Tag Archives: abortion

SCOTx advised to leave judicial bypass rules in place

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. An advisory committee to the Texas Supreme Court voted unanimously Friday to keep in place a legal procedure that allows minors to get a judge’s approval to have an abortion without the legally necessary parental … Continue reading →

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Adoption is not a replacement for abortion

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Anyone who tells you otherwise is at the very least misinformed. More likely, they’re just lying. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the loss of abortion access in many states, some conservative leaders have suggested abortion is unnecessary … Continue reading →

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If your advocacy includes convincing children to carry their rapist’s baby to term, your advocacy is bad

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Towards the end of this overall infuriating story about “crisis pregnancy centers” in Texas, we come to a quote that stunned me so hard I had to step away from the computer for a few minutes. If they can get … Continue reading →

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Don’t give these fools an inch, New Mexico

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Defeat them at every turn. For New Mexico state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, the arrival of a new abortion clinic in Las Cruces, the city she represents, is surreal. Over the years, there hasn’t been consistent access to the procedure … Continue reading →

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DMN/UT-Tyler: Abbott 46, Beto 39

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again with the DMN/UT-Tyler poll, which if nothing else always provides something to talk about. The unreadable DMN story is here. The Chron has a story with a semi-ridiculous headline about how Abbott has slightly increased his … Continue reading →

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The book ban requests are coming from inside the house

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Typical “grassroots” campaign. The wave of book reviews and removals that swept across Texas in the last year was driven more by politicians than parents, a Houston Chronicle analysis found, contradicting claims that recent book bans were the result of … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court to review parental consent bypass rules

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing good is likely to come of this. The Texas Supreme Court is reconsidering rules that allow Texans under 18 to obtain abortions without parental consent in light of the state’s soon-to-take-effect abortion ban. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht asked an … Continue reading →

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More on polling about abortion

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not a new poll, but a closer look at the June UT/Texas Politics Project poll, with a longer look back at over a decade’s worth of polling data. Under current Texas law, abortion is prohibited even in cases of rape … Continue reading →

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At least you’re (probably) not giving birth in West Texas

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a long story about the lack of prenatal and obstetric care in West Texas. It’s mostly set in Alpine, Presidio, and Big Bend, which are the “big cities” in the area that actually have doctors and medical facilities … Continue reading →

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Dallas passes its ordinance to protect abortion access

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good job. Dallas City councilmembers almost unanimously passed the “Grace Act,” an ordinance aimed at deprioritizing investigations into abortions by local police departments. […] This new resolution prevents city resources from being used to create records for a person seeking … Continue reading →

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Acompañamiento

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Great story about the abortion access community in Mexico, which arose while abortion was criminalized there and continues now that it is legal in much of the country, and how it is starting to help women in the US, especially … Continue reading →

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San Antonio passes its abortion access ordinance

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. With a 9-2 vote, San Antonio City Council approved a resolution on Tuesday that condemns Texas’ abortion ban and recommends that no local funds be used to investigate criminal charges related to abortions. “By passing this resolution, the City of San … Continue reading →

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Dallas joins the abortion decriminalization queue

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Dallas City Council could consider a resolution in August aimed at blunting the impact of the Texas Legislature’s trigger law that will go into effect following the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade. Dallas’ … Continue reading →

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San Antonio will make its statement for abortion rights

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

More symbolic than anything, but it still has meaning. Five San Antonio City Council members and the mayor stood in support of a largely symbolic measure Wednesday that would attempt to “decriminalize” abortion locally. Council is expected to approve a resolution during a … Continue reading →

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We talk again about the forthcoming abortion prosecutions

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be so bad. A young woman and her mother are nervously driving through the night when they’re pulled over by law enforcement. Flashlights in their faces, the women are questioned about whether they’re heading for the border … Continue reading →

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Ted Cruz says Texas should repeal its anti-sodomy law

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I feel obligated to note this. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the most socially conservative Texans serving in Congress, told The Dallas Morning News that Texas should repeal its now-dormant law that bans gay sex. “Consenting adults should be … Continue reading →

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More on the seafaring abortion clinic

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There were a couple of stories on that proposed abortion clinic on a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, which will operate in federal waters and thus be outside state jurisdiction. The clinic is intended to serve women in the … Continue reading →

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Republicans have begun attacking Mike Collier

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Fox News host Laura Ingraham is joining a growing list of Republicans attacking Mike Collier, the Democratic candidate for Texas lieutenant governor, as polls indicate a narrowing race between him and incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Ingraham reposted an article from a … Continue reading →

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Abortion penalties will increase on August 25

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its official judgment in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, clearing the way for Texas’ “trigger law” banning almost all abortions to go into effect Aug. … Continue reading →

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Another story about the chaos that has been unleashed by banning abortion

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more to come for as long as this situation remains. A sexual assault survivor chooses sterilization so that if she is ever attacked again, she won’t be forced to give birth to a rapist’s baby. An obstetrician … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of anti-LGBTQ litigation out there

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is where we are. In the wake of the toppling of Roe v. Wade and with Justice Clarence Thomas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit rulings on gay sex … Continue reading →

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More dimensions for privacy in the post-Roe world

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The fall of Roe is a big boon for cyberstalkers. All too frequently, people monitor our intimate lives in betrayal of our trust—and it’s often those we know and love. They don’t even need to be near us to capture … Continue reading →

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Austin takes its shot at protecting abortion access

Posted on July 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them great success. I don’t think the fanatics in the Legislature will let them achieve it, but we’ll see. Austin City Council unanimously (in the absence of lone Republican Mackenzie Kelly) approved four items on Thursday, July 21 … Continue reading →

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The religious freedom argument for abortion

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. For obvious reasons, I’m not terribly optimistic. But it’s worth a shot. The rabbi whose progressive synagogue sued the state of Florida over a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, arguing that it infringes on religious … Continue reading →

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House passes bill to protect access to contraception

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on a roll. The House on Thursday passed legislation that would protect access to birth control, the latest move in a broader effort by Democrats to enshrine into federal law rights they fear could come under threat by the … Continue reading →

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House passes bill to protect same-sex marriage

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A surprisingly bipartisan vote, by which I mean “more Republicans than you can count on your fingers voted for it as well”. The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to pass a bill that would enshrine protections for same-sex … Continue reading →

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The Republicans just want to punish everyone for every abortion ever

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They want to put you in jail. More than 70 Republican state lawmakers have signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief siding with Attorney General Ken Paxton in arguing that a nearly century-old law imposing criminal penalties against those who help a … Continue reading →

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The birth control gap

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas will do nothing to address this as long as the current government is in place. Ramírez’s situation reflects an immense need in the country: 21 million women of reproductive age needed publicly funded contraceptive care as … Continue reading →

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More on abortion travel benefits and the legislative threats to them

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Taking a broader look at what’s out there right now, it’s understandable that some companies are just hoping to not become targets. Republican Texas legislators who sent a threatening letter to Sidley Austin last week over the law firm’s policy … Continue reading →

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When abortion is outlawed, pregnant people will be denied health care

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already happening. The Texas Medical Association is asking state regulators to step in after it says several hospitals afraid of violating the state’s abortion ban have turned away pregnant patients or delayed care leading to complications, The Dallas Morning … Continue reading →

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House passes national abortion access bill

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They’re doing what they can. It’s the Senate that’s the problem. The U.S. House on Friday passed two bills that would restore abortion access across the country and prevent states like Texas from barring patients from crossing state lines to … Continue reading →

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Big Law versus the Forced Birth Caucus

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Place your bets. The Texas Freedom Caucus may have kicked a hornet’s nest when it threatened Sidley Austin partners with civil and criminal penalties and disbarment in a letter last week, according to firm leaders in Texas and managing partners … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over emergency guidance to doctors

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is what “leaving it to the states” looks like. Texas is suing the Biden administration over guidance released Monday telling the nation’s doctors they’re protected by federal law to terminate a pregnancy as part of emergency treatment — and … Continue reading →

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UH/Hobby Center: Abbott 49, Beto 44

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This one is post-Dobbs. In the race for governor, Republican Greg Abbott leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 5% among likely voters, 49% to 44%, with 5% undecided and 2% intending to vote for Libertarian Mark Tippetts. More than nine out … Continue reading →

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