Conservative justices skeptical federal law requires emergency room abortions

Conservative Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism Wednesday that federal law can require hospitals to provide emergency abortion care in states with strict bans on the procedure, marking the latest legal battle over abortion access since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.

Apr 25, 2024 2:15 PM CDT

The fate of emergency abortion care rests with Supreme Court

Shanae Smith-Cunningham arrived at Memorial Regional Hospital on Dec. 21, 2022 - five days after her water broke, only halfway through her pregnancy. Despite her pleas for treatment and the risks to her health, staff at the Hollywood, Fla., hospital turned her away amid the state’s new abortion restrictions.

Apr 23, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

Arizona Supreme Court issues near-total ban on abortion

Arizona’s conservative Supreme Court on Tuesday revived a near-total ban of abortion, invoking a 1864 law that forbids the procedure except to save a mother’s life and punishes providers with prison time.

Apr 9, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Florida Supreme Court allows one of nation’s strictest abortion bans to take effect

Florida’s conservative supreme court ruled Monday that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion rights, allowing one of the country’s strictest and most far-reaching abortion bans to take effect May 1.

Apr 2, 2024 4:00 PM CDT

A ‘divinely created’ being: States try to define fetal personhood

When is a human embryo not simply a clump of cells but a person with distinct legal rights? The answer, which holds much consequence in a post-Roe world, depends on the state where that embryo resides.

Apr 1, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill

The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to limit access to mifepristone, a key medication that is used in more than 60 percent of U.S. abortions and has emerged as the next front in the battle over how and whether women can terminate their pregnancies.

Mar 27, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

Supreme Court revisits abortion debate in case over access to pregnancy-ending drug

Next week, a case about federal regulation of the primary drug used in medication abortions will be taken up by the justices, returning a major issue in the abortion debate to them perhaps sooner than they would have wished.

Mar 21, 2024 10:34 AM CDT

Fourth couple sues Alabama clinic at heart of IVF court ruling

A Florida couple has sued the Alabama in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic at the heart of the state’s consequential state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children, becoming the fourth set of plaintiffs to pursue a wrongful-death claim over destroyed frozen embryos from a 2020 incident that in recent weeks has thrown the state’s legal landscape for IVF into uncertainty.

Mar 5, 2024 2:45 PM CST

DA acknowledges unwarranted prosecution of woman for ‘clearly not criminal’ abortion

The district attorney in Starr County, Texas, has agreed to a one-year probated suspension for the murder prosecution of a woman who had a self-induced abortion.

Mar 4, 2024 9:20 AM CST

Alabama justice who quoted Bible in IVF case often invokes religion

In the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos are people, Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote a concurring opinion that sought to define the “sanctity of unborn life,” citing heavily from scripture and theology. His opinion, which drew criticism from abortion rights activists for instilling religious beliefs into a judicial decision, was the latest in nearly 20 years on the bench in which he has repeatedly invoked religion on his way to laying the groundwork to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Feb 27, 2024 1:45 PM CST

Frozen embryos are children, Ala. high court says in unprecedented ruling

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are people and someone can be held liable for destroying them, a decision that reproductive rights advocates say could imperil in vitro fertilization (IVF) and affect the hundreds of thousands of patients who depend on treatments like it each year.

Feb 20, 2024 9:00 AM CST

Texas lawyer’s sentence for spiking wife’s drinks with abortion drug was ‘profound injustice,’ she says

The wife of a Texas lawyer accused of spiking her drinks with an abortion drug isn’t satisfied with the sentence that he received last week following his guilty plea.

Feb 13, 2024 8:37 AM CST

Do state abortion bans conflict with federal Medicare funding law? Delegates take a position

Resolution 507 opposes all legislation, regulations, administrative interpretations and litigation that restrict the right of health care providers or hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide patients with abortions in emergency situations.

Feb 5, 2024 6:03 PM CST

Is BigLaw mostly liberal? SCOTUS amicus briefs indicate answer is yes, especially in significant cases

Large law firms are showing their ideological leanings in U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs filed on behalf of likely pro bono clients, according to a study by a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Jan 17, 2024 3:59 PM CST

Florida prosecutor ousted by DeSantis gets chance to prove First Amendment claims

Ousted Hillsborough County, Florida, State Attorney Andrew Warren is getting a chance to seek reinstatement on First Amendment grounds as a result of a federal appeals court’s ruling Wednesday.

Jan 11, 2024 8:53 AM CST