Latest news with #PatrickMorrisey
CBS News
a day ago
- Health
- CBS News
U.S. appeals court upholds West Virginia restriction on abortion pill sales
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.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Health
- Associated 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. '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.
New York Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Supreme Court to review state bans on transgender athletes in girls' sports
The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case that will determine whether transgender female student athletes can be prevented from joining girls and women's sports teams at public schools. The justices are set to hear challenges to laws in Idaho and West Virginia after lower court rulings in sided with transgender students who sued when they were blocked from competing. 'I am optimistic that after hearing the case, the Supreme Court will restore sanity to athletics and allow West Virginia to enforce its commonsense law that prevents boys from competing in girl's sports,' Mountain State Gov. Patrick Morrisey fired off in an X post. Advertisement The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to review whether transgender student athletes can be banned from joining female sports teams at public schools. AP Twenty-seven states have passed laws in recent years that restrict participation in female sports for male-to-female trans students. In Idaho and West Virginia specifically, state laws specify that sports teams at public schools are based on 'biological sex' and ban 'students of the male sex' from joining female athletic teams. Advertisement The challenge to the West Virginia law was brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson in 2021 after her middle school banned her from joining the girls' cross country and track teams. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. The justices are set to hear two cases out of Idaho and West Virginia after earlier lower court rulings in each state sided with transgender students who sued. Getty Images A federal judge initially ruled in the student's favor at an early stage of the case, but later reversed course and ended up siding with the state. Advertisement The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Jackson's exclusion from girls' teams violated Title IX, which forbids sex discrimination in education. '[Pepper-Jackson] has been publicly living as a girl for more than five years. During that time, her elementary and middle schools created gender support plans to affirm her gender identity and ensure she is recognized as a girl at school,' the appeals court ruling read. 'To align with her gender identity, [Pepper-Jackson] has changed her name, and the State of West Virginia (whose Act is challenged here) has issued a birth certificate that recognizes her changed name and lists her sex as female. [Pepper-Jackson] also takes puberty blocking medication to prevent her body from experiencing male adolescent development and estrogen hormone therapy, which is leading her to develop the outward physical characteristics—including fat distribution, pelvic shape, and bone size—of an adolescent female. Her family, teachers, and classmates have all known [Pepper-Jackson] as a girl for several years, and—beginning in elementary school—she has participated only on girls athletic teams. 'Given these facts, offering [Pepper-Jackson] a 'choice' between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all.' Meanwhile, the Idaho challenge was brought by Lindsay Hecox — a trans Boise State University student who had tried to join the women's track and cross-country teams, but failed to qualify. Advertisement Instead, Hecox has participating in sports clubs, including soccer and running, at the public university. A federal judge blocked Idaho's law in 2020, ruling that it likely violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and unlawfully discriminated based on sex and transgender status. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld initial ruling in 2023 and again in an amended ruling last year. While the Supreme Court agreed to take up the cases from Idaho and West Virginia, the justices opted not to act on a third case from Arizona that raises the same issue. The cases will be heard sometime after the justices convene for the new court term Oct. 6. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on transgender puberty blockers and hormone therapy treatments for minors — a major win for states that have similar laws on the books. With Post wires
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
West Virginia region hit by deadly flash flooding again faces torrential rain
A northern West Virginia region still cleaning up from flash flooding less than two weeks ago was hit with torrential rains that sent creeks over their banks again Thursday night. A flash flood warning was issued for the Wheeling area, about an hour's drive southwest of Pittsburgh. The National Weather Service said up to 2 inches of rain fell, and more was possible later. Residents posted video on social media showing streets turned into rivers. Some said the storms formed quickly and that homes that were hit from the last round of flooding were taking on water again. Much of the Eastern U.S. suffered through days of dangerous heat this week before the latest storms arrived. The West Virginia Emergency Management Division posted a photo of a measuring tape in floodwaters with the caption, "From 'dry as a bone to 5 inches' in 45 minutes this evening in the Elm Grove area." Water, mud and debris cover National Road in Wheeling, Thursday, June 26, 2025. Jennifer Compston-Strough / AP "If you're in a low-lying or flood-prone area, be ready to move to higher ground," the agency said. On June 14, nine people, including a 3-year-old, died when as much as 4 inches of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within 40 minutes. Dozens of homes, businesses and roads were impacted by flooding, and at least 75 vehicles were pulled from two area creeks. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in the county. The unexpected deluge overwhelmed local waterways and infrastructure and submerged vehicles in small towns east of the Ohio River, including Triadelphia and Valley Grove, CBS affiliate WTRF reported. The body of Sandra Kay Parsons, 83, of Triadelphia, was found in the Ohio River on Tuesday. Officials in Ohio County released her identity after receiving confirmation from a medical examiner. Two other victims were identified last week: Jesse Pearson, 43, of Triadelphia; and Connie Veronis, 71, of Moundsville. Seven of the nine victims were from Triadelphia, population 660. In February, West Virginia was hit with heavy rains and dangerous flooding that left at least three people dead and caused millions of dollars in damage. Four months later, West Virginia's McDowell County — one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states in the U.S. — is still working to recover.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A West Virginia parent sues seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations
CHARLESTON, (AP) — A West Virginia woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations for her young child. Miranda Guzman alleges that the state's vaccine mandate violates a 2023 West Virginia law that stipulates the government would not be able to 'substantially burden' someone's constitutional right to freedom of religion unless doing so 'is essential to further a compelling governmental interest.' Guzman sued the state and local boards of education and the county schools superintendent in Raleigh County Circuit Court. West Virginia was among just a handful of states that granted only medical exemptions from school vaccinations when Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in January allowing religious exemptions. However, the state Board of Education voted this month to direct public schools to ignore the executive order and instead follow long-standing school vaccine requirements that are laid out in state law. Also, two groups have sued over the governor's order, saying the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions. Guzman obtained a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate from the state health department and enrolled her child in elementary school for the 2025-26 school year. But on June 17, Guzman received an email from the Raleigh County school superintendent rescinding the certificate, according to the lawsuit. Guzman's attorneys said 'the straightforward legal issue" in the lawsuit is whether enforcement of the state vaccine mandate violates the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. West Virginia Board of Education spokesperson Christy Day referred to a June 12 statement from the board that its intent is to 'do what is best' for public school students, educators and school service personnel. 'This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws,' the earlier statement said. A telephone message left with Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher wasn't immediately returned. West Virginia's school vaccination policy long has been heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for children. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. Morrisey, who is not a party to the lawsuit, held a news conference Tuesday in Beckley in support of Guzman. 'This is not about whether or not about parents should vaccinate their children,' Morrisey said. 'This is about standing up for religious liberty.' At least 30 states have religious freedom laws, including one signed by Georgia's governor in April. The laws are modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton, which allows federal regulations that interfere with religious beliefs to be challenged.
