Abortion

Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to abortion clinic buffer zones

A divided Supreme Court on Monday turned away a pair of free speech challenges by abortion opponents to city laws in New Jersey and Illinois that restrict protests directly outside clinics and hospitals where abortions are performed.

Feb 24, 2025 12:58 PM CST

New York won’t comply with extradition of abortion provider, governor says

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will not comply with a request to extradite to Louisiana a New York doctor who faces a criminal charge there for allegedly prescribing abortion-inducing drugs. Hochul told reporters she had received the extradition order on Thursday and would not sign it. “Doctors take an oath to protect their patients,” she said on social media. “I took an oath to protect all New Yorkers.”

Feb 14, 2025 9:10 AM CST

SCOTUS will decide whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over state’s defunding of Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over South Carolina’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood.

Dec 23, 2024 9:23 AM CST

Texas AG sues out-of-state doctor over mail-order abortion pills

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued a New York doctor this week for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a suburban Dallas woman in violation of Texas law—setting up the first major legal challenge to “shield laws” enacted by some Democratic-led states to protect doctors providing abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

Dec 16, 2024 10:30 AM CST

Idaho can enforce ban on aid to minors who leave state for abortions, with one exception, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has blocked just one provision of Idaho’s abortion-trafficking law that bans aid to minors getting abortions.

Dec 3, 2024 10:15 AM CST

Anti-abortion princess explains her friendship with Justice Alito after he discloses $900 gift

A German princess has said she first met U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at a Catholic conference while summering in Rome.

Oct 23, 2024 12:18 PM CDT

Supreme Court allows HHS to divert funds over abortion referrals

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Biden administration to strip millions of health care dollars from Oklahoma over its refusal to direct patients to information about abortions—a federal requirement that the state says would be at odds with its strict ban on terminating pregnancies.

Sep 5, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

5th Circuit becomes ‘proving ground’ for aggressive arguments by conservatives

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans has become "a proving ground for some of the most aggressive conservative arguments in American law,” according to the New York Times.

Sep 4, 2024 8:59 AM CDT

151-year-old Comstock Act is ‘relic’ that should be overturned, House urges

The House of Delegates urged the U.S. Congress to repeal a 151-year-old law that could be used to ban abortions at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago on Monday.

Aug 5, 2024 12:39 PM CDT

Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today

Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode.

Jul 10, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS term reveals deeply divided justices frustrated with one another

At times, some have referred to the Supreme Court as “nine scorpions in a bottle.” That metaphor seems especially appropriate this year, though I would describe them as “nine angry scorpions in a bottle.” There is a strong sense that it is a deeply divided court. There were a total of 59 opinions, and 23 were 6-3 and another five were 5-4.

Jul 3, 2024 8:44 AM CDT

‘Storm clouds loom ahead’ after Supreme Court dismisses abortion dispute, Justice Jackson says

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday turned aside an Idaho abortion dispute, which had the effect of blocking Idaho from enforcing its abortion ban in emergency situations.

Jun 27, 2024 11:04 AM CDT

Supreme Court would allow emergency abortions in Idaho, Bloomberg reports

The Supreme Court would allow emergency abortion care in Idaho for now despite the state’s restrictions on the procedure, according to Bloomberg Law, which viewed a copy of a not-yet-released opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website Wednesday.

Jun 26, 2024 1:11 PM CDT

Law students support free speech but want LSAT and bar exams gone, new survey says

The vast majority of law students support free speech, and more than half say the LSAT and bar exams must go, according to a new survey released by the Buckley Institute at Yale University.

Jun 25, 2024 11:34 AM CDT

Justice Thomas questions associational standing; would his view end diversity challenges?

Justice Clarence Thomas took a dim view of associational standing in a concurrence last week to the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion drug mifepristone decision, a stance that could interfere with diversity challenges.

Jun 18, 2024 12:14 PM CDT