North Carolina Governor Signs Amendment to 12 Week Abortion Ban into Law

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina signed an amendment to the state’s 12-week abortion ban into law late Thursday evening.

The legislation is currently under review by a federal judge after a lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, who argued that the law was vague and potentially violated women’s constitutional rights, according to CNN. Republicans introduced and passed an amendment Tuesday to the bill to clarify some of the language, which Roy signed before the new abortion law takes effect on July 1.

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North Carolina Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto of 12-Week Abortion Ban

North Carolina lawmakers on Tuesday overrode the veto of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to enshrine into law a ban on most abortions in the state after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Both chambers of the legislature have Republican supermajorities, though the governor had hoped at least one Republican lawmaker would vote to uphold his veto and traveled the state last week to convince a lawmaker to take that stance, the Associated Press reported.

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Judge Rules State Legislative Leaders Can Intervene in Lawsuit to Protect Arizona Abortion Ban

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes released an order Wednesday stating that Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) may intervene in a court case involving an abortion ban law enacted in 2021.

“When it became clear that Attorney General [Kris] Mayes [D] would not defend Arizona’s law prohibiting discriminatory abortions, the Legislature had to step in. I applaud the federal court’s order recognizing our legislative authority and granting our motion to intervene to defend the constitutionality of this law,” Toma said in a statement emailed to The Sun Times.

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South Carolina Supreme Court Axes State’s Abortion Ban

South Carolina’s Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state law restricting abortions at around six weeks, finding that it violated the state constitution.

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill into law in February 2021 barring abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen at around six weeks into a pregnancy. The state can limit a woman’s privacy rights with regard to abortion decisions, but only after she’s been given “reasonable” time to pursue an abortion legally, the court found.

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Center for Arizona Policy’s Cathi Herrod: Abortion Clinics Are Reportedly Getting Around Arizona’s Abortion Law

After the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich declared that Arizona’s old law banning almost all abortions was back in effect. Some abortion doctors and clinics have been finding ways around it, even though legal challenges successfully got an injunction put in place temporarily halting the 1901 law last Friday. Arizona’s new law banning abortions after 16 weeks, which went into effect this month, has survived requests for injunctions.

Cathi Herrod, the president of the Center for Arizona Policy, posted a statement on the local conservative tipsheet Republican Briefs about what has been reported occurring. “At least one Arizona abortion ‘clinic’ is now reportedly giving pregnant women ultrasounds to determine gestational age, then facilitating a telehealth appointment with a California doctor, who then sends the abortion pills to a post office in a California/Arizona border town to be picked up by the expectant woman,” she said. “Another abortion ‘clinic’ reportedly has been referring women to a doctor in another country with the abortion pills then being mailed to an Arizona woman from India. Still, others are raising funds to pay for women to travel to other states for abortions. One abortionist sends women to his facility in Las Vegas for abortions.”

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‘Satanic Temple’ Sues Indiana over Abortion Ban

A group called “The Satanic Temple” has sued the State of Indiana to block its near-complete ban on abortions, per a lawsuit filed in federal court on Sept. 21.

The group, naming the state’s Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and Attorney Gen. Todd Rokita, as respondents, filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. It claims to be filing the suit on behalf of a female member of the group that became “involuntarily pregnant” and wishes to terminate the pregnancy.

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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich Cheers Pima County Judge Ruling Which Reinstates Territorial-Era Law

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) applauded the ruling from a Pima County judge Friday, which reinstated Arizona’s law prohibiting abortions.

“A Pima County judge lifted an injunction that was placed on Arizona’s abortion statute,” said Brnovich. “We applaud the court for upholding the will of the legislature and providing clarity and uniformity on this important issue. I have and will continue to protect the most vulnerable Arizonans.”

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Court Allows Arizona’s Near-Total Abortion Ban to Go into Effect

Arizona’s Pima County Superior Court lifted an injunction Friday that had prevented enforcement of a state ban on abortion unless necessary to save a mother’s life, allowing the law to go into effect.

The court declared the state measure, now called Arizona Criminal Code § 13-3603, unconstitutional within weeks of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. After Roe v. Wade’s June reversal, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich motioned the Pima County Superior Court to remove the decades-old injunction against enforcing the statute.

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Federal Judge Questions Idaho Abortion Ban in Lawsuit Brought by Biden Administration: Updated

UPDATE: Late Wednesday, Judge Lynn Winmill granted the Biden Department of Justice’s request for an injunction on Idaho’s abortion ban as it pertains to medical emergencies.

Judge B. Lynn Winmill, of U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, said during a hearing regarding the challenge brought against the state by the Biden administration that, although the law allows for abortions to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, doctors who performed the procedure in an emergency might still be hesitant to do so based on their “good faith medical judgment,” as stipulated in the Idaho law.

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South Carolina Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Heartbeat Law

The South Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily blocked continued enforcement of the state’s Heartbeat law, which bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The court’s order Wednesday grants abortion providers an emergency motion that will halt enforcement of the law which has been in effect since June 27, several days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

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Mark Brnovich Files Motion to Fully Reinstate Arizona Abortion Law Which Aims to Ban the Procedure

Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a motion in Pima County Wednesday, which seeks to lift a 50-year-old injunction that puts Arizona’s law banning abortions on hold following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision.

“We believe this is the best and most accurate state of the law,” Brnovich said in a press release. “We know this is an important issue to so many Arizonans, and our hope is that the court will provide clarity and uniformity for our state.”

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Signs Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill into law Wednesday that bans nearly all abortions in the state and allows private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” a woman seeking an abortion.

According to HB4327, abortions are prohibited in Oklahoma unless it is “necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency,” or the pregnancy “is the result of rape, sexual assault, or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.”

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Texas Supreme Court Strikes Major Blow to Abortion Providers’ Lawsuit Against Heartbeat Abortion Ban

Infant with stuffed animal

The Supreme Court of Texas recommended Friday a lawsuit challenging the state’s “heartbeat” abortion ban should be dismissed since it is enforced by “private civil action,” and not state officials.

Justice Jeffrey S. Boyd concluded in the decision regarding the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, that state officials, such as medical licensing boards, cannot enforce the law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected

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Arizona State Senate Passes 15-Week Abortion Ban Modeled After Mississippi Law Awaiting U.S. Supreme Court Decision

The Arizona Republican-led State Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would ban abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, with an exception for medical emergencies.

SB 1164 passed the State Senate by a vote of 16-13, with all Republican members voting in favor, and now heads to the State House.

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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Files Amicus Brief to Ask Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade

Doug Ducey

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Thursday joined 11 other Republican governors and filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to ask the court to overturn Roe v. Wade — which created a federal ban on preventing abortions.

“Every single life has immeasurable value. That includes children who are preborn — and I believe it’s each state’s responsibility to protect them. It is time for the U.S. Supreme Court to fix their mistake and return this authority to the individual states as the democratic process intends,” Governor Ducey said in a statement.

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