Tag Archives: SCOTUS

Beware the trojan “abortion exceptions” bill

Jessica Valenti warns us. Texas Republicans are poised to pull a fast one: They’ve convinced Democrats and doctors to support a bill they claim will protect life-saving abortion care and ‘clarify’ the state’s ban. But the rapidly advancing “Life of … Continue reading

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Justice Department drops Texas redistricting lawsuit

Can’t say I’m surprised. The U.S. Justice Department withdrew from a lawsuit alleging that Texas’ legislative and congressional district maps drawn after the 2020 U.S. census discriminated against Latino and Black voters by denying them an equal opportunity to participate … Continue reading

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Dr. Carpenter ordered to stop sending abortion pills to Texas

And we’re off. A Collin County judge has ordered a New York doctor to stop prescribing abortion-inducing medication to Texas residents and ordered her to pay a $100,000 fine. Thursday’s ruling is the opening salvo in what’s expected to be … Continue reading

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Fighting back with Amy Hagstrom Miller

Great article. In the frenetic days following the November election, longtime abortion provider Amy Hagstrom Miller spent a lot of time in meetings—some in person, some on Zoom—rallying her troops. As one of the most prominent, and tenacious, independent abortion … Continue reading

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More on the legal attacks against Dr. Carpenter of New York

Slate legal expert Mary Ziegler weighs in on Louisiana’s attempt to prosecute New York doctor Margaret Carpenter for sending abortion pills to a woman in that state. Dr. Carpenter has also been sued by Ken Paxton for the same thing … Continue reading

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More blocks on the SCOPE Act

Some late Friday news. A federal district court on Friday has issued more temporary blocks on provisions of a Texas law designed to restrict what kinds of materials and advertisements minors can see on social media and age verification requirements. … Continue reading

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Of course minors are seeking out of state abortions, too

What did you expect? At least 100 Texas children aged 17 and younger got abortions in other states during the first year after Texas banned the procedure, including six aged 11 and under, according to the latest state data available. … Continue reading

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Louisiana indicts NY doctor for providing mifepristone

And the stakes get raised again. A New York doctor was criminally indicted Friday for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a girl in Louisiana in what appears to be the first time an abortion provider has been prosecuted since Roe … Continue reading

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State Bar to drop its lawsuit against Paxton

Welp. The State Bar of Texas on Wednesday moved to drop its lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, extending a cascade of legal and political wins for the … Continue reading

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Next assault on mifepristone gets the rubber stamp

Here it comes. The Texas judge who previously halted approval of the nation’s most common method of abortion ruled Thursday that three states can move ahead with another attempt to roll back federal rules and make it harder for people across … Continue reading

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Paxton asks SCOTx to get him off the State Bar hook

As the sun rises in the east. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office wants the Texas Supreme Court to throw out a State Bar ethics complaint against him — two weeks after the court dismissed a similar complaint against his assistant attorney general. … Continue reading

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SCOTUS hears the Texas anti-porn case

There’s a lot on the line here. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared conflicted over whether a Texas law regulating adult entertainment websites infringes upon First Amendment free speech rights of adults seeking to access online pornography. At issue … Continue reading

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SCOTx hears Paxton’s appeal of the Annunciation House case

A big one. The Texas Attorney General’s Office told sometimes skeptical Texas Supreme Court justices Monday that El Paso’s Annunciation House migrant shelters are harboring undocumented immigrants and can’t use Catholic religious beliefs as a legal justification for its actions. … Continue reading

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Very few minors actually get gender-affirming care

Of interest. How many transgender teens in the U.S. are receiving medical care related to gender transitions? According to a peer-reviewed research letter published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, the answer is very, very few. It’s a key data point as Republican lawmakers in Congress … Continue reading

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Paxton sues TikTok

Feels like this is about to be moot, but here we are. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday sued TikTok for the second time in recent months, accusing the social media company of violating deceptive trade law by downplaying … Continue reading

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The Kansas experience with requiring proof of citizenship to vote

Also not good. Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there’s one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting … Continue reading

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SCOTx lets Brent Webster off the hook

Gotta love a pre-holiday news dump. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ended a professional misconduct case against a top aide to Attorney General Ken Paxton for his role in challenging the 2020 election results, previewing a likely outcome for … Continue reading

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Paxton sues out of state abortion provider

The thing about rot is that it has a tendency to spread. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit accusing a New York doctor of prescribing abortion drugs to a Texas resident in violation of state law. This … Continue reading

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The SCOTUS gender affirming care ban case is about much more than that

It’s about equal protection under the law. In a striking echo of how they dispensed with abortion rights, many right-wing justices Wednesday advocated for a “leave it to the states” approach on trans health care, rhetorical cover for a legal … Continue reading

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Texas does not want to know what the post-Dobbs maternal mortality rate is

Not at this time, and not if it can help it. Texas officials will not investigate pregnancy-related deaths for 2022 and 2023, skipping over the years immediately following the state’s controversial abortion ban, which critics say has led to more … Continue reading

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The legislative attacks on mifepristone are coming

Get ready. A Louisiana law that reclassified abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances has made it more difficult for doctors to treat a wide range of gynecological conditions, doctors say. Now, a similar proposal has been filed in Texas. Texas Rep. … Continue reading

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Porsha Ngumezi

Remember her name. Wrapping his wife in a blanket as she mourned the loss of her pregnancy at 11 weeks, Hope Ngumezi wondered why no obstetrician was coming to see her. Over the course of six hours on June 11, … Continue reading

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Time once again for another “future doctor shortage” post

This continues to seem bad. Texas’ new abortion laws are stressing the state’s already beleaguered OB/GYN workforce, and threatening the pipeline of new doctors that would help provide relief, a new survey shows. More than 70% of practicing OB/GYNs in … Continue reading

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If we’d listened to OB-GYNs in the first place we wouldn’t be having these problems now

I very much appreciate what they’re saying, but let’s be honest, their words will have no effect. The newly reported deaths of two pregnant Texans sparked a renewed plea from Texas OB/GYNs, including dozens in the Houston-area, for lawmakers to … Continue reading

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No observers allowed here

Texas Tribune: Texas tells U.S. Justice Department that federal election monitors aren’t allowed in polling places. Texas’ top elections official told the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday its election monitors aren’t permitted in the state’s polling places after the … Continue reading

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Nevaeh Crain

ProPublica said it had two stories of women who died after being unable to get an abortion during a miscarriage. This is the second one. Candace Fails screamed for someone in the Texas hospital to help her pregnant daughter. “Do … Continue reading

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Josseli Barnica

Remember her name. Josseli Barnica grieved the news as she lay in a Houston hospital bed on Sept. 3, 2021: The sibling she’d dreamt of giving her daughter would not survive this pregnancy. The fetus was on the verge of … Continue reading

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Once again with SCOTx and abortion

I’d like to think abortion will make a difference in the Supreme Court races, but it’s not so easy. Three Texas Supreme Court seats are up for grabs this November and, for the first time in a long time, Republican … Continue reading

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A further clipping of Paxton’s wings

This could be big. A federal magistrate judge has struck down a 100-plus year old Texas statute authorizing the state’s attorney general to investigate certain businesses and organizations for violating state laws. Judge Mark Lane of the Western District of … Continue reading

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DACA at the Fifth Circuit

A big week for that terrible court. On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. The hearing is the latest … Continue reading

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“Wrongful death” anti-abortion lawsuit dropped

Good. A Texas man who sued three women for allegedly helping his ex-wife obtain a medication abortion, one of the first and most explosive lawsuits after Texas began banning the procedure, has dropped his claims, according to defendants. The wrongful … Continue reading

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Of course Ted Cruz doesn’t want to talk about abortion

He has nothing good to say and he’s trying not to lose. Simple as that. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been a loud anti-abortion crusader throughout his political career. But as reproductive rights loom over the election season as a … Continue reading

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SCOTUS leaves Texas anti-EMTALA ruling in place

Another reminder of what the stakes are this election, in case you needed it. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading

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Court reform has to be about more than just SCOTUS

Exhibit A. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to court on Thursday to press his case against the Biden administration’s workforce protections for transgender employees. Texas’s lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and … Continue reading

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