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Ottawa Citizen
6 days ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Provincial bill to kick out misbehaving councillors a good, but flawed start
Experts, Ontario city councillors and a former employee of disgraced ex-councillor Rick Chiarelli told Members of Provincial Parliament on Thursday that Bill 9 is 'long overdue,' but still has its flaws. Article content If passed, Bill 9 would give Ontario municipalities a standard code of conduct with the power to remove council members from office for serious violations. To remove a member, a recommendation from a municipal integrity commissioner, approval from an Ontario integrity commissioner and a unanimous vote by the rest of council would be necessary. Article content Article content Article content This bill comes three years after former Ottawa Coun. Rick Chiarelli refused to resign and was docked a maximum penalty of 450 days of pay for various code of conduct violations. The city's integrity commissioner issued three reports between 2020 and 2022 that condemned Chiarelli's behaviour toward women who were on his staff or had applied to work for him. Article content Article content The Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy met at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 17 for public consultations on the bill. Article content Stephanie Dobbs, a former employee of Chiarelli and complainant against him, told the committee that she never saw justice or accountability. Article content After telling the committee to not take her criticism of Bill 9 as a lack of gratitude, Dobbs called it 'ludicrous' to let the decision to remove a member from office rest in the hands of other council members. Article content Article content 'As the legislation currently stands, I'm doubtful of the ability to enact change,' Dobbs said. Article content She added that putting the decision in council's hands turns the situation into a 'political spectacle,' which she later told the Citizen is her biggest concern about the proposed law. Article content Article content Throughout the public consultation, speakers like Coun. Lisa Deacon from the Township of Russell, Robin Jones with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and University of Ottawa emeritus professor Barry Wellar all called for the voting requirement to be changed to a two-thirds supermajority. Article content Many speakers, including Dobbs, think the decision to remove a council member should be a matter decided by the courts. Article content 'My concern is (the committee) dismissing the many voices that have been really pushing today,' Dobbs told the Citizen. 'If they choose not to go with amendments and to make this improvement, they'll be met with a lot of criticism and a lot of unhappy constituents.'
Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
US appeals court upholds West Virginia restriction on abortion pill sales
CHARLESTON, (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's decision to restrict abortion pill sales in West Virginia. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, affirmed a ruling by a U.S. district judge in 2023 despite federal regulators' approval of the abortion pill as a safe and effective medication. Most Republican-controlled states have enacted or adopted abortion bans of some kind, including restricting abortion pills by default, since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade , the 1973 ruling that provided nationwide access to abortion. All have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers had ruled that the near-total abortion ban signed by then-Republican Gov. Jim Justice in September 2022 took precedence over approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 'For us to once again federalize the issue of abortion without a clear directive from Congress, right on the heels of Dobbs, would leave us one small step short of defiance,' 4th Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote for the court. 'One can of course agree or disagree with the Dobbs decision. But that is not the point,' Wilkinson said. 'At a time when the rule of law is under blunt assault, disregarding the Supreme Court is not an option.' West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who took office in January, had defended challenges to the abortion law when he served as attorney general. 'Big win out of the 4th Circuit today,' Morrisey said in a statement. GenBioPro Inc., the country's only manufacturer of a generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, had argued that the state cannot block access to a FDA-approved drug. Chambers had dismissed the majority of GenBioPro's challenges, finding there is 'no disputing that health, medicine, and medical licensure are traditional areas of state authority.' Appeals judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin concurred and dissented in part Tuesday, calling it a 'troubling opinion.' 'Put plainly, this law erects barriers to life-saving healthcare for countless West Virginians in ways not envisioned by Congress,' Benjamin wrote. Not at issue in the appeal was a challenge by GenBioPro concerning a separate West Virginia law that stopped providers from prescribing mifepristone by telehealth. Chambers had allowed that challenge to proceed. The U.S. Supreme Court last year unanimously preserved access to mifepristone , which is used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023.
San Francisco Chronicle
15-07-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
US appeals court upholds West Virginia restriction on abortion pill sales
CHARLESTON, (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's decision to restrict abortion pill sales in West Virginia. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, affirmed a ruling by a U.S. district judge in 2023 despite federal regulators' approval of the abortion pill as a safe and effective medication. Most Republican-controlled states have enacted or adopted abortion bans of some kind, including restricting abortion pills by default, since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that provided nationwide access to abortion. All have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers had ruled that the near-total abortion ban signed by then-Republican Gov. Jim Justice in September 2022 took precedence over approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "For us to once again federalize the issue of abortion without a clear directive from Congress, right on the heels of Dobbs, would leave us one small step short of defiance," 4th Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote for the court. 'One can of course agree or disagree with the Dobbs decision. But that is not the point,' Wilkinson said. 'At a time when the rule of law is under blunt assault, disregarding the Supreme Court is not an option.' West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who took office in January, had defended challenges to the abortion law when he served as attorney general. "Big win out of the 4th Circuit today,' Morrisey said in a statement. GenBioPro Inc., the country's only manufacturer of a generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, had argued that the state cannot block access to a FDA-approved drug. Chambers had dismissed the majority of GenBioPro's challenges, finding there is 'no disputing that health, medicine, and medical licensure are traditional areas of state authority.' Appeals judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin concurred and dissented in part Tuesday, calling it a 'troubling opinion.' 'Put plainly, this law erects barriers to life-saving healthcare for countless West Virginians in ways not envisioned by Congress,' Benjamin wrote. Not at issue in the appeal was a challenge by GenBioPro concerning a separate West Virginia law that stopped providers from prescribing mifepristone by telehealth. Chambers had allowed that challenge to proceed. The U.S. Supreme Court last year unanimously preserved access to mifepristone, which is used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023.
Winnipeg Free Press
15-07-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
US appeals court upholds West Virginia restriction on abortion pill sales
CHARLESTON, (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's decision to restrict abortion pill sales in West Virginia. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, affirmed a ruling by a U.S. district judge in 2023 despite federal regulators' approval of the abortion pill as a safe and effective medication. Most Republican-controlled states have enacted or adopted abortion bans of some kind, including restricting abortion pills by default, since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that provided nationwide access to abortion. All have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers had ruled that the near-total abortion ban signed by then-Republican Gov. Jim Justice in September 2022 took precedence over approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 'For us to once again federalize the issue of abortion without a clear directive from Congress, right on the heels of Dobbs, would leave us one small step short of defiance,' 4th Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote for the court. 'One can of course agree or disagree with the Dobbs decision. But that is not the point,' Wilkinson said. 'At a time when the rule of law is under blunt assault, disregarding the Supreme Court is not an option.' West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who took office in January, had defended challenges to the abortion law when he served as attorney general. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'Big win out of the 4th Circuit today,' Morrisey said in a statement. GenBioPro Inc., the country's only manufacturer of a generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, had argued that the state cannot block access to a FDA-approved drug. Chambers had dismissed the majority of GenBioPro's challenges, finding there is 'no disputing that health, medicine, and medical licensure are traditional areas of state authority.' Appeals judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin concurred and dissented in part Tuesday, calling it a 'troubling opinion.' 'Put plainly, this law erects barriers to life-saving healthcare for countless West Virginians in ways not envisioned by Congress,' Benjamin wrote. Not at issue in the appeal was a challenge by GenBioPro concerning a separate West Virginia law that stopped providers from prescribing mifepristone by telehealth. Chambers had allowed that challenge to proceed. The U.S. Supreme Court last year unanimously preserved access to mifepristone, which is used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023.
Chicago Tribune
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke: Cook County has new tools in the fight for reproductive freedom
Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which overturned the federal protections for abortion that had been guaranteed to women for nearly 50 years. This ruling in Dobbs limited access to reproductive health care for millions of American women and has fundamentally changed the ability of women to make their own personal medical decisions. Nearly half the states in the country — including most of our Midwestern neighbors — have dramatically restricted abortion access. In Illinois, we have seen a 71% increase in women traveling from out of state to safely access reproductive health care services that remain available here. Illinois has been and will continue to be a refuge for women in need. As more women have come to Illinois to access reproductive health care, we have seen an increase in other groups coming here as well: those trying to thwart a women's right to choose, some of whom may be willing to resort to criminal actions in pursuit of that goal. This isn't a theoretical threat. Clinics in downstate Danville and Peoria were targeted by arsonists. In May, the bombing of a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, destroyed the building and terrorized the community. We were again reminded of this danger in Minnesota, where a gunman assassinated a pro-abortion rights lawmaker and her husband and wounded another Democratic lawmaker and his wife. According to investigators, the man who has been charged in this shooting rampage had a lengthy list of other targets that included Planned Parenthood facilities and abortion rights advocates. The Cook County state's attorney's office is responding to this threat head-on by creating the Choice Protection Unit (CPU). The CPU brings together seasoned attorneys, investigators and victim/witness specialists from every division of our office. In addition to their current caseloads, these public servants have volunteered to participate in trainings, collaborate with experts, and stay abreast of current legal issues and legislative initiatives so that when these crimes are committed in Cook County, we will be prepared to successfully prosecute them with the full force of our office. The CPU will also monitor and analyze the evolving legal landscape so that we can respond swiftly and effectively as new threats and tactics emerge. The CPU has hit the ground running by developing strong connections with the providers, doctors and organizations that are increasingly threatened for doing their jobs. The anti-abortion rights movement does not limit its actions to criminal activity. Its adherents have also targeted providers with civil actions. As the legal representative for Cook County Health, my office needs to be in the best position to defend against these attacks on reproductive freedoms on the civil front as well. This past legislative session, we proposed state legislation that would ensure any violent attack on a reproductive health facility in Illinois is treated as what it is: an act of domestic terrorism. This change is a commonsense step toward providing reproductive health clinics the same protection we give to hospitals, namely by giving prosecutors a tool to seek the highest classification of charges with stiffer criminal penalties for those who commit acts of terror. This legislation addresses a very real need to provide clarity and accountability for those who terrorize our communities. However, some special interest groups and their legislative allies worked behind the scenes to block this bill before legislators ever had an opportunity to hear about its value and necessity. It could not be clearer that this legislation is urgently needed, given what has happened across the country, and I am hopeful state lawmakers will pass this vital legislation when they next reconvene. We need to have the tools to protect our community from violent extremism. The CPU is the first stand-alone unit of its kind across the country, and I hope it will be a model for other prosecutor's offices. We are certainly willing to share what we know and to collaborate with other district attorneys to learn what criminal conduct they are seeing, what legislation is helpful and how best to prepare for the cases that will be coming our way. Above all, I hope the creation of the CPU sends a strong message: In Cook County, we will not tolerate criminal actions that are designed to frighten and prevent women from exercising their right to choose. Here, women are entitled to seek and receive reproductive health care free from harassment, intimidation and other scare tactics — and we will prosecute those who commit crimes to interfere with the exercise of that right. Eileen O'Neill Burke is the Cook County state's attorney.
