Indiana abortion clinics stop providing abortions ahead of near-total abortion ban taking effect
Indianaโs six abortion clinics have stopped providing abortions ahead of the stateโs near-total abortion ban officially taking effect and as a petition is pending before the stateโs high court asking it to keep the ban on hold while legal action continues.
Planned Parenthood plans mobile abortion clinic in Illinois
Planned Parenthood officials have announced plans for a mobile abortion clinic, a 37-foot RV that will stay in Illinois but travel close to the borders of adjoining states that have banned abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
Arizona abortion clinics send women to other states
Women seeking abortions across Arizona were forced to find alternatives beyond the stateโs borders after a court ruling last week cleared the way for prosecutors to charge doctors and others who help a woman end a pregnancy unless her life is in danger.
A West Texas coffee shop owner is giving away Plan B for free as fight over contraception access takes hold
Last May, Lubbock became the biggest city in Texas to ban abortion within city limits. Now, with abortion outlawed throughout the Lone Star State, the fight over reproductive rights is taking a new turn.
The U.S. Supreme Court gave Texas abortion clinics a victory in 2016. Then Trump was elected.
In 2016, the Supreme Court blocked onerous regulations that had shuttered half of Texasโ abortion providers. On Friday, the courtโs new conservative majority cited that case in overturning the constitutional protection for abortion.
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Texas abortion law a โradical expansionโ of who can sue whom, and an about-face for Republicans on civil lawsuits
Senate Bill 8, which allows anyone to sue anyone who performs or aids in an abortion, marks an unprecedented change to who has standing to bring a lawsuit. The tactic is also an emerging trend in Republican-dominated states that may compromise constitutional rights, some legal experts said.
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Texas can ban common abortion procedure in second trimester, appeals court rules
The ruling is yet another blow to reproductive rights advocates after Texas passed a law this year that goes into effect Sept. 1 banning abortions as early as six weeks. That law is also currently being challenged in court.
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Lawsuit to block Lubbock's abortion ban is dismissed in court as the ordinance takes effect
Planned Parenthood sued to block the "sanctuary city for the unborn" ordinance, passed by voters in May, but a federal judge said he didn't have jurisdiction to hear the case. The ordinance went into effect June 1.
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Judge rejects bid by Planned Parenthood to stay in Medicaid, affecting health service for thousands of low-income Texans
Planned Parenthood cannot stop Texas officials from kicking it out of the state's Medicaid program, a state district judge ruled Wednesday. The decision is the latest in Texas officialsโ years-long effort to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. A state district judge granted a temporary restraining order on Feb. 3, delaying the state from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid. The 2016 notice of termination never took effect, he said; Planned Parenthood has continued to treat Medicaid patients. Abbott, in a tweet deemed โfalseโ by Politifact, has said โinnocent lives will be savedโ by ending taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
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New SC abortion law remains on hold under judge's order
South Carolina Gov. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)COLUMBIA, S.C. โ A new South Carolina law banning abortions will stay on hold following a judge's order on Friday to extend a temporary restraining order. Lewis initially suspended the โ South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act โ on its second day in effect, following a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood. Federal law supersedes state law. Planned Parenthood has indicated they plan to oppose McMaster's request to take part in the case, according to the governor's attorneys.
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Court to take up Trump immigration, abortion referral rules
FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen in Washington. The Supreme Court will take up challenges to controversial Trump administration policies affecting family-planning clinics and immigrants, even though the Biden administration has announced it is reviewing them. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON โ The Supreme Court said Monday it will take up challenges to controversial Trump administration policies affecting family-planning clinics and immigrants, even though the Biden administration has announced it is reviewing them. Last month, Biden also ordered a review of Trump's restrictions on family-planning clinics that caused Planned Parenthood to withdraw from the funding program, rather than stop abortion referrals. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the rule, in a lawsuit filed by the city of Baltimore.
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South Carolina abortion law suspended 1 day after passage
South Carolina Gov. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)COLUMBIA, S.C. โ South Carolinaโs new law banning most abortions was suspended by a federal judge Friday on its second day in effect. AdThe โ South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act " is similar to abortion restriction laws that a dozen states have previously passed. Federal law, which takes precedence over state law, currently allows abortion. AdPlanned Parenthood lawyers noted that South Carolina legislators this year did not change part of state law that said fetuses are considered viable in the 24th week of pregnancy.
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SC governor signs abortion ban; Planned Parenthood sues
South Carolina Gov. Planned Parenthood immediately sued, effectively preventing the new law from taking effect. The โSouth Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, is similar to abortion restriction laws that a dozen states have previously passed. Moments after the Thursday vote, Planned Parenthood announced that it was filing a lawsuit. The South Carolina law, like those of other states that are currently being challenged, is โblatantly unconstitutional,โ said Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
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Planned Parenthood sues to block South Carolina abortion ban
South Carolina Rep. David Hiott, R-Pickens, says a prayer as the House votes on a bill that would ban most abortions in the state on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021 in Columbia, S.C. The โSouth Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act,โ like other similar laws currently being challenged, is โblatantly unconstitutional,โ said Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that abortion is legal until a fetus is viable outside the womb โ months after a heartbeat can be detected, Black noted. State bills to restrict or ban abortion โare plainly absurd,โ Black said. The abortion ban would fall hardest on low-income women, who wouldn't be able to travel to a nearby state where abortion is still permitted, the suit says.
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Texas Congressional Democrats urge Gov. Greg Abbott to let Planned Parenthood stay on Medicaid
Greg Abbott to reverse a yearslong effort to boot Planned Parenthood from the stateโs Medicaid program, saying it jeopardizes thousands of low-income Texansโ ability to access nonabortion health services. Their plea comes just days after a state district judge temporarily stopped the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, a government health insurance program for the poor. Planned Parenthood has donated fetal tissue for research, which is legal. State health officials granted a 30-day grace period that was slated to end Feb. 3. Escobar and the other congress members have asked Abbott to allow Planned Parenthood to remain as a provider.
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Planned Parenthood files emergency lawsuit to try to stop Texas from kicking it off Medicaid
Planned Parenthood on Wednesday said it filed an emergency lawsuit to stop Texas from kicking it out of Medicaid, in a last ditch effort to keep providing non-abortion services to some 8,000 low-income patients. AdIn Texas, Medicaid primarily provides health insurance for children, and those who have a disability, are pregnant or are parents. Planned Parenthood on Wednesday said it filed an emergency lawsuit to stop Texas from kicking it out of Medicaid, in a last ditch effort to keep providing non-abortion services to some 8,000 low-income patients. AdIn Texas, Medicaid primarily provides health insurance for children, and those disabled, pregnant or who are parents. A lower court blocked the state from removing Planned Parenthood from Medicaid in 2017.
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In win for Planned Parenthood, U.S. Supreme Court wipes case law supporting Texas pandemic abortion ban from the books
Credit: Stephen Spillman for The Texas TribuneSign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday voided rulings from lower courts that upheld a ban on most abortions in Texas early in the coronavirus pandemic. The high court vacated two rulings from the lower U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with Texas GOP officials arguing that Gov. The executive order ended over the summer, allowing abortions in the state to resume, but Planned Parenthood has said leaving the lower court rulings on the books would set harmful legal precedent for abortion rights advocates. Disclosure: Planned Parenthood has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.
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Low-income Texans struggle to find new doctors as state officials boot Planned Parenthood off Medicaid
Lisa, an anonymous HPV patient living in a Houston hotel to escape domestic abuse, navigates the uncertainties of Planned Parenthood being withdrawn from Medicaid coverage. The stateโs health commission gave Planned Parenthood's Medicaid patients until Feb. 3 to find new doctors. Lisa is one of more than 8,000 Medicaid patients, many of them women of color, who were seen at Planned Parenthood clinics across Texas in 2019. A lower court blocked the state from cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in 2017, but the conservative 5th U.S. Greg Abbott, who pushed to expel Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, did not respond to a request for comment.
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Texas gives Medicaid recipients using Planned Parenthood until Feb. 3 to find new health care provider
Thousands of low-income Medicaid recipients who rely on Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services like cancer screenings and birth control will have until Feb. 3 to find new health care providers, according to a letter sent from the stateโs Health and Human Services Commission to the womenโs health provider Monday. Texas has a shortage of Medicaid providers in part because of the low reimbursement rates, the organization said. The court case stemmed from a debunked video released in 2015 that suggested abortion providers at Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue for profit. Planned Parenthood has donated fetal tissue for research, which is legal. Disclosure: Planned Parenthood has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.
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Planned Parenthood urges Texas to let it stay under Medicaid program
A nurse with a patient at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin. Planned Parenthood is asking Texas to delay kicking the womenโs health provider out of Medicaid in an effort to secure medical coverage for more than 8,000 Medicaid patients who rely on the group. The allegations in the video, made by anti-abortion advocates, have been categorically denied by Planned Parenthood, and investigations into the video have been unable to prove any wrongdoing. Following last monthโs ruling, Planned Parenthood said removing them from the Medicaid program was a โblatantly political attackโ by the state of Texas. Disclosure: Planned Parenthood has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.
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US won't seek death penalty in Planned Parenthood case
DENVER โ Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they will not seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing three people and injuring nine others at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015. The move comes about a year after Dear was charged in federal court after his prosecution in state court stalled. The decision not to seek the death penalty follows the resumption of federal executions under the Trump administration and as the Justice Department continues to seek the death penalty in other cases in the administration's waning days. The death penalty has usually been taken off the table in cases in which mental illness is a factor, such as in the Unabomber case, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Prosecutors who are not seeking to pursue the death penalty for political reasons need to consider whether they are likely to succeed in convincing a jury to impose the death penalty in expensive and complicated death penalty cases prone to appeals, he said.
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Court: Texas, Louisiana can end Planned Parenthood funding
While it expressly reversed decisions in Texas and Louisiana, it also affects Mississippi, which is under 5th Circuit jurisdiction. Opponents of legal abortion have long sought to deny federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reverses an earlier ruling by a three-judge appellate panel that blocked Texas from enforcing its ban on Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood. It also expressly reversed a ruling in a separate case blocking Louisiana from banning Planned Parenthood funding. Investigations by 13 states into those videos have concluded without criminal charges, and Planned Parenthood officials have denied any wrongdoing.
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Supreme Court changes fuel moves to protect abortion access
A vast swath of West Texas has been without an abortion clinic for more than six years. That law led to the closure of more than half the stateโs 41 abortion clinics before the Supreme Court struck down key provisions in 2016. Women in Lubbock faced a 310-mile (500-kilometer) drive to the nearest abortion clinic in Fort Worth. Texas is one of several red states where Planned Parenthood has sought to expand abortion access. Missouri, for example, bars the use of telemedicine for abortion services, a policy that has sharply limited the number of medication abortions.
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KSAT Kids: Today in History, Oct. 16
Today is Friday, Oct. 16, the 290th day of 2020. On Oct. 16, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba. In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 21 men in a raid on Harpers Ferry in western Virginia. In 1901, Booker T. Washington dined at the White House as the guest of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose invitation to the Black educator sparked controversy. In 1995, a vast throng of Black men gathered in Washington, D.C. for the โMillion Man Marchโ led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
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Doctors ask Supreme Court to strike down Trump abortion rule
WASHINGTON โ The nation's largest doctors' group on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strike down a Trump administration rule that's had a far-reaching impact on family planning by prohibiting taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. But the changes to Title X, as the federal family planning program is known, are already in effect โ and getting much less attention. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden promises to rescind the Trump administration's family planning rule and also supports allowing federal programs to pay for abortions. But the AMA says regardless of who wins the election, it believes the Supreme Court should address the issue and overturn the Trump administration rule. โWe can't afford to walk away from that progress.โJoining the AMA's petition are the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, and Essential Access Health, which administers the Title X family planning program in California.
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Gov. Greg Abbott used pandemic as cover to ban abortions in Texas, former Planned Parenthood head says
Greg Abbott used the pandemic as a guise to limit access to abortion. Greg Abbott of using the coronavirus pandemic as a guise to end abortion access in Texas. During the month-long period when Texas was shut down, top state officials and the courts effectively banned nearly all abortions. Circuit Court of Appeals largely sided with state officials throughout the legal back and forth. In the initial weeks of the pandemic, a number of states including Texas tried to ban abortions as part of emergency orders.
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Judge tosses Trump rule on billing for abortion coverage
WASHINGTON A federal judge in Baltimore on Friday struck down a Trump administration rule that abortion rights advocates called a maneuver to restrict access but officials defended as merely following the law. The judge's ruling means insurers can continue to make the charge for abortion coverage a line item on their monthly bill, or just give policyholders notice that it's included. Abortion opponents cried foul, saying separate bills should be mandatory because that would clearly reflect the intent of the law. The Trump administration, which takes its lead on social issues from religious conservatives, agreed. They argued that the requirement to send separate bills could prompt insurers to drop coverage for abortions and would create confusion for policyholders.
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Treasury chief refusing to disclose recipients of virus aid
(Al Drago/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON Building ramparts of secrecy around a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has moved from delay to denial in refusing outright to disclose the recipients of taxpayer-funded loans. About 10 weeks after the program was launched, the SBA says it has processed 4.5 million loans worth $511 billion. While the SBA administers the program, Mnuchins Treasury Department has ultimate control over it. We believe that thats proprietary information, and in many cases, for sole proprietors and small businesses, is confidential information, Mnuchin said during the hearing by the Senate Small Business Committee. Praise for the small-business loan program flowed to Mnuchin and Carranza at the hearing from senators from both parties, who cited the positive economic impact across the country.