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We are wrapping up this evening but as always you can find the latest news and analysis on abortion access here.
For now, here’s a summary of what we covered today:
US supreme court justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked lower court rulings that limit access to the abortion pill, giving the court 5 days to consider emergency requests from the Biden administration, department of justice, and pill manufacturer.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer introduced new legislation that would codify access to the abortion pill when prescribed, even via telehealth appointments. If passed, the bill would help ensure safe-haven states could administer care across state lines.
Kamala Harris mentioned the six-week abortion ban in Florida while speaking at the National Action Network annual conference in New York today. While delivering her keynote address, the vice president noted that several civil rights are “under attack”, listing out Florida’s near-total ban as an example.
The Biden administration and department of justice asked the supreme court to stop limits from lower courts on the abortion pill as the government seeks to defend the drug against attacks from anti-abortion activists and Republican legislators.
US abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories asked the supreme court to intervene in attempts to restrict the abortion pill.
Late Thursday, Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed off on a six-week abortion ban in Florida. Florida’s most recent ban will only take effect if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld before its supreme court, which has a conservative majority.
Thank you for reading our live blog. Have a good night!
Earlier today, New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer introduced new legislation: the freedom to decide act, a bill that, if passed, would protect prescriptions for abortion pills issued across state lines.
Endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Naral Pro-Choice America, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), and the Center for Reproductive Rights, the bill is intended to codify access across the country, and ensure that states like California can continue to act as so-called “safe havens” that issue abortion care from afar. The state recently secured a stockpile of 2m abortion pills in response to the ruling to block mifepristone.
“The freedom to decide act affirms what we all know,” Gottheimer wrote on Twitter announcing the bill. “Access to mifepristone does not violate federal law and it is essential to protecting the fundamental right for all women to make personal, private health care decisions about their own bodies, lives, and futures.”
Highlighting that the pill has been available for more than 2 decades and circulates in roughly 80 countries, the legislators behind the bill emphasized its safety record even when prescribed via telemedicine.
The ruling from Alito, a conservative justice, has ensured access to the drug will continue – for now. Set to be pulled from the shelves at midnight tonight, the drug will continue to be available until another order from the supreme court comes through.
“All this essentially stops the clock this weekend,” Chuck Todd of Meet the Press said, explaining that it will essentially shut down both the stay and the original Texas ruling for the time being. “But it still could go into effect at a later point.”
Alito also wrote last year’s ruling that left abortion access up to individual states, eliminating rights established by the Roe v Wade decision. Since then, 12 US states have banned abortions while several others added new limits.
You can read more about the ruling here:
We are wrapping up this evening but as always you can find the latest news and analysis on abortion access here.
For now, here’s a summary of what we covered today:
US supreme court justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked lower court rulings that limit access to the abortion pill, giving the court 5 days to consider emergency requests from the Biden administration, department of justice, and pill manufacturer.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer introduced new legislation that would codify access to the abortion pill when prescribed, even via telehealth appointments. If passed, the bill would help ensure safe-haven states could administer care across state lines.
Kamala Harris mentioned the six-week abortion ban in Florida while speaking at the National Action Network annual conference in New York today. While delivering her keynote address, the vice president noted that several civil rights are “under attack”, listing out Florida’s near-total ban as an example.
The Biden administration and department of justice asked the supreme court to stop limits from lower courts on the abortion pill as the government seeks to defend the drug against attacks from anti-abortion activists and Republican legislators.
US abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories asked the supreme court to intervene in attempts to restrict the abortion pill.
Late Thursday, Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed off on a six-week abortion ban in Florida. Florida’s most recent ban will only take effect if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld before its supreme court, which has a conservative majority.
Thank you for reading our live blog. Have a good night!
US supreme court justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked lower court rulings that limit access to the abortion pill, reports Reuters.
Alito implemented a five-day hold on abortion restrictions that came after a ruling by a federal judge in Texas.
The temporary pause on lower court rulings give the court additional time to consider the fate of the drug amid arguments from the Biden administration and drug manufacturer.
Colorado’s Democratic governor is scheduled to sign a number of bills on Friday that would protect abortion rights and the healthcare access for transgender people.
Governor Jared Polis will sign several laws that enshrine access to abortions, gender-affirming care, and other rights that are under attack by conservative legislators nationwide, the Associated Press reports.
The passage of these bills in Colorado would also help those traveling from more restrictive states, including Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming, which are border Colorado.
Wyoming and Oklahoma have passed abortion bans; Utah has banned gender-affirming care for minors.
Here’s more on Scott’s comments from the Guardian’s Joan Greve.
Scott, who is wrapping up a swing through early voting states, would not specify his preferred time frame for a national abortion ban.
“I’m not going to talk about six or five or seven or ten [weeks],” Scott said. “I’m just saying that whatever the most conservative legislation is that can come through Congress.”
Scott’s comments come just after Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce his own presidential bid, approved a six-week abortion ban in Florida.
Pressed by Vitali on whether a six-week ban is the appropriate policy, Scott replied, “The people have decided that their elected leaders have the opportunity to do so. So I say absolutely. As the culture of life is being protected, we should celebrate that. States will have different varying views on that.”
After launching an exploratory committee for a 2024 presidential run, South Carolina senator Tim Scott has vowed to pass restrictive abortion limits if elected president.
When asked about his view on federal abortion protections on Friday, Scott replied: “If I were president of the United States, I would literally sign the most conservative, pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress.”
From Semafor reporter Shelby Talcott:
Kamala Harris mentioned the six-week abortion ban in Florida while speaking at the National Action Network annual conference in New York today.
While delivering her keynote address, the vice president noted that several civil rights are “under attack”, listing out Florida’s near-total ban as an example.
From Bloomberg correspondent Akayla Gardner:
Harris has spoken out strongly on the latest wave of attacks on reproductive rights underway from right-wing America, especially since the conservative-dominated supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last June in the Dobbs case out of Mississippi.
A day after signing the six-week ban on abortions, DeSantis spoke at Liberty University, a Christian college.
But the Florida governor did not mention the legislation in his speech.
From CBS political reporter Aaron Navarro:
Here’s more on the Biden administration’s request to the supreme court to block lower court limitations on the abortion pill from Mary Tuma for the Guardian:
The Biden administration appealed to the US supreme court on Friday asking it to halt an appellate ruling that adds onerous restrictions to a key abortion drug. The restrictions were slated to go into effect at 12.01am on Saturday morning.
The ruling at the center of the emergency application to the high court was issued on Wednesday night by the fifth circuit court of appeals. The US Department of Justice had asked the appeals court to block a lower court order revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone in 2000.
The Louisiana-based appellate court – considered one of the most conservative in the US – blocked part of that order, but allowed other parts to stand, and temporarily reimposed restrictions on the drug that the FDA had lifted starting in 2016.
“If allowed to take effect, the lower courts’ orders would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and undermine widespread reliance in a healthcare system that assumes the availability of mifepristone as an alternative to more burdensome and invasive surgical abortions,” wrote the solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, in the filing.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
