The proposed measure is similar to a 2018 law that a deadlocked state Supreme Court declined to reinstate last month, prompting Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to call for the extraordinary session. Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. (Fingerhut, 7/7)
The 19th:
New York Equal Rights Amendment: How It Impacts Abortion, LGBTQ+ Rights
Democrats and abortion rights advocates in New York are pushing for a novel equal rights amendment they hope will establish the state as a haven for abortion access, boost Democratic enthusiasm in 2024 and set a roadmap for other states. New York lawmakers have, in two consecutive sessions, passed the New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment, which would ban a wide range of discrimination based on sex, expressly including sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. It would also ban discrimination based on age, disability, ethnicity and national origin and establish a constitutional right to abortion and other reproductive health care. (Panetta, 7/7)
PolitiFact:
Fact Check: Are U.S. Abortion Laws Really Like China, North Korea?
PolitiFact rating: Mostly false. This oversimplifies a complex web of global abortion laws, ignores exceptions and accessibility and relies on outdated information about abortion policies in China and North Korea. The claim also ignores that both countries have participated in coerced abortions for their own goals — something that U.S. abortion policy doesn’t come close to permitting. Some Western European countries have stricter gestational limits for “elective” abortions than some U.S. states. But abortion access is often easier for many women in some of those countries, with costs covered, and far-reaching exceptions that include mental health and income. (Putterman, 7/10)
Also —
Indianapolis Star:
Out-Of-State Abortion Patients Tripled In Indiana In 2022, Report Says
The number of out-of-state patients who traveled to Indiana for abortions more than tripled in 2022. That's one finding in the Indiana Department of Health's newly released annual Terminated Pregnancy Report, which captured data on the state’s abortion landscape during a year that saw Roe v. Wade overturned and several neighboring states increase restrictions on abortion. (Basile, 7/10)
AP:
Nebraska Mom Pleads Guilty To Giving Daughter Pills For An Abortion And Helping Bury The Fetus
A Nebraska mother pleaded guilty Friday to giving her 17-year-old daughter pills for an illegal abortion last year and helping to burn and bury the fetus. Under a plea agreement, Jessica Burgess, 42, of Norfolk, admitted to providing an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, false reporting and tampering with human skeletal remains. Charges of concealing the death of another person and abortion by someone other than a licensed physician were dismissed. (7/7)
CNN:
A Pregnant Woman Traveled To Oregon Get An Abortion Due To The Louisiana Ban
When 45-year-old Victoria realized she was five weeks late and the lines showed as positive on two pregnancy tests, the New Orleans resident dreamed up a plan to get an abortion. Traveling out of state was the only abortion option for Victoria, who asked CNN to withhold her last name out of fear of backlash against her and her family. Louisiana is one of several states that have essentially banned all abortions. (Zdanowicz, 7/9)
