Latest news with #975
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hourslong hearing highlights continuing tension over Maine abortion laws
Mar. 28—AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers heard hours of testimony Friday on a group of bills that would restrict abortion access, including a proposal that would roll back a 2023 law allowing abortion later in pregnancy. The proposals, all sponsored by Republicans, are unlikely to succeed in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, but they reflect the continuing political tension and debate around abortion that has followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. That tension was on display from the start of Friday's public hearing before the Judiciary Committee when the sponsor of a bill that would repeal laws allowing abortion in Maine notified the committee she was recommending it should not pass, and the committee voted against it. The sponsor said she was concerned it would have unintended consequences for pregnant women. Several people who had come to support the bill then said they were disappointed to hear it had been defeated without a hearing. "I would like to ask this committee why it wants to kill the children of this state," said Josh Whitney, a Pittston resident who had come to testify in support of the bill, LD 975. "I am incredibly disappointed to hear that this bill was pulled from this committee," Whitney said. Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, the committee co-chair, told Whitney and others that because the bill was no longer in front of the committee, they would have to keep their testimony focused on the other bills being heard. After the committee took a brief recess, Carney said the committee would hear testimony in support of LD 975 after all because several people had come to testify on it not knowing the sponsor was requesting it not pass. One man from Louisiana said he had traveled from New Orleans to testify in support of the bill, which he said is needed in every state. "The difference between 975 and the other six bills is it seeks to actually criminalize abortion, not trim around the edges and say, 'You can't flush the dead baby down the toilet anymore,'" said Brian Gunter. "Rather, we're concerned that you don't kill the baby to begin with." Rep. Abigail Griffin, R-Levant, the bill's sponsor, said she is against abortion but asked the committee to reject the bill after hearing concerns it would criminalize women. The bill also redefines the definitions of "human" and "person" in Maine's criminal code to state that life begins at the moment of conception. "The whole purpose of me putting the bill in was to protect the unborn and let women know there are other options," Griffin said. "But there were people who were uncomfortable and said it would criminalize women." In testimony against the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine said it would "criminalize abortion and miscarriage care by equating a fetus to a person and criminalizing all actions related to abortion care the same as a violent crime against another person." Barbara Cray, an opponent of the bill, said she was happy it was rejected by the committee but was still upset it had been proposed at all. "This is a cruel bill," Cray said. "It's meant to control women and deprive them of their rights and create a police state against women. ... I'm glad it was withdrawn, but this did serious damage." Before Friday's hearing started, a handful of abortion opponents protested outside the State House with signs that read, "Stand up for the voiceless" and "This is not healthcare. It's murder." A few dozen counterprotesters chanted, "My body. My choice" and carried their own signs nearby. Inside, supporters of the bills painted them as commonsense measures that would provide additional information and options for women. They said medical abortion needs to be more strictly regulated and spoke against abortion generally, calling it murder. "These bills share a common theme: an inherent respect for the life and dignity of the mother and her unborn child," Holly Lusk, an attorney representing the Christian Civic League of Maine, said in testimony supporting the six bills that were heard. Opponents of the bills said they put up barriers for women to get abortions and infringe on their rights to make their own health care choices. They said abortion is safe and that restrictions can lead to harmful economic and health outcomes for women. "Access to abortion is essential to protect Mainers' agency, autonomy and dignity," said Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs in Maine for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. "These bills are dangerous to Maine people." The proposals include LD 682, which rolls back a change Maine made in 2023 to allow abortion later in pregnancy if it is deemed necessary by a licensed physician. The bill says instead that an abortion could be performed after viability only when it is medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother or when the fetus is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and would die soon after birth. Viability is the point when a prematurely born baby could live outside the womb, typically considered to be 22 to 24 weeks. Sen. David Haggan, R-Hampden, the bill's sponsor, said he sympathizes with Dana Pierce, a Yarmouth woman who inspired the law passed in 2023 after she had to travel to Colorado for an abortion when she found out at 32 weeks that her unborn son had a deadly genetic mutation. But Haggan said the law that was passed is "overly permissive." "My bill is probably the most modest of all bills you will hear today," he told the committee. "It only repeals the extreme language of LD 1619 and will continue to protect the rights of women and families in this tragic situation." Health care providers, including the directors of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Public Health Association, testified against LD 682. "Current law takes into account the professional judgment of health care professionals authorized to perform the abortion," Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine CDC, said in written testimony. "This would be removed by this bill inserting specific standards for women's health care, restricting medical choices and decision making." Other proposals would repeal the requirement that the state cover abortion services for MaineCare recipients and would restrict access to medical abortion. One proposal, LD 886, would prohibit the online purchase of medications to perform abortions and would require a woman opting for a medical abortion to have it overseen in person by a health care professional. Another, LD 887, would require a health care provider to conduct a physical exam and be present in person for a medical abortion. Two bills sponsored by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, LD 1007 and LD 1154, would require providers to inform patients about specific options, including the possibility of reversing abortion medications if a woman quickly changes her mind and supportive care in cases of a fetus diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. The Maine CDC testified that treatment to reverse the effects of abortion medications may not be safe and effective. And committee members raised questions about whether providers are already talking to patients about supportive care options. "I'm not saying it's not being offered, but this would just make sure 100%, it's always offered," said Paul. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP legislators want to overturn abortion law, from total ban to mifepristone restrictions
Roughly two dozen people gathered at the State House on March 27, 2025 for the annual "Hands Around the Capitol' lobbying effort. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star) Republican legislators are proposing a number of changes to the state's abortion laws, including a total ban, removing health insurance coverage and rolling back access to mifepristone. The Judiciary Committee is hearing public testimony starting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday on seven of these bills, which comes after about two dozen people gathered at the State House on Wednesday for the annual 'Hands Around the Capitol' lobbying effort, during which organizers also called on young people to get involved in the anti-abortion movement. House Minority Leader Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) and Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R- Kennebec) spoke at the event, calling for federal intervention to provide resources for women facing unplanned pregnancies and the establishment of pregnancy resource centers. These centers, also called crisis pregnancy centers, often present themselves as a resource for pregnant people, but most are run by anti-abortion groups and do not provide or refer for abortion services. Smith and Bradstreet framed the event as supporting women's rights while providers say the legislation being advocated for would harm women. 'Mainers have made it clear that access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare is essential to their lives. Since the fall of Dobbs in 2022, they have twice elected a pro-reproductive rights majority to the statehouse,' said Maine Family Planning President and CEO George Hill in a statement to Maine Morning Star. Hill said, on the other hand, the bills before the Legislature 'would harm patients' health by limiting access to essential sexual and reproductive health care.' The most extreme of the proposals comes from Rep. Abigail Griffin of Levant in LD 975, which would repeal the state laws authorizing abortion. The bill would also change the definitions of 'human being' and 'person' within the Maine Criminal Code to include 'all human beings beginning at the moment of conception.' These definitions would apply to the statutes prohibiting murder, assault, domestic violence assault and other offenses against a human being or a person. In light of these changes, the bill would also repeal the crimes of elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person and domestic violence elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person. Other proposals take a more targeted approach by seeking to walk back abortion protections added in recent years. Maine shield law protecting reproductive, gender-affirming care takes effect Friday LD 682 would alter the 2023 law that allows abortions late in a pregnancy if a doctor deems the procedure to be necessary. The bill would change the statute to only when it is 'medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother,' rather than when a licensed physician determines it is necessary, or when 'the fetus is diagnosed with a fetal anomaly that will, with a reasonable certainty, result in the death of the child within three months after birth.' The bill would also reestablish criminal penalties for performing an abortion without a license or after viability as well as require that the report of abortions made to the state include the race, marital status and level of education of the person on whom the abortion is performed. It is sponsored by Sen. David Haggan of Penobscot and nine Republican co-sponsors, including Assistant Senate Minority Leader Matthew Harrington of York and Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith of Palermo. Lawmakers' ongoing debates about MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program, are also manifesting in abortion law. Rep. Reagan Paul of Winterport earlier attempted to remove coverage of abortion under MaineCare through a floor amendment in the two-year budget that failed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Maine started requiring MaineCare coverage of abortion in 2019 and has seen proposals to repeal the law every session since. This session, that proposal is in LD 253, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Javner of Chester and co-sponsored by Paul and others. Three bills directly discuss abortion by medication, but two specifically aim to restrict access to it. The vast majority of abortions in Maine last year used medication. Over 80% of Maine Family Planning patients, more than 60% of Mabel Wadsworth patients, and roughly 63% of Planned Parenthood of New England's relied on medication abortion for procedures in 2024, according to the providers. LD 866 would prohibit purchasing or obtaining any abortion drugs online. It would also require a licensed health care professional to oversee medication abortions in person. It's sponsored by Griffin and seven Republican co-sponsors. LD 887 would make it a Class C crime — a low level felony, punishable by up to five years in prison — to provide or attempt to provide an abortion drug to a patient without physically examining the patient, being physically present for the abortion, scheduling a follow-up visit with the patient and providing them with a catch kit and medical waste bag. The bill also would also make manufacturers liable for the improper disposal of abortion drugs, with a civil penalty of $20,000. LD 887 is sponsored by Paul and five Republican co-sponsors, including Griffin and Haggan. Particularly since the overturn in 2022 of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that had established the right to abortion, there have been ongoing attempts to restrict medication abortion across the country, including efforts to reinterpret the dormant Comstock Act to criminalize the mailing of abortion-related drugs and legal challenges to the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected attempts to roll back access to mifepristone. Reproductive health providers call for more state funding as federal threats loom While President Donald Trump has reinstated some of the anti-abortion policies from his first term, the president has yet to act on the FDA's loosening of restrictions to accessing abortion pills since then. On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Trump's pick for FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, who wouldn't commit to specific action on mifepristone during his confirmation hearing, though he's been public about his anti-abortion views. Related to medication abortion, Paul proposed LD 1007, which would add to what health care professionals are required to inform a patient to obtain informed consent for such a procedure. Currently, medical professionals are required to inform the patient at least the following for all abortion procedures: that the person is pregnant, the number of weeks since the probable conception date, the risks associated with the pregnancy and abortion technique to be performed, and, at the patient's request, alternatives to abortion such as adoption and information about economic assistance that can be accessed to help carry the fetus to term. The bill would add to this list, solely for medication abortions, 'specific information about the potential ability of qualified health care professionals to reverse the effects of the abortion.' Paul also proposed LD 1154, which would require that for all abortions, providers also inform patients about something called perinatal hospice services. As defined by the bill text, these services mean comprehensive support after a prenatal diagnosis indicating the fetus has a life-limiting condition and may die before or shortly after birth. The support would start from the time of diagnosis through the time of birth and death of the child, including counseling and medical care by maternal and fetal medical specialists — or also a member of the clergy, social worker or 'specialty nurse focused on alleviating fear and ensuring that the woman and the woman's family experience the life and death of the child in a comfortable and supportive environment.' Eesha Pendharkar contributed reporting to this story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Globe and Mail
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Is Tesla Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold on Ride-Hailing Push in California?
Tesla (TSLA) shareholders are increasingly concerned that CEO Elon Musk's attention is being diverted from the electric vehicle company's core operations. And their worries may not be unfounded. The Musk-led company reported a yearly decline in vehicle deliveries in 2024 for the first time ever. Tesla sold 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, down 1.1% from 2023. Moreover, even the 2% boost in Q4 deliveries to 495,570 vehicles was modest, and projections from analysts at FactSet indicate that Tesla's average vehicle sales price is expected to decline to slightly above $41,000 for the quarter. Adding to the misery, Tesla sales in Europe fell by 45% from the previous year. This has all led to the company's stock correcting by more than 32% on a year-to-date basis, valuing it at a market cap of $915.6 billion. So, to stop his decline, Tesla is looking to diversify its revenue sources. And its latest efforts include a ramp-up of its ride-hailing bet. Tesla Makes a Ride-Hailing Bet According to a recent Bloomberg report, Tesla has submitted an application to the California Public Utilities Commission for a transportation charter-party carrier permit, which would grant the company the ability to own and operate its fleet of vehicles. This move positions Tesla as a direct competitor to established ride-hailing services such as Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT), as well as to Google's (GOOGL) Waymo, which also operates a robotaxi fleet. Previously, Musk stated that Tesla intended to launch its driverless ride-hailing service in Austin by June, with plans to expand to California before year-end, although he did not provide further specifics. The ride-hailing market is a lucrative one that is expected to grow further in the coming years. In 2023, revenue from ride-hailing services in the United States reached approximately $52 billion. This figure is projected to increase to around $61 billion by 2029, indicating a steady upward trend. The number of ride-hailing users in the United States is anticipated to reach 99.94 million by 2029. So, is Tesla's ride-hailing bet enough to warrant an investment? Let's have a closer look. Steady Financials Even after missing revenue and earning estimates in Q4, Tesla reported growth. Its revenue moved up by 2% from the prior year to $25.71 billion, and its earnings increased by 3% in the same period to $0.73, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75. Although the decline in vehicle deliveries was a disappointment, growth in some other key metrics was positive. Tesla reported a 17% and 19% year-over-year rise in charging stations and connectors to 6,975 and 65,495, respectively. Net cash from operating activities came in at $4.8 billion, higher than the previous year's figure of $4.4 billion with a marginal decline in free cash flow to $2.03 billion. Overall, Tesla ended the year with a hefty cash balance of $36.6 billion, much higher than its short-term debt levels of $14.9 billion. Encouraging Developments But…. Beyond its core vehicle manufacturing business, Tesla's high-margin services and energy divisions are playing an increasingly vital role in its financial performance. The company continues to expand its energy operations on a global scale, focusing on solar solutions and Megapack deployments. To support this growth, Tesla has established new production sites in Texas and Shanghai. The Texas facility, in particular, houses a 50,000-GPU compute cluster aimed at optimizing costs and reducing dependence on third-party computing services. This in-house infrastructure will accelerate advancements in Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, aid the development of its Optimus humanoid robot, and further integrate the company's hardware and software ecosystem. At the same time, Tesla's Shanghai-based battery plant has officially begun operations, adding further momentum to the company's energy business. This segment holds immense potential, as demonstrated by products like the Megapack 2 XL, which boasts an energy storage capacity of up to 3.9 megawatt-hours and an inverter output exceeding 1.9 megawatts. To put this into perspective, a single Megapack 2 XL can power approximately 3,600 homes for an hour or fully recharge 65 Model 3 vehicles. Tesla's progress in robotics is also advancing at a rapid pace. The company's humanoid robot, Optimus, is already deployed in Tesla's own factories and is being refined using a data-driven learning model akin to FSD. This positions Tesla at the forefront of autonomous robotics, with potential applications extending well beyond the automotive industry, reinforcing its leadership in AI and automation. Despite Tesla's AI capabilities being frequently overlooked, the company is deeply committed to its artificial intelligence initiatives. The Dojo supercomputer is a prime example, utilizing AI to enhance, refine, and sustain Tesla's expansive FSD ecosystem. This integrated approach gives Tesla a significant competitive advantage, enabling it to provide a fully comprehensive autonomous driving solution rather than focusing on a single niche aspect. However, with these ambitious projects, the company's ability to execute effectively and translate innovations into sustained profitability remains crucial. Under Musk's leadership, Tesla thrives on disruption, but consistency has often been elusive. While Musk has faced criticism for repeatedly missing product timelines, his confidence in Tesla's long-term vision continues to resonate with both supporters and skeptics alike. Analyst Opinion on TSLA Stock Taking all of this into account, analysts have deemed the Tesla stock a 'Hold' with a mean target price of $351.67. This denotes upside potential of about 33% from current levels. Out of 39 analysts covering the stock, 13 have a 'Strong Buy' rating, two have a 'Moderate Buy' rating, 14 have a 'Hold' rating, and 10 have a 'Strong Sell' rating.
