Latest news with #RighttoLife
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Ind med board to weigh cancer survivor's MTP at 24+ wks: HC
Mumbai: Bombay High Court directed that an independent medical board be set up to decide on the termination of an over-24-week pregnancy of a woman who is in remission from breast cancer. "In our view, the interest of justice would be served by passing the following order," said Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna on Thursday. They directed JJ Hospital dean to appoint a board of experts, including a psychologist, to examine her and submit a report to the vacation woman, aged 40, moved HC to permit medical termination of pregnancy as she had crossed the 24-week legally permissible limit. Her petition stated that in Aug 2020, she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. Between March and Aug 2021, she underwent treatment that included 8 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, and 21 cycles of radiation, which she completed in April 2021. Operation Sindoor Pak drones enter Indian airspace, explosions heard just hours after truce deal Sirens, explosions in border districts after Pak breaks deal: What we know so far 'What happened to ceasefire?' J&K CM after explosions heard across Srinagar She was informed that the treatment would have a permanent impact on her future chances of conceiving. Further, that hormonal therapies and chemotherapy induce a menopausal state that was likely to lead to the cessation of menstruation or irregular experiencing abdominal pain, an April 25 sonography report revealed she was 23 weeks pregnant. Since her pregnancy was over 20 weeks, on May 3, she approached the JJ medical board constituted under the MTP Act. On May 6, the board declined permission, citing no lethal congenital anomaly noticed in the woman's petition stated: "Continuation of pregnancy will cause grave injury to her mental health considering her past history and possible relapse." Since the cost of treatment was significant, she took a loan and paid it off until Nov 2024. She has to spend on check-ups and tests to monitor the recurrence of cancer or other health issues. She is neither financially, physically nor mentally in a position to have another child. The board "did not consider the impact of continuation of the pregnancy on her overall well-being and state of mind".Her advocate, Meenaz Kakalia, said it is imperative she is examined by an independent board. She "is not in a state of mind to undergo the rigours of a complete pregnancy". Kakalia cited a Supreme Court decision that the medical board evaluating a pregnancy above 24 weeks must opine on the physical and mental health of the person. She said SC emphasised the right to choose and reproductive freedom, a fundamental right under Article 21 (Right to Life), adding, "The earlier board did not consider the legal requirements, thus necessitating a reconsideration." The judges agreed an independent medical board be constituted "to assess the physical as well as psychological condition of the petitioner...".
Mint
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Digital access: A welcome new basic right
An order by the Supreme Court on Wednesday aimed at ensuring digital access for persons with disabilities needs to be noted by the entire online ecosystem. In directing that digital Know Your Customer processes be adapted accordingly, India's apex court ruled that digital access is an essential part of the Right to Life. This represents a significant broadening of this basic right's coverage. Some years ago, privacy was included in its ambit. While the Constitution does not explicitly mention these and its framers could not have foreseen the digital age , both these rights are consistent with the essential logic of the broader right under which the judiciary has accorded them an elevated status as a sovereign guarantee. Indeed, with digital engagement unavoidable and so many government interfaces having gone online, nobody should suffer exclusion on account of an inability to log on to the internet and do what the net-enabled do. Digital infrastructure, however, may have some catching up to do. Let's hope the government's digital expansion plans are helpful in this regard. Meanwhile, digital operators and services across the world should ponder what India's top court has just said.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Christians march to fight abortion
ASHTABULA — Christians from a variety of area churches gathered Saturday morning to fight abortion during a March for Life event at St. Joseph's Church. The event was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Geneva-Madison Council #5286, said Gene Mileusnich who helped organize the event as Life Program Director for the organization. Walkers gathered in the parking lot of the church and marched north on Lake Avenue to Ashtabula Regional Medical Center before returning to the church basement for refreshments and to hear from a speaker. Mileusnich said the event has often taken place in January at Assumption Church in Geneva, but the area surrounding the church is under construction as part of work on West Main Road. He said the event is designed to remind people to fight abortion. He said life begins at conception. The event was regional in nature, and drew people from a variety of area churches. Many of the marchers carried banners or signs displaying their concern about abortion. Kate Makra, from Cleveland Right to Life, participated in the march and also spoke after the walk. She told participants to urge their priests and pastors to speak about the church's view on abortion. She said she is against abortion in all situations, even rape. 'A life is a life,' Makra said. 'We are pro-life without exceptions, and that is not an easy position to hold in our culture,' she added later. Mileusnich said the day was randomly picked, but with the hope of slightly warmer weather than occurred Saturday, as temperatures dropped into the low 40s with a brisk wind adding to the wind chill.
Business Mayor
22-04-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Wyoming clinic resumes abortions after judge suspends state regulations
Wyoming's only abortion clinic is resuming abortions after a judge on Monday suspended two state laws. One suspended law would require clinics providing surgical abortions to be licensed as outpatient surgical centers. The other would require patients to get an ultrasound before a medication abortion. Wyoming Health Access in Casper had stopped providing abortions on 28 February, the day after the Republican governor, Mark Gordon, signed the licensing requirement into effect. The result: at least some people seeking abortions had to travel out of state. Now, people will once again be able to get abortions in central Wyoming while the two laws continue to be contested in court, Wellspring Health Access's founder and president, Julie Burkhart, said on Monday. 'We are immediately shouting it from the rooftop to make sure our patients know,' Burkhart said following the ruling. 'We are back to seeing patients the way we were on February 27.' An abortion opponent questioned the need to contest the laws if the clinic was safe. 'The abortion business here in Casper could prove that they are providing safe services by complying with laws. Would that not make their point?' Ross Schriftman, the president of Natrona county Right to Life, said in an email statement on Monday. Abortion has remained legal in Wyoming despite bans passed since 2022. The bans include the nation's first explicit ban on abortion pills. A judge in Jackson blocked the bans then struck them down in November on the grounds that abortion is allowed by a 2012 state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of competent adults to make their own healthcare decisions. Read More Employees told they shouldn't bring cake to the office The Wyoming supreme court heard arguments in that case on Wednesday and is unlikely to rule for at least several weeks. Meanwhile, the same people challenging the bans – Wellspring Health Access, the abortion access advocacy group Chelsea's Fund, and four women, including two obstetricians – have sued to block Wyoming's most recent two abortion laws. The surgical center licensing requirement would require costly renovations to make Wellspring Health Access compliant, the clinic said in its lawsuit. Gordon vetoed the requirement for an ultrasound at least 48 hours before a pill abortion, calling it onerous in cases of abuse, rape or when a person's health is at risk. State lawmakers voted to override the veto on 5 March. The ultrasound requirement did not significantly affect clinic operations but Wellspring Health Access also suspended offering pill abortions to avoid legal complications. The law stands to add to the cost and complications for patients getting pill abortions. Opponents call laws like Wyoming's requirements 'targeted restrictions on abortion providers' because they can regulate clinics and abortion access out of existence even if abortion remains legal. In blocking the laws while the lawsuit proceeds, district judge Thomas Campbell in Casper ruled that they too stand to violate the constitution. Despite the new restrictions, Wellspring Health Access has remained open to consult with patients and provide hormone replacement therapy for transgender patients. The clinic opened in 2023, almost a year late after heavy damage from an arson attack.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP candidates for governor spar over anti-abortion bona fides
Antiabortion advocates march in Trenton in 2024. The Republican candidates for governor are largely opposed to abortion, though that hasn't stopped it from being a campaign issue. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) Former radio show host Bill Spadea, a Republican who's running for governor, raised eyebrows earlier this month when he told supporters during a campaign stop that abortion would not be an issue in the general election. His campaign rivals swarmed, challenging his anti-abortion bona fides. Spadea, though, told the New Jersey Monitor in a recent interview that he merely meant that abortion is a 'distraction' Democrats likely will use to draw attention away from Jersey-specific issues that matter more to voters, like the high cost of living, crime, transportation woes, and immigration enforcement. 'I think the Democrats would love to make it an issue, because they think they can win by painting a false narrative that somehow pro-life candidates are anti-women,' Spadea said. 'I do not think it's going to be a top issue. And if the Democrats try to make it one, which I believe they will, especially if Mikie Sherrill is their nominee, it will serve as a distraction on the issues that New Jerseyans are really talking about.' His GOP rivals, including former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, and former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, disagree. 'This is always going to be an issue because of the deep passion on both sides,' Bramnick said. Kranjac saw Spadea's comments about abortion as unacceptably dismissive for a candidate who landed endorsements from the national and state Right to Life groups. 'I will make it an issue every day,' Kranjac said. 'It's really important to change our culture of death and get New Jersey out of the abortion business.' Republicans are hoping they can win the seat now held by Gov. Phil Murphy, a two-term Democrat who cannot seek a third term in November. But first they must make it through the June 10 primary to win their party's nomination. Bramnick proclaims himself pro-choice. When Ciattarelli ran for governor in 2021, he said he would sign a bill protecting abortion rights if the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade (it did the following year). Both Bramnick and Ciattarelli say getting an abortion should be a decision that's between a woman, her family, her doctors, and her faith. All the leading GOP candidates oppose or have qualms with a law Murphy signed in 2022 to codify abortion rights in New Jersey, largely over an aversion to late-term abortions. 'I think they went farther than Roe v. Wade, and that's why I abstained on that codification,' Bramnick said. Ciattarelli would ban elective abortions after 20 weeks, while Bramnick said he opposes late-term abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. Kranjac said he would ban abortions after 20 weeks without exception during his first year in office, with the ban creeping earlier in pregnancy over time in line with his goal of 'protecting life from conception to natural death.' Spadea didn't draw the line at any specific week, but said: 'I am in line with mainstream America, which is: Late-term and up-to-birth abortion is abhorrent, and it will be very positive to see that limitation put in New Jersey.' A 2022 Pew Research Center poll found that most Americans support abortion rights, but opposition grows at later stages of pregnancy. All the leading GOP candidates for governor back requiring parental notification for minors who seek abortions, with Spadea supporting exceptions for rape and incest. 'The fact that a 16-year-old in New Jersey needs her parents' permission to get her ears pierced, but not get an abortion is absurd,' Ciattarelli's campaign website says. Kranjac would appoint anti-abortion judges as part of his strategy on the issue. Ciattarelli, Spadea, and Kranjac want to cut public funding for abortion, with Spadea and Kranjac saying they would cut funding for Planned Parenthood and send that support instead to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, which the Murphy administration has labeled deceptive. 'As governor, I'm going to work very hard to empower pregnancy resource centers (for) young women, especially these young women who go to these centers that are from abusive relationships, don't have any resources, they're scared to death, they may be unsure of who exactly the father is, the dad's left the scene,' Spadea said. 'Just terrible circumstances for these young women, and they're not given any choice.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
