Latest news with #abortionban
Reuters
28-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Missouri Supreme Court allows abortion ban to continue
May 27 (Reuters) - The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the state's strict abortion ban, once again putting the ban in place at least for now. The state's high court ordered a circuit court judge to vacate her injunctions against the abortion ban, saying the judge had applied the wrong standards. The Supreme Court said one of its prior rulings had established "a more rigorous standard" when blocking a state law. But the Supreme Court also ordered Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang to re-evaluate her rulings "in light of this standard," raising the possibility that Zhang could reissue the injunctions on a different legal basis. The underlying lawsuit challenging the law has yet to go to trial. For now Missouri's abortion ban, which kicked in when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, will once again take effect. Missouri voters in November passed a ballot measure to ensure abortion rights by amending the state constitution that guarantees a "right to reproductive freedom" up until fetal viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. That prompted the state's Planned Parenthood organizations to file a lawsuit seeking strike down the state abortion ban, which led to Zhang's rulings. In December Zhang ruled the abortion ban violated the constitution but left in place some licensing requirements that prevented many abortions from resuming. Then in February she ruled the licensing requirements were discriminatory, enabling Planned Parenthood to resume abortions. The state attorney general challenged those rulings, leading to Tuesday's Supreme Court decision. Republican lawmakers have also approved a new ballot measure, either in November 2026 or possibly sooner if a special election is held, that would seek to repeal the amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, which voters approved by 3 percentage points last November.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Brain-dead Georgia woman put on life support for 3 months to carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban against her family's wishes
A brain-dead Georgia woman has reportedly been on life support for three months to carry a fetus to birth because of the state's abortion ban. Adriana Smith is a registered nurse at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. She was roughly nine weeks pregnant when she began having headaches in February. Smith, 30, went to Northside Hospital and was released after being handed some medication, her mother, April Newkirk, said, according to WXIA and CNN Newsource. 'They gave her some medication, but they didn't do any tests, didn't do any CT scans. If they did, they would have caught it,' she added. Smith's boyfriend noticed the following morning that something was very wrong. 'She was gasping for air in her sleep, gargling. More than likely, it was blood,' said Newkirk. After being taken to the hospital where she worked, a CT scan showed several blood clots in her brain, and doctors declared her brain dead. 'They asked me if I would agree to a procedure to relieve the pressure, and I said yes,' Newkirk said, according to 11Alive. 'Then they called me back and said they couldn't do it.' 'I feel like somebody dropped the ball at the hospitals, and her boyfriend asked, 'Please keep her.' If she was kept at the hospital, we wouldn't be here,' Newkirk added. More than three months later, Smith is still on life support, and the family says they weren't given any options for her care because of the state's heartbeat law, which outlaws abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which usually takes place after around six weeks of pregnancy. 'It's torture for me. I come here, and I see my daughter breathing on a ventilator, but she's not there,' Newkirk said. Newkirk said that she brings Smith's young son to see her, and that he thinks she's just sleeping. The health of the unborn child remains unclear, 21 weeks into the pregnancy. Smith was moved to another hospital, Emory Midtown, on Tuesday. Doctors told the family it's better equipped for the care she needs. The plan is for Smith to remain on life support until the child can live outside the womb, likely at about 32 weeks of pregnancy. 'She's pregnant with my grandson, but my grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk, wheelchair-bound. We don't know if he'll live once she has him,' Newkirk said, according to WXIA. 'It should have been left up to the family.' Smith's case has opened up a legal gray area regarding the state's heartbeat law. It includes some exceptions, such as for rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk. As Smith is brain-dead and no longer viewed as being at risk herself, the medical staff is required by law to keep her alive until the baby can live outside the womb. The family said doctors told them the law doesn't allow them to consider other alternatives. 'I think every woman should have the right to make their own decision, and if not, then their partner or their parents,' said Newkirk. 'I'm not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy, but what I'm saying is we should have had a choice.' 'This decision should've been left to us. Now we're left wondering what kind of life he'll have—and we're going to be the ones raising him," she added, according to 11Alive. The family is also concerned about the financial ramifications, as the medical bills keep piling up. 'They're hoping to get the baby to at least 32 weeks,' said Newkirk. 'But every day that goes by, it's more cost, more trauma, more questions.'
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Hospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban
A pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain-dead after a medical emergency and has been kept on life support for three months by doctors to allow enough time for the baby to be born and comply with Georgia's strict anti-abortion law, family members say. The case is the latest consequence of abortion bans introduced in some states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago. Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old mother and nurse, was declared brain-dead — meaning she is legally dead — in February, her mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta TV station WXIA. Newkirk said her daughter had intense headaches more than three months ago and went to Atlanta's Northside Hospital, where she received medication and was released. The next morning, her boyfriend woke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was later declared brain-dead. Newkirk said Smith is now 21 weeks pregnant. Removing breathing tubes and other life-saving devices would likely kill the fetus. Neither hospital immediately responded to emails Thursday from The Associated Press. Georgia's abortion ban Smith's family says Emory doctors have told them they are not allowed to stop or remove the devices that are keeping her breathing because of a provision in state law that bans abortion after cardiac activity can be detected — generally around six weeks into pregnancy. The law was adopted in 2019 but not enforced until after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, opening the door to state abortion bans. Georgia's ban includes an exception if an abortion is necessary to maintain the life of the woman. Smith's family, including her five-year-old son, still visit her in the hospital. Newkirk said doctors told the family that the fetus has fluid on the brain and that they're concerned about his health. 'She's pregnant with my grandson. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he's born,' Newkirk said. Newkirk has not commented on whether the family wants Smith removed from life support. Who has the right to make these decisions? Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, which is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgia's strict abortion law, said the situation is problematic. "Her family deserved the right to have decision-making power about her medical decisions,' Simpson said in a statement. 'Instead, they have endured over 90 days of retraumatization, expensive medical costs, and the cruelty of being unable to resolve and move toward healing.' Lois Shepherd, a bioethicist and law professor at the University of Virginia, said she does not believe Georgia's law requires life support in this case. But she said whether a state could insist Smith remains on the breathing and other devices is uncertain since the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned all the parts of the Roe ruling, including the finding that fetuses do not have the rights of people. 'Pre-Dobbs, a fetus didn't have any rights,' Shepherd said. 'And the state's interest in fetal life could not be so strong as to overcome other important rights, but now we don't know.' Georgia's law confers personhood on a fetus. Those who favor personhood say fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses should be considered people with the same rights as those already born. Georgia state Sen. Ed Setzler, a Republican who sponsored the 2019 law, said he supported Emory's interpretation. 'I think it is completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child,' Setzler said. 'I think this is an unusual circumstance, but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital is acting appropriately.' Setzler said he believes it is sometimes acceptable to remove life support from someone who is brain dead, but said the law is 'an appropriate check' because the mother is pregnant. 'I think there's a valuable human life that we have an opportunity to save and I think it's the right thing to save it,' he said. 'To suggest otherwise is to declare the child as being other than human.' Setzler said the woman's relatives do have 'good choices,' including keeping the child or offering it for adoption. Abortion laws in other states The situation echoes a case in Texas more than a decade ago when a brain-dead woman was kept on maintenance measures for about two months because she was pregnant. A judge eventually ruled that the hospital keeping her alive against her family's wishes was misapplying state law, and life support was removed. Twelve states are enforcing abortion bans at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Georgia is one of four with a ban that kicks in at or around six weeks into pregnancy — often before women realize they're pregnant. Last year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a group of women who challenged that state's abortion ban, saying the exceptions were being interpreted so narrowly that they were denied abortion access as they dealt with serious pregnancy complications. This year, the state Senate has passed a bill that seeks to clarify when abortions are allowed. South Dakota produced a video to inform doctors about when exceptions should apply. Abortion rights groups have blasted it. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December over whether the federal law that requires hospitals to provide abortion in emergency medical situations should apply. A ruling is expected in coming months.
Associated Press
15-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Hospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban
ATLANTA (AP) — A pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain-dead after a medical emergency and has been kept on life support for three months by doctors to allow enough time for the baby to be born and comply with Georgia's strict anti-abortion law, family members say. The case is the latest consequence of abortion bans introduced in some states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago. Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old mother and nurse, was declared brain-dead — meaning she is legally dead — in February, her mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta TV station WXIA. Newkirk said her daughter had intense headaches more than three months ago and went to Atlanta's Northside Hospital, where she received medication and was released. The next morning, her boyfriend woke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was later declared brain-dead. Newkirk said Smith is now 21 weeks pregnant. Removing breathing tubes and other life-saving devices would likely kill the fetus. Neither hospital immediately responded to emails Thursday from The Associated Press. Georgia's abortion ban Smith's family says Emory doctors have told them they are not allowed to stop or remove the devices that are keeping her breathing because of a provision in state law that bans abortion after cardiac activity can be detected — generally around six weeks into pregnancy. The law was adopted in 2019 but not enforced until after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, opening the door to state abortion bans. Georgia's ban includes an exception if an abortion is necessary to maintain the life of the woman. Smith's family, including her five-year-old son, still visit her in the hospital. Newkirk said doctors told the family that the fetus has fluid on the brain and that they're concerned about his health. 'She's pregnant with my grandson. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he's born,' Newkirk said. Newkirk has not commented on whether the family wants Smith removed from life support. Who has the right to make these decisions? Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, which is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgia's strict abortion law, said the situation is problematic. 'Her family deserved the right to have decision-making power about her medical decisions,' Simpson said in a statement. 'Instead, they have endured over 90 days of retraumatization, expensive medical costs, and the cruelty of being unable to resolve and move toward healing.' Lois Shepherd, a bioethicist and law professor at the University of Virginia, said she does not believe Georgia's law requires life support in this case. But she said whether a state could insist Smith remains on the breathing and other devices is uncertain since the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned all the parts of the Roe ruling, including the finding that fetuses do not have the rights of people. 'Pre-Dobbs, a fetus didn't have any rights,' Shepherd said. 'And the state's interest in fetal life could not be so strong as to overcome other important rights, but now we don't know.' Georgia's law confers personhood on a fetus. Those who favor personhood say fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses should be considered people with the same rights as those already born. Georgia state Sen. Ed Setzler, a Republican who sponsored the 2019 law, said he supported Emory's interpretation. 'I think it is completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child,' Setzler said. 'I think this is an unusual circumstance, but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital is acting appropriately.' Setzler said he believes it is sometimes acceptable to remove life support from someone who is brain dead, but said the law is 'an appropriate check' because the mother is pregnant. 'I think there's a valuable human life that we have an opportunity to save and I think it's the right thing to save it,' he said. 'To suggest otherwise is to declare the child as being other than human.' Setzler said the woman's relatives do have 'good choices,' including keeping the child or offering it for adoption. Abortion laws in other states The situation echoes a case in Texas more than a decade ago when a brain-dead woman was kept on maintenance measures for about two months because she was pregnant. A judge eventually ruled that the hospital keeping her alive against her family's wishes was misapplying state law, and life support was removed. Twelve states are enforcing abortion bans at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Georgia is one of four with a ban that kicks in at or around six weeks into pregnancy — often before women realize they're pregnant. Last year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a group of women who challenged that state's abortion ban, saying the exceptions were being interpreted so narrowly that they were denied abortion access as they dealt with serious pregnancy complications. This year, the state Senate has passed a bill that seeks to clarify when abortions are allowed. South Dakota produced a video to inform doctors about when exceptions should apply. Abortion rights groups have blasted it. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December over whether the federal law that requires hospitals to provide abortion in emergency medical situations should apply. A ruling is expected in coming months.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Granderson: Watch for even small shifts in Texas politics. Sometimes tectonic movements follow
Waskom, Texas, is an old railroad town of about 2,000 nestled at the midway point between Dallas and Shreveport, La. According to the city's website, Waskom became a significant player in America's east-to-west trade during the 1880s because J.M. Waskom, a director of the Southern Pacific Railroad, 'led the way in bringing the railroad to East Texas.' That's largely how Waskom got the nickname 'Gateway to Texas.' In 2019 Waskom adopted a new nickname, 'sanctuary city for the unborn,' after an all-male city council voted to make Waskom the first municipality in America to ban abortion since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. Versions of Waskom's 'sanctuary city for the unborn' ordinance quickly spread to more than 70 municipalities in a handful of states as the Supreme Court was preparing to hear arguments on the case that would eventually lead to Roe's overturning. The railway was planned. The legal assault on reproductive care was planned. Both turned out to be part of tectonic shifts in society. So, while everything is bigger in Texas, don't overlook the smaller things happening in the Lone Star State. Recent history suggests it's the small things that are going to have the biggest impact. Last month a driverless truck developed by an autonomous vehicle company out of Pittsburgh made its first delivery run — frozen pastries between Houston and Dallas. Round trip that's about a hair under 500 miles or roughly an eight-hour workday for a truck driver. The company plans to expand freight operations to El Paso and Phoenix in time for the holidays. There are similar companies based in Texas planning to unveil driverless freight options to include San Antonio. The future is now. And just as one anti-abortion ordinance out of one small town in Texas became a much larger movement nationwide, one driverless truck dropping off frozen baked goods in Dallas is a sign of something far more significant for the rest of the country. The administration's tariff policies have reportedly ushered in a decline in port traffic, endangering trucking and dock jobs in the process. One recent study found a decline of 1% in cargo traffic in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could threaten as many as 4,000 jobs. However, what's going to eliminate those positions entirely is the kind of automation that quietly hit the Texas roads in late April. Keep an eye on the small things. Without long-term planning about the consequences — or in these cases, even short-term planning — the effects can be catastrophic. I wonder if the administration is discussing what new skills displaced workers in the logistics industry will need to be employable going forward. Or will local officials be forced to wing it as we did in the immediate aftermath of Roe being overturned? Remember some states started reaching back to ordinances from the 1800s to ban reproductive care without even passing new legislation. Without designs and public funding to retrain America's workers, the negative effects of tariffs and automation on employment are likely to quickly overtake the societal benefits (if there are any). It would be a small thing to make skills training a priority in certain communities at this moment in history, but the effects could be significant — preventing a disaster. There's danger in overlooking those opportunities. We saw one outcome in a recent election 250 miles south of Waskom, in the Houston suburb of Katy, one of the state's fastest-growing cities. In the Katy Independent School District, leaders have their hands full just trying to keep up with growth and serve the rising number of students, projected to hit 100,000 by 2028. However, during the recent campaign, the incumbent board president was focused on banning transgender athletes and other conservative talking points. His opponent, an educator and school administrator for three decades, focused on what teachers need in order to provide for the growing population. Wouldn't you know it, the candidate who actually wanted to fix long-term problems in the district won. In fact, a number of pro-education candidates in Texas won seats in last week's election on school boards previously held by folks responsible for banning books and the like. It's noteworthy that voters in conservative pockets of the state want leaders who are more focused on solutions than they are on slogans. I know it's not significant nationally, but given the history of small things in Texas growing, this trend gives me hope. @LZGranderson If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
