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https://lnkd.in/eNAqk65W #Child #rape #survivors face extraordinary barriers in states with #abortion bans Child rape survivors face extraordinary barriers in states with abortion bans Since fall of Roe, 14 states have passed near-total abortion bans – most with no exceptions for rape or incest survivors ..."When a minor child is a survivor of incest, it is often the primary caregiver – parent, step-parent or grandparent – that has raped them, Dr Peta-gay Ledbetter, a psychotherapist and former maternity nurse working with low-income populations in Texas, said. That makes it even less likely she or a relative will report the crime to law enforcement. Ledbetter said she had seen a 10-year old become pregnant after her mother’s boyfriend sexually assaulted her, with the mother’s knowledge. “Her little body was unable to carry the pregnancy, and she started to have a uterine rupture before the fetus was at a viable gestation.” The complications of preterm labor and uterine rupture necessitated a C-section to save the child’s life; the fetus did not survive. “An abortion would have saved this 10-year-old child great suffering and trauma for the rest of her life,” Ledbetter said. ... Some lawmakers have tried to introduce carve-outs to abortion bans for minors but have faced pushback in conservative states. In May 2024, a legislative committee in Louisiana rejected a bill that would have added cases of rape and incest as exceptions to Louisiana’s abortion ban. They also rejected an amendment brought by the Democratic state representative Delisha Boyd, which would have narrowed the bill to apply only to minors under the age of 17. Other states are seeking to make it even harder for children to access care. Laws in Idaho and Tennessee seek to punish any adult who helps a minor cross state lines for an abortion. Such laws are “falsely presented as ‘parents’ rights’ measures”, says Alison Brysk, a political science professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who researches the politics of abortion. “This means that the access to abortion for a child impregnated by parental abuse could depend upon the permission of the very person who abused them.”...

Abortion bans and restrictions limit women's participation in the workforce, according to a new analysis that quantifies the negative impacts on state economies. #SouthDakota saw an average loss in #GDP of nearly 1% per year between 2021 and 2023, due to a drop in labor force participation by people who became pregnant and didn't have access to abortion care, according to data from the Institute for Women's Policy Research. That adds up to nearly $641 million in economic losses to the state. Dr. Jamila Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said the 16 states with abortion bans or extreme restrictions, including South Dakota, are costing the national economy $68 billion annually. "Not only do these restrictions and bans have a clear impact on the health and well being of people with the ability to get pregnant, they also have an impact on their productivity and their economic position in life," Taylor said. Taylor added abortion access not only helps family finances, but also allows women ages 15 to 44 to engage more broadly in society -- in local communities or politics, for example. Despite restrictions, abortion numbers are rising. The first full calendar year after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade saw an 11% increase in abortions since 2020 - or over one million abortions in the formal health care system in 2023, according to The Guttmacher Institute. If voters pass South Dakota's constitutional Amendment G in November, it will enshrine protections to abortion. Hannah Haksgaard, University of South Dakota law professor, said even if it passes, people seeking an in-state abortion would likely see a lag time before services become available. "There would still likely be state legislation that would try to restrict abortion in certain ways, and then the question would become whether those restrictions violated the new constitutional amendment," she said. Haksgaard added that could make providers move slowly on offering abortion services in the state, until the legal issues are settled.

New Post: Arizona House votes to overturn century-old abortion ban, paving way to leave 15-week limit in place -Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Abortion rights supporters demonstrate at the Arizona House of Representatives in Phoenix on April 17, 2024. CNN  —  The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban, setting the stage for a repeal that would leave the state’s 15-week restriction on the procedure in place. The vote... Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Abortion rights supporters demonstrate at the Arizona House of Representatives in Phoenix on April 17, 2024. CNN  —  The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban, setting the stage for a repeal that would leave the state’s 15-week restriction on the procedure in place. The vote comes after two failed attempts by state House lawmakers to bring the bill to the floor last week. Arizona GOP candidates in competitive races have been scrambling to distance themselves from the state Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that Arizona must adhere to the 1864 law that bars all abortions except in cases when “necessary” to save a pregnant woman’s life. The law also carries a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is expected to sign the repeal legislation – which would also require passage in the state Senate – if lawmakers advance it to her desk. If a repeal fails, the 1864 law could take effect as early as June 8, making Arizona one of more than a dozen states that bans abortion at virtually all stages of pregnancy with few exceptions. If it succeeds, Arizona’s 15-week restriction on abortions will continue to be state law. In March 2022, months before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law the state’s 15-week limit, which has no exceptions for rape or incest. That legislation stated explicitly that it did not overrule the 1864 law. The Civil War-era abortion ban dates to before statehood, when Arizona was a territory, and it was codified in 1901. It remained in effect until 1973, when it was blocked by a court injunction after Roe v. Wade created a federal constitutional right to an abortion. Abortion rights advocates are currently working to place a constitutional amendme

New Post: Arizona House votes to overturn century-old abortion ban, paving way to leave 15-week limit in place -Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Abortion rights supporters demonstrate at the Arizona House of Representatives in Phoenix on April 17, 2024. CNN  —  The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban, setting the stage for a repeal that would leave the state’s 15-week restriction on the procedure in place. The vote... Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Abortion rights supporters demonstrate at the Arizona House of Representatives in Phoenix on April 17, 2024. CNN  —  The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban, setting the stage for a repeal that would leave the state’s 15-week restriction on the procedure in place. The vote comes after two failed attempts by state House lawmakers to bring the bill to the floor last week. Arizona GOP candidates in competitive races have been scrambling to distance themselves from the state Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that Arizona must adhere to the 1864 law that bars all abortions except in cases when “necessary” to save a pregnant woman’s life. The law also carries a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is expected to sign the repeal legislation – which would also require passage in the state Senate – if lawmakers advance it to her desk. If a repeal fails, the 1864 law could take effect as early as June 8, making Arizona one of more than a dozen states that bans abortion at virtually all stages of pregnancy with few exceptions. If it succeeds, Arizona’s 15-week restriction on abortions will continue to be state law. In March 2022, months before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law the state’s 15-week limit, which has no exceptions for rape or incest. That legislation stated explicitly that it did not overrule the 1864 law. The Civil War-era abortion ban dates to before statehood, when Arizona was a territory, and it was codified in 1901. It remained in effect until 1973, when it was blocked by a court injunction after Roe v. Wade created a federal constitutional right to an abortion. Abortion rights advocates are currently working to place a constitutional amendme

New Post: Montana judge declares 3 laws restricting abortion unconstitutional : NPR -A view of the Montana State Capitol on May 3, 2023, in Helena, Montana. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A view of the Montana State Capitol on May 3, 2023, in Helena, Montana. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Three Montana laws restricting abortion rights, including a ban on abortions after 20 weeks,... A view of the Montana State Capitol on May 3, 2023, in Helena, Montana. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A view of the Montana State Capitol on May 3, 2023, in Helena, Montana. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Three Montana laws restricting abortion rights, including a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, have been struck down in court as unconstitutional. District Court Judge Kurt Krueger wrote in his ruling that the regulations attempt to impose severe burdens on abortion access without clear justification or credible evidence. The laws, passed by the Montana legislature in 2021, would have banned abortion at 20 weeks, barred doctors from prescribing medication abortions via telehealth services, required a 24-hour waiting period for medication abortions, and would have required doctors to offer an ultrasound before an abortion. The laws had been blocked by a preliminary injunction that was granted in October 2021. Under the court's ruling, the laws cannot be enforced. Krueger's decision referenced a Montana Supreme Court precedent from 1999 finding the state's constitutional right to privacy protects access to pre-viability abortion. The state's high court reaffirmed that precedent in a ruling last spring. A spokesperson for Attorney General of Montana Austin Knudsen said the state plans to appeal the ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, saying he's committed to "protecting the health and safety of women and unborn babies." Republicans in the state legislature continue to push for restrictions on abortion access. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the Thursday ruling a critical victory. "As we celebrate today, we will continue to build on this win to fight for equitable abortion access in Montana and beyond," McGill said in a statement, adding that Montana will remain a crucial access point for those seeking abortion in the Rocky Mountain West. Several more anti-abortion rights laws are facing court chal

Many Democrats and abortion rights advocates let out a collective sigh of relief on Thursday, when the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a case that sought to restrict access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion.  But they cautioned against calling the decision a win, because of one looming reason: Donald Trump. The Supreme Court rejected the anti-abortion plaintiffs on standing, not on the merits of the case. The ruling didn’t offer any additional protections to mifepristone. Rather, it simply maintains the status quo of abortion access in the U.S. (which, with abortion bans in nearly 20 states, is pretty abysmal). The door is still wide open for continued attacks on mifepristone – and, if Trump is elected, the next assault on abortion, including via medication, could come sooner than you realize. “He has a literal blueprint to expand the chaos and cruelty he’s already created nationwide, even in states where abortion is currently legal,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the Biden-Harris campaign manager, told reporters after the ruling was released. “Trump’s second-term agenda threatens women in all 50 states.” Trump’s anti-abortion allies have outlined the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s second-term agenda in Project 2025, a wish list of extreme policy proposals that would reshape the federal government. There are at least three ways Trump could circumvent Congress and the courts to ban abortion nationwide, including in states where abortion is currently protected.    —Alanna Vagianos (alanna.vagianos@huffpost.com)

🚨➡️ UPDATE: Together with Kansas abortion providers and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, we’ve filed a legal challenge to a new state law that would force providers to interrogate their patients with invasive questions about why they’re seeking abortion care and then report those answers to the state. This outrageous law, known as HB 2749, not only violates patient privacy and jeopardizes provider-patient relationships, it directly threatens Kansans' bodily autonomy and their right to make their own decisions about health care. It also goes against the will of Kansans, who overwhelming support abortion rights and even voted to reject a state constitutional amendment attempting to outlaw abortion in the state just two years ago. “It’s frankly frightening that the state of Kansas is attempting to collect this type of private information, and unclear how it will be used," said @ReproRights attorney Alice Wang. "We are committed to protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of Kansans and people fleeing states where abortion is banned.” With this challenge, we are asking the court to add this challenge to an ongoing case brought on behalf of Kansas abortion providers over other abortion restrictions in the state. HB 2749 and the other laws already included in this lawsuit are part of an anti-democratic trend in Kansas, where anti-abortion lawmakers have persistently advanced legislation that attacks reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. Know this: Every reason is a valid reason. The decision to have an abortion is deeply personal and we will not stand idly by while lawmakers attempt to invade our privacy and control our bodies. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eYCzhhKT

The Abortion issue is going to grow because new laws go on the books on Jan. 01, 2024. States banning Abortion in 2024 will shift at least 5 points from a Red Advantage back to the Blue, in essence, a 10 point shift. If Conservatives wait for the mainstream media to use the 2024 Stricter Abortion laws to crush the Red Wave, the Red Wave will indeed be crushed in 2024. #OneAmericaNewsNetwork, #RealAmericasVoice, #WesternJournal, will prove WORTHLESS when it comes to spreading any warnings about the 2024 Abortion apocalypse that is about to hit the Republican Party. One Conservative State holding their finger in the dike is Florida. Florida has a 15 week Abortion policy that has resulted in a spike in abortions in Florida as neighboring States and Central America flock to Florida for Abortions. However, with the dawn of 2024, many more Conservative States who legislated shorter abortion time permissions will now have those new restrictions going into affect. Florida passed a law allowing a ridiculously short 6 week abortion time span that is has been temporarily conflated while the Florida 15 week Abortion law is adjudicated. If Florida flips from 15 week to a 6 week Abortion window, States surrounding Florida will lose their biggest supplier of abortion options. Not to mention Texas apparently monitoring if people leave their State to have abortions, or giving 10,000 dollar rewards for information leading to a woman who had a secret abortion? Conservative media relies heavily on religions for their foundational financial support. OANN, RAV, and Western Journal will gutlessly encourage their viewers to not talk about Abortion and instead talk about the Economy, gas prices and the border. By keeping Donald Trump busy with indictments, Mr. Trump can't go out on a limb and convince religious conservatives to back off their desire to control every womb in the country. Conservative momentum is going to fall apart very quickly because Conservative Media's tail is wagged by Religious right benefactors. If Conservatives only change course after polls tell them to get out of a woman's womb, any subsequent change will just make the Republican Party look like the Flip Flopper they have always claimed Democrats to be. What dismays me most is the golden rule of gratitude is being ignored by the Christian Right. Rather than worry so much about what one does not own, be grateful that one can practice the right to cherish the birth of their own offspring and show gratitude to God for one's own right to choose life. Give to God what belongs to God, give to the Romans what belongs to the Romans, or at the very least, let them decide for themselves how spiritual they choose to be.

Supreme Court to hear abortion pill arguments in March BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 01/29/24 FILE - Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone, left, and misoprostol, right, at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 22, 2010. Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs use — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024. As states have imposed bans or restrictions or seek to limit abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol have grown. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone, left, and misoprostol, right, at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) The Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 26 in a case that could limit the availability of the common abortion pill mifepristone. The justices will hear an appeal from the Biden administration and the maker of the branded version of mifepristone asking the high court to reverse a ruling from a federal appeals court that significantly curtailed access to the pill, even in states where abortion remains fully legal. The restrictions include banning the pills from being sent through the mail and shortening the window in which mifepristone can be used to terminate pregnancies from the current 10 weeks to seven weeks gestation. About half of all abortions nationwide are performed using mifepristone as the first of a two-pill regimen, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research and advocacy group. It is also used to help manage miscarriages. While the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and has appeared hostile to abortion, an emergency ruling by the court in April has kept access to mifepristone unchanged. The justices rejected a separate appeal from abortion opponents who challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s initial approval of mifepristone as safe and effective in 2000. The availability of abortion pills has made it more difficult for conservative state leaders to enforce state restrictions on abortion because people can order them through mail-order pharmacies or travel out of state to obtain them. Abortion rights advocates argue that availability is one of the primary reasons leaders in the anti-abortion movement have targeted the drugs and fear that no matter what the Supreme Court rules, a Republican administration will try to eliminate access to them nationwide