Abortion

Justice Ginsburg: Roe v. Wade Decision Came Too Soon

The U.S. Supreme Court may have moved too quickly when it found a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, according to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Speaking at a Columbia Law School symposium on Friday, Ginsburg said the court could have delayed hearing the case while state law evolved…

Feb 13, 2012 12:29 PM CST

Federal Judge in Texas Says Requiring Sonograms Before Abortions to Go Forward

A Texas federal judge ruled today that he would not block a state law requiring women to have a sonogram before having an abortion, following a directive by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the statute is constitutional. Previously U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks had…

Feb 6, 2012 10:59 PM CST

Scalia Denies Abortion Views Influenced by Religion, Calls His GPS Opinion ‘Defendant Friendly’

Updated: Justice Antonin Scalia doesn’t shy from controversy, even before a large crowd of ABA members. On Saturday during the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans, Scalia answered questions posed by Boston University law dean emeritus Ronald Cass and then from the audience. Topics included abortion, religion, lawyer pay and…

Feb 5, 2012 12:03 AM CST

Scalia Avoids Question on Health Care Issues, Hits Undue Burden Standard in Abortion Cases

Justice Antonin Scalia avoided a reporter’s question on health care issues on Thursday after a speech in which he criticized Roe v. Wade and the undue burden standard. A reporter from the Washington Business Journal’s Bizbeat blog caught up with Scalia to ask about the upcoming Supreme Court case testing…

Jan 20, 2012 2:45 PM CST

Appeals Court Overturns Judge Who Ordered Sterilization for Schizophrenic Pregnant Woman

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has overturned an order by a now-retired probate judge who authorized an abortion for a schizophrenic woman and decided sua sponte that she should be sterilized. The appeals court reversed the sterilization order and called for a new evidentiary hearing on the issue of whether the…

Jan 18, 2012 1:15 PM CST

In Speedy Ruling, 5th Circuit Refuses to Block Abortion Sonogram Law

Ruling only six days after hearing oral arguments, a federal appeals court has allowed Texas to enforce a law requiring women to get sonograms before abortions. The opinion (PDF) by Judge Edith Jones of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction issued by U.S.…

Jan 11, 2012 2:36 PM CST

About 40,000 New State Laws Take Effect Across the Nation In 2012

Nearly 40,000 new state laws took effect as merrymakers were ringing in the New Year earlier this week. Changes in abortion laws in New Hampshire, stricter rules governing young athletes in Colorado and even mandates governing golf carts in Georgia, are among the new regulations, MSNBC reports. Eight states will…

Jan 5, 2012 5:34 PM CST

Ohio Fetal Heartbeat Bill Divides Abortion Opponents

Abortion opponents are divided over a pending bill in Ohio that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Ohio Right to Life and the state Catholic conference have refused to endorse the bill because of fears it could result in legal precedent reaffirming Roe v. Wade, the…

Dec 5, 2011 4:44 PM CST

Judge Says New York’s Refusal to Issue ‘Choose Life’ License Plates Violates First Amendment

A federal judge in Syracuse has found the state of New York violated the First Amendment when it rejected a nonprofit group’s request to sponsor “Choose Life” license plates. Senior U.S. District Judge Neal McCurn ruled in favor of the Children First Foundation, a group that supports adoption as an…

Nov 10, 2011 7:13 PM CST

Mississippi Voters Reject Anti-Abortion Constitutional Amendment on ‘Personhood’

Mississippi voters on Tuesday rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that says a fertilized egg is a person. In October, observers were predicting the so-called personhood amendment would succeed. Opponents said the measure would have classified abortion and some kinds of birth control as murder. CNN, the New York Times…

Nov 9, 2011 12:24 PM CST

Abortion Opponents Back Personhood Amendments; Effort Likely to Succeed in Miss., Prof Says

Mississippi voters will be asked to vote Nov. 8 on a “personhood” amendment, a new tack in the abortion fight that is splitting abortion opponents. The proposed state constitutional amendment states that a fertilized egg is a person, effectively classifying abortion and some kinds of birth control as murder, the…

Oct 26, 2011 12:10 PM CDT

GOP Contenders Campaign Against the Federal Judiciary; One Candidate Wants to Ax the 9th Circuit

Six out of eight candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are backing limits on the federal judiciary, ranging from an end to lifetime tenure to impeachment to curbs on jurisdiction. The candidates are criticizing the judiciary even though a majority of judges, including those on the Supreme Court, have been…

Oct 24, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

Scalia Lumps Kelo Decision with Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade

Justice Antonin Scalia predicted Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London will be overturned. Speaking to students at the Chicago-Kent School of Law, Scalia criticized the decision allowing the city of New London to use eminent domain to seize property for economic development, the…

Oct 19, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

Ethics Panel Recommends Indefinite Suspension for Ex-Kansas AG

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline should be indefinitely suspended from practicing law for his alleged misconduct in the handling of criminal investigations of abortion providers in the mid-2000s, a professional ethics panel says. A three-member panel of the state Board for Discipline of Attorneys says Kline repeatedly misled other…

Oct 14, 2011 9:19 PM CDT

Judge Refuses to Block Kansas Law Restricting Insurance Coverage for Abortions

A federal judge refused Thursday to block enforcement of a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions. The law, which took effect July 1, prohibits insurance companies from offering abortion coverage as part of a general health plan, except when a woman’s life is at risk, the Associated Press…

Sep 30, 2011 9:27 PM CDT