Latest news with #July4
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Fact check: Amendment would stop prosecutions of women for getting abortions
A widely shared post on social media claimed MPs 'are voting to legalise abortion up to BIRTH. No limits. No safeguards.' The poster also said: 'On 4 July, Parliament will vote on a law that would: Remove ALL criminal penalties for abortion.' They added: 'Under MP Diana Johnson's amendment: No time limits. No gestational protections. No punishment for abortions at 7, 8, even 9 months.' Evaluation The proposal being discussed was not tabled by Diana Johnson, nor is there any evidence Parliament will be voting on it on July 4. It also does not remove all criminal penalties for abortion and maintains most of the limits that are currently in place. If the amendment is made into law it will still be illegal for a woman to terminate her pregnancy outside of the current rules – which among other things limit abortions after 24 weeks into a pregnancy – but her actions would be decriminalised, meaning she would not be punished. However doctors who perform abortions which are not permissible under current laws could still be punished. The facts Who has tabled the amendment? The poster initially said that the changes could come under an amendment from Diana Johnson MP. Ms Johnson did table an amendment to the last Government's criminal justice bill, however that bill – and therefore the amendment – was abandoned when the election was called. In a reply to another user, the original poster instead said they were referring to an amendment which 'has been tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi to the government's Crime & Policing Bill.' Ms Antoniazzi has indeed filed an amendment to the current crime and policing bill which is making its way through Parliament. The two amendments are very similar in their wording, although not identical. What does the amendment say? Ms Antoniazzi's amendment is called NC1 and reads: 'Removal of women from the criminal law related to abortion. For the purposes of the law related to abortion, including sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.' Ms Antoniazzi's explanatory note which accompanies the amendment states that the change would 'disapply existing criminal law' on abortion from 'women acting in relation to her own pregnancy.' This is at any point in the pregnancy, the note states. It adds: 'It would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting, including but not limited to the time limit, telemedicine, the grounds for abortion, or the requirement for two doctors' approval.' What does the current law on abortion say? The 1967 Abortion Act made abortion legal in some circumstances. In its current form the act allows an abortion if the pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner, and as long as the woman is not more than 24 weeks pregnant. The act also sets other restrictions on when an abortion can be legally carried out, including the need for sign-off by two registered medical practitioners. Outside of the parameters in which the 1967 act made abortion legal in certain circumstances, the practice is still governed by acts passed in 1929 and 1861 which can punish abortion with life imprisonment. When will the amendment be voted on? The Crime and Policing Bill, which this amendment has been attached to, has passed its first and second reading in the House of Commons. It is currently in the so-called report stage and a third reading in the Commons is due to happen 'on a date to be confirmed'. In a first reading the bill is presented to the Commons and not debated. The bill's general principles are debated at the second reading, then amendments come at committee and report stage. At the third reading MPs decide on whether to pass the bill. If they do it then goes onto the House of Lords. At the time of writing there was no sign of the crime and policing bill on the House of Commons schedule for July 4. In fact that day is a Friday and the House of Commons normally only sits on Mondays to Thursdays, sometimes sitting on Fridays to consider private member's bills. The crime and policing bill is not a private member's bill. Would this legalise abortion up to birth? No, the bill would decriminalise abortion up to birth for the pregnant woman, not legalise it. Decriminalising something means that while it is still illegal, breaking that law does not carry any penalty. The suggested amendment would only deal with 'a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy'. Therefore the amendment does not change the current law on whether doctors can provide an abortion after 24 weeks. Other safeguards around legally provided abortions remain unchanged. Doctors and others who provided an abortion outside of the legally defined parameters could still be punished. It is just the pregnant woman who would escape punishment in such a scenario. UK Parliament – What's on: Friday 4 July 2025 (archived)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A ton of tradeoffs': Thune acts fast to cut deals and move Trump's megabill
John Thune is wasting no time moving President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' through the Senate. The Senate majority leader laid out a rat-a-tat tempo for the coming weeks in an exclusive interview with POLITICO that he hopes will culminate in final passage of the party-line megabill by Republicans' July 4 deadline. Senate committees will fully release revised text of the bill by the end of next week, Thune said. Panel markups where that text might be debated and potentially amended will be highly optional. And he is already in close consultation with Trump about targeting key senators who will need to be persuaded to back the sprawling legislation. 'He's been very engaged,' the South Dakota Republican said. 'I think he would do that whether we asked [or not], but we tried to give him some direction, yeah.' Thune laid out the detailed timeline after POLITICO first reported Monday that some Senate panels will start releasing their tweaks this week — starting with the Armed Services Committee Tuesday night. Next week, panels writing the trickiest and most substantial parts — including the Senate Finance Committee — will release text. Trump will meet with other Republican members of the tax-writing panel at the White House Wednesday and 'lay out kind of what he wants to see,' Thune said. Now five months into his longtime dream job, Thune is tasked with shepherding his party's biggest legislative priority to fruition with little margin for error. Republicans need to figure out how to corral nearly all their members while bridging internal divides on thorny issues such as the size of spending cuts, the future of social safety net programs and the architecture of major tax policies. 'It's striking the right balance,' Thune said. 'Without getting into the particulars, there are a ton of tradeoffs you have to make.' He compared trying to lock down the bill to playing a game of Whac-A-Mole but added that he believes he has 'a handle on what the dials are and how they can be turned and what the various options are to try to get to 51.' Thune has at least one guaranteed 'no' vote in Sen. Rand Paul, with the Kentucky Republican vowing to oppose the bill as long as an increase in the debt ceiling is included. Thune noted that he's spoken extensively with Sen. Ron Johnson, a deficit hawk whom leadership views as their second-most-likely opponent. Meeting the Wisconsin Republican's public demands of trillions of dollars in additional spending cuts will be a tall order, Thune acknowledged. 'I never give up,' Thune said, and leaders are 'doing everything we can to move the bill in a direction that he would be more predisposed to be for. But, you know, he's made some fairly strong statements out there.' 'At the end of the day, everybody's going to have to make a decision about whether or not this is better than the status quo, and, do I really want to take this down?' he added. Trump has already started calling some senators who will be Thune's toughest votes to lock down, with Thune calling him 'the closer.' It's not just conservative hard-liners who need attention: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters on Tuesday that she has spoken with administration officials about her concerns about the potential impact on rural hospitals. Trump also called Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has raised concern about the House's changes to Medicaid. Thune and Hawley have met to discuss his position. Thune is also trying to coordinate with Speaker Mike Johnson, who has urged the Senate to make as few changes as possible to the House bill. But Thune said that was an unrealistic expectation — particularly on the state-and-local-tax deduction, an especially tough issue in the House. 'It would be very, very hard to get the Senate to vote for what the House did' on SALT, Thune said. 'We've just got some people that feel really strongly on this.' Other areas that could see changes include SNAP, the nutrition program formerly known as food stamps. Thune acknowledged 'a concern among some of our members' about the House's plan to require states to carry some of the program's cost. Thune met with Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) Tuesday, and leadership has given the panel a list of potential savings options that would not require shifting costs to the states. The process of tweaking the bill will largely happen behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Thune said it will be up to each Senate committee to decide whether to hold votes on their piece of the bill. While he said he believes some will, no panel has yet announced it will do so. After the Finance panel — which has jurisdiction over both the tax and Medicare provisions — releases its text sometime next week, Senate Republicans will 'fine tune' the bill, Thune said, during the third week of the month to ensure it can get 51 votes — possibly including a tie-breaker from Vice President JD Vance. 'Probably in the last two weeks of [June], we really start homing in on, you know, getting ready to get it to the floor the last week,' he said.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Elon Musk slams Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as "disgusting abomination"
Washington — Elon Musk ramped up his criticism of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" on Tuesday, calling it "a disgusting abomination" as Congress rushes to send the legislation to the president by July 4. "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote in a post on X, adding that the sweeping policy bill aimed at advancing Mr. Trump's domestic priorities is "outrageous" and "pork-filled." "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong," he said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the criticism during the daily press briefing, telling reporters that Mr. Trump "already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion." This is a developing story and will be updated.
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk Calls Trump Megabill a ‘Disgusting Abomination'
WASHINGTON—Former White House cost-cutting czar Elon Musk called President Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and spending package a 'disgusting abomination,' stepping up his criticism just as the Senate is trying to quickly pass the measure and get it signed into law by July 4. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' said Musk, in comments on his X social-media platform. Musk, who left the administration last week, called the package a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Is Planning a 'Garden of American Heroes' For the Country's Anniversary. Sculpture Experts Say It'll Never Happen.
There's a big problem with Donald Trump's signature plan to create a National Garden of American Heroes. And, for once, it has nothing to do with culture-war bickering about just who should be included in the national statue display. Instead, artists, curators and critics who have reviewed the recent request for proposals have a more practical worry: America doesn't have enough quality sculptors or museum-caliber foundries to make this happen on Trump's speedy timeline. 'It seems completely unworkable,' said Daniel Kunitz, editor of Sculpture magazine. It's nothing if not ambitious. The plan is to unveil 250 life-sized statues in time for the nation's 250th birthday next year on July 4. Having decimated large chunks of the federal arts bureaucracy, the administration has reoriented much of what's left to the $34 million outdoor park project, a singular Trump goal since his first term. 'It's going to be something very extraordinary,' Trump told a White House audience in February. 'We're going to produce some of the most beautiful works of art.' According to one of several executive orders on the idea, it's all meant to 'reflect the awesome splendor of our country's timeless exceptionalism.' Unfortunately, the schedule all but guarantees something less than awesome, splendid or timeless. And, quite possibly, something less than American, too: The fine print forbids 'abstract or modernist' statues, and the biggest collection of artisans and fabricators working in Trump's preferred old-school realist style turns out to be in China, not the U.S. 'You'd be flooding the capacity of artists in this country who do that kind of stuff, and the capacity of foundries,' said Dylan Farnum, who for years ran the Walla Walla Foundry, a fine-art powerhouse that is one of the best-regarded such facilities in America. 'There are places where you can really whip some stuff off. They can do it in China.' Many U.S. fine-art foundries are booked anywhere from six to 18 months in advance. There also aren't many of them: The International Sculpture Center's list numbers 69. Though technology has sped things up — these days, you can 3D-print a model before casting it — faster production often involves partnering with Chinese or other foreign facilities. At best, such collaborations can lead to a usable statue at a good price. But if the work is slapdash and uninspired, the likeness can feel more like a cheap mannequin than a national monument. 'It doesn't yield the quality we're usually looking for,' said Andrew Pharmer, who runs a large fine art foundry in Kingston, New York. 'If you're physically sculpting something you get detail down to the level of a fingerprint. There's just nothing digital in my experience that can do that.' One wag likened Trump's project to a government-run version of Madame Tussaud's wax museum: Possibly enticing to tourists, but by no means awe-inspiring. The White House didn't respond to detailed questions about the schedule or the use of foreign facilities. 'The National Garden of American Heroes will be a beautiful monument to the spirit of America,' a spokesperson said. Even without worrying about trans-Pacific shipping (and new tariffs), the timeline is tight. The feds have yet to assign statues to sculptors. The application deadline is July 1, just 368 days before America's 250th. Applicants are supposed to pick 10 or 20 names from Trump's list of historic heroes; the National Endowment for the Humanities will then let winners know who they're supposed to sculpt. That won't happen until late September, cutting it still closer. The delivery date is June 1, 2026. It's also not clear who will apply. Low opinions of Trump in the artistic community could dissuade some applicants. And while the commissions are $200,000 per statue, it seems less lavish when you consider the costs of casting and base material, which the administration says must be marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass. (In 2022, Arkansas dedicated $750,000 to create bronze statues of singer Johnny Cash and civil rights hero Daisy Bates for the U.S. Capitol.) Because many prominent U.S. sculptors don't do traditional figurative work, the artists vying for commissions may also have less experience in prestige projects. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially for traditionalists who hope to elevate artists who deploy classical styles. But it increases the odds of a schedule-busting snafu. 'It's easy to AI-render a Dick Van Dyke sculpture,' Farnum told me. 'So much easier than actually getting it done.' There's a reason sculpture commissions, even in an age of computer modeling and robotic chiseling, can take years. Particularly when the subjects are deceased, the challenges involve finding an image, creating scale models, sculpting the final mold, casting a life-size statue, and then transporting the very heavy end product and overseeing its installation. On top of that, public art tends to involve a lot of collaboration and feedback from whoever is commissioning the work — a diplomatic dance that further slows things down. 'You put out an RFP and then there's just a long period working with the institutions,' said Kunitz. 'A year is highly unlikely.' It's hard to imagine a Trump-appointed leadership waiving its right to review whatever some artist cooks up. The NEH also didn't respond to a request for comment. And then there's the location of the garden: There isn't one. The plan calls for a suitable space to be identified. That hasn't happened yet, though the governor of South Dakota has offered a spot in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore. Assuming the space works, it will still have to be acquired, cleared, and prepared for a vast collection of statues and (they hope) an even more vast collection of visitors. The shadow of Rushmore would surely suit the politics of the project. First announced amid the protests of 2020, the garden was a neat bit of ideological positioning: Where the left wanted to tear down statues, Trump said, he was celebrating America without apology. His executive order featured a long list of subjects including Patrick Henry, Sojourner Truth, Mark Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt, Muhammad Ali, William Rehnquist, Whitney Houston and Steve Jobs. Inevitably, the controversial roster of statue subjects has gotten lots of attention. Trump's list includes a few figures whose records on race made them targets, like Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson and John James Audubon. Others sniff that its array of conservative intellectuals (Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman, William F. Buckley Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick) is more robust than its collection of left-leaning thinkers. And there are also some downright strange choices, such as the Canadian-born Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. But all too typically for our era of permanent culture war, the political fury has distracted attention from the basic logistics of the plan — and from the question of whether the end product would, as a simple matter of aesthetics, be worthy of a great country. In the fine-arts world, the answer to that latter question seems to be: Nope. 'It doesn't seem to be very serious,' Kunitz said. 'It's sort of trolling.' It's a classic artistic divide for a populist age: Should a project aim for mass appeal, a spot for Instagram selfies and zany poses? Or should it — as conservative cultural critics have long insisted — seek to be a lasting masterwork of civilization? Trump's entire career gives a pretty good indication of what his administration's answer would be, no matter how eloquently they may talk about creating a testament to American greatness. 'It's a circus mentality, and he's a showman,' said Ken Lum, a sculptor and University of Pennsylvania professor who has created major public monuments in the naturalist style. Lum says he's not optimistic about the garden's political impact, but thinks it could actually be popular if the administration manages to get it done — like a roadside attraction, if not a monument for the ages. 'For a lot of people going to Mount Rushmore, there will be public bathrooms and concession stands and souvenirs, and you could have your picture taken with Babe Ruth or MLK or whoever.'
