Texas Supreme Court Overturns Order Allowing Woman To Get Court-Approved Abortion
A look at some of the other abortion cases coming before state courts this week
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Via: Pew Research
Good morning,
Teenagers or “screen-agers”? Despite growing concerns over social media’s impact, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates – with nearly half describing their social media use as “almost constant,” according to a new survey.
The holidays are a great time to unplug (for kids and adults!).
📝 Here are some suggestions from teens themselves:
You don’t have to reply right away.
Unfollow people and pages that make you feel bad.
Get outside.
Bed isn’t for scrolling!
Now get up and have a great day 😉
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
🗞 COURTS DECIDE ABORTION ACCESS IN HISTORIC CASES
The Texas Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court order allowing an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition. Earlier that day, her lawyers said she had decided to leave Texas for the procedure, regardless of the court decision.
It’s the first case of a pregnant woman seeking a court order for the procedure since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. State Supreme Courts in Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona are set to hear arguments regarding abortion access this week.
The rulings could have lasting impacts, not just for the states, but for the rest of the country.
TEXAS: MEDICAL EXCEPTION
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, asked the nonprofit Center for Reproductive Rights for legal help in obtaining an emergency abortion in Texas after she learned on Nov. 27 that her fetus had Trisomy 18, also called Edwards syndrome.
The genetic condition ends almost all such pregnancies in miscarriage or stillbirth, and babies who do survive often die prematurely.
Cox’s doctor warned that carrying the pregnancy to term could jeopardize her health and future fertility.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, an elected Democrat, granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday that would allow Cox to have an abortion. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) asked the Texas Supreme Court to block the abortion. The Court agreed to weigh in on the matter and froze the lower court's decision.
🚨 On Monday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the lower court made a mistake in ruling that the woman was entitled to a medical exception.
In its seven-page ruling, the Supreme Court found that Ms. Cox’s doctor “asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires…. “These laws reflect the policy choice that the Legislature has made, and the courts must respect that choice.”
Texas only allows for abortions when a pregnancy seriously threatens the health or life of the woman.
States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat. Via: Washington Post
STATES DECIDE
Roe v. Wade governed reproductive rights for nearly half a century until the Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2022, leaving states with the final say.
ARIZONA:
At the time, Arizona had two seemingly conflicting abortion laws on the books: a 2022 law outlawing abortion after 15 weeks and a near-total ban from 1864.
Abortion providers didn't know which law to follow, until the Arizona Court of Appeals decided to "harmonize" the state's conflicting abortion laws last December.
Judges said the 1864 near-total ban should apply to non-physicians.
Doctors could follow the newer law and provide abortions up to 15 weeks.
Today, justices – all appointed by Republican governors – will hear arguments if the lower court’s ruling should stand or if the total ban should apply to all abortion providers.
🗳 Regardless of the justices' decision, abortion advocates are already working to have voters decide on abortion access through 2024 ballot measures.
NEW MEXICO:
While abortion is legal in New Mexico, some conservative areas in the state have passed local ordinances restricting abortion providers. New Mexico’s Attorney General asked the state’s Supreme Court to invalidate these bans — arguments will start this week.
The case stems from laws passed in two cities and two counties that banned the shipment of anything used to perform an abortion.
Beyond New Mexico, the case could impact other states since the bans in question all cite the federal Comstock Act.
A 150-year-old federal law which prohibits the mailing of anything that could be used to induce abortion.
Post-Roe, abortion rates in New Mexico have more than tripled as surrounding states have banned or restricted the procedure.
Via: NY Times
WYOMING:
Earlier this year, Judge Melissa Owens temporarily blocked Wyoming's near-total bans on abortion and abortion medication, combining the challenges into one case.
📍 Under the state’s constitution, people have the right to make their own health care. But does abortion qualify as health care? That’s the question before a judge this week.
Some Republican state lawmakers and an anti-abortion group wanted to join the case, but Judge Owens denied their request.
The group appealed that decision to the state’s Supreme Court, which will hear arguments this week.
The temporary block on Wyoming’s ban from Judge Owens is also in court this week.
The case may have to start over to include arguments from the added parties if the state' Supreme Court sides with the conservative groups.
It’s expected that however Judge Owens rules, her decision will be appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
What’s for sure: The abortion debate is just getting started and is expected to be a major factor in the 2024 elections.
✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: Nearly 1 out of 5 women seeking an abortion this past year needed to leave their state to receive care. Back in 2020 that number was 1 in 10.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
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📌 Harvard Alumni Association ‘unanimously and unequivocally’ supports Claudine Gay (CNN)
📌 Supreme Court rejects challenge to Washington state ‘conversion therapy’ ban (NBC NEWS)
📌 Air Force disciplines 15 members over Jack Teixeira's alleged leak of classified national security documents (FOX NEWS)
📌 Biden administration ‘concerned’ about reported Israeli use of white phosphorus: Kirby (THE HILL)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 ‘Verge of complete failure’: Climate summit draft drops the mention of fossil fuel phase-out, angering advocates (CNN)
📌 Hunger, thirst and chaos in southern Gaza as hostilities drive humanitarian aid to the brink of collapse (NBC NEWS)
📌 Ukraine's Zelenskyy makes plea for support during DC visit (AP)
📌 Navalny's team says he has vanished in Russia's prison system (REUTERS)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Dinosaur head found in U.K., and experts say it's one of the most complete pliosaur skulls ever unearthed (CBS NEWS)
📌 Macy's shares surge on hopes for $5.8 billion buyout (BBC)
📌 Regulators caught Wells Fargo, other banks in probe over mortgage pricing discrimination (CNBC)
📌 SpaceX set to launch mysterious X-37B space plane for US military (CNN)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Golden Globes 2024 snubs and surprises: 'The Color Purple,' America Ferrera and more (TODAY)
📌 BTS members RM and V start compulsory military service in South Korea. Band seeks to reunite in 2025 (AP)
📌 Cardi B reveals she has split with husband Offset (BBC)
📌 Bronny James, LeBron James' son, makes college debut since cardiac arrest (NPR)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: DECEMBER 12
1911: Two years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Mona Lisa is recovered inside Italian waiter Vincenzo Peruggia’s hotel room in Florence.
1963: A vinyl long-playing record (“LP”) called John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album sets a record for album sales. A total of 4 million copies sold in the first six days of its release.
1977: “Saturday Night Fever” starring John Travolta had its world premiere; the film was a huge hit, as was the accompanying disco sound track by the Bee Gees.
2000: The U.S. Supreme Court effectively awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, ruling that a fair recount of ballots in Florida could not be performed by the deadline for certifying the state's electors.