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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.