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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2023 16:07:10 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 11, 2023 14:52:03 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Meanwhile, Democratic-run states are stockpiling abortion medication following a conservative Texas judge’s ruling that revoked authorization for one of the drugs used in medication abortion, the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports: Several Democratic governors have moved swiftly to protect access to medication abortion in their states after a ruling by a Texas judge late last week threatened access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone.
In an announcement on Monday, Governor Maura Healey of Massachusetts said her state had ordered about 15,000 doses of mifepristone, the first of two drugs in a medication abortion regimen that has been approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy.
Healey also issued an executive order that she said would help protect access to medication abortions and shield providers who perform them.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, said his state had secured an emergency stockpile of up to 2m pills of misoprostol, the second drug in the regimen that can be used safely on its own, though is slightly less effective as a single medication. That drug, which is used to treat other medical conditions, is also being targeted by anti-abortion groups seeking to remove it from the market.
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Post by Webster on Apr 11, 2023 17:23:38 GMT -5
(The Guardian) A bill to restrict abortions in Montana will become law – at least temporarily – if the governor signs it, a judge has ruled, and the Associated Press reports. The latest ruling denies a request by abortion rights advocates to preemptively block legislation that would ban the abortion method most commonly used in the second trimester. District court judge Kathy Seeley said the request by Planned Parenthood of Montana was made before the bill became law, so there is nothing to block. Montana’s legislature approved the bill on Friday. It would ban dilation and evacuation abortions, which are typically used later than 15 weeks into a pregnancy. The ban will take effect immediately if Republican governor Greg Gianforte signs it. Planned Parenthood argued the law is unconstitutional based on a 1999 Montana supreme court ruling that found that the state constitution’s right to privacy includes the right to have a pre-viability abortion from a provider of the patient’s choice. The organization asked the court to freeze the law preemptively to make sure patients wouldn’t be prevented from getting care while the court considered the case.
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Post by Webster on Apr 12, 2023 13:49:47 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Abortion advocates are scrambling ahead of a Friday deadline after which a drug used in medication abortion could be deauthorized, thanks to a conservative federal court judge. Here’s the Guardian’s Mary Tuma with a look at the effort to get a higher court to intervene: FDA authorization for a key abortion drug could be nullified after Friday, unless an appeals court acts on a Biden administration request to block last week’s ruling suspending approval of the drug.
The drug, mifepristone, is used in more than half of all the abortions in the US. The ruling, issued by a federal judge in Texas, applies across the country. Writing that the ruling would “inflict grave harm on women, the medical system, and the public” if it went into effect, the Department of Justice on Monday requested the fifth US circuit court of appeals temporarily block Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling while the appeals process plays out.
The issue may ultimately fall into the hands of the US supreme court and its conservative supermajority, which eradicated abortion rights last year by overturning Roe v Wade.
A group of pharmaceutical firms and executives have filed a brief encouraging a federal appeals court to half a judge’s ruling that last week decertified mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortion. “The district court’s approach would have ripple effects across FDA’s programs for drugs intended to treat serious and life-threatening diseases and conditions —programs that are essential to facilitating and expediting the development and review of critical medicines,” the group of dozens of organizations and individuals writes in their amicus brief. “It would narrow eligibility for these programs, delay patient access to life-saving medications, and discourage development in the first instance. Without sufficient flexibility, sponsors would lose considerable efficiency in bringing new drugs to market — and in updating and innovating on existing approved applications. And patients would lose access to potentially lifesaving and life-improving treatments.” The justice department is asking for a stay on the ruling from the fifth circuit court of appeals – which is considered the most conservative federal appellate body in the country.
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Post by Webster on Apr 13, 2023 14:00:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Florida to tighten abortion access, medication survives court challengeAmericans will be able to continue accessing medication abortion after a federal appeals court early this morning blocked a judge’s ruling that would have revoked its authorization – but did impose new limits on the medication. The conservative assault on abortion remains in full swing, with Florida’s House of Representatives expected to vote today on a bill that would ban the procedure after six weeks – a point at which most women are not yet aware they are pregnant. The bill is expected to pass and be signed into law by Republican governor Ron DeSantis, who is thought to soon announce a presidential campaign that will center on bringing the policies he pioneered in Florida to the White House. Florida abortion ban will further cut off access in southThe southern United States is the country’s least friendly region for abortion, and access will soon grow even tighter as Florida moves to pass a ban on the procedure after six weeks. The GOP-controlled state House of Representatives is voting on the measure today, which contains exceptions for the life of the mother, and governor Ron DeSantis has said he’ll sign it. While it’s not the outright ban imposed by some of the state’s neighbors, it’ll reduce abortion availability to a time period when most women aren’t yet aware they’re pregnant. The greater battle in reproductive rights appears to be over mifepristone, which is used in medication abortion, and the subject of an ongoing federal court battle. Here’s more from Reuters on the late Wednesday ruling from an appeals court that preserved its availability, but imposed restrictions it that made it more difficult to access: The abortion pill mifepristone will remain available in the US for now but with significant restrictions, including a requirement for in-person doctor visits to obtain the drug, a federal appeals court ruled late on Wednesday.
The New Orleans-based fifth circuit court of appeals put on hold part of last Friday’s order by the US district judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, which suspended the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for the drug while he heard a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban it.
The Biden administration and the maker of the mifepristone brand, Danco Laboratories, had quickly asked for an emergency stay of that order.
However, the appeals court declined to block portions of Kacsmaryk’s order that in effect reinstate restrictions on the pill’s distribution, which had been lifted since 2016. In addition to a requirement of in-person doctor visits to prescribe and dispense the drug, those restrictions include limiting its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, down from 10 weeks. Kacsmaryk’s order will take effect on Friday.
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Post by Webster on Apr 13, 2023 14:01:25 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Florida’s Democratic lawmakers are doing all they can to stop a six-week abortion ban from becoming law. Here’s the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino with a look at the quixotic effort by the top Democrat in the state Senate to halt its passage there: Last week, Lauren Book, the top Democrat in the Florida senate – was placed in handcuffs, arrested and charged with trespassing, after refusing to leave an abortion rights demonstration near the state capitol building in Tallahassee.
Hours before, Republican lawmakers in the state senate advanced the legislation, which would dramatically restrict the state’s current ban on abortion from 15 weeks of pregnancy to six weeks – before many women even realize they’re pregnant. Critics say the narrow window would amount to a “near-total” ban on abortions in the state.
The bill would have far-reaching implications across the south. After the supreme court’s decision to eliminate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, Florida became a haven for women seeking reproductive care from states where access was prohibited or severely restricted, including Louisiana and Alabama.
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Post by Webster on Apr 13, 2023 14:08:28 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Most Americans, including just over half of Republicans, believe a federal judge’s decision last week that would have taken abortion medication mifepristone off the shelves was motivated by politics, according to a new poll. The Reuters/Ipsos survey completed yesterday found 56% of overall respondents believed the decision by conservative judge Matthew Kacsmaryk was politically motivated. The view was shared by 67% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans, according to the data. The poll also found support for medication abortion across party lines. Restrictions on access to abortion pills as the state level were opposed by 51% of Republicans and 73% of Democrats.
If elected president, Republican senator Tim Scott said he would support a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Here’s his interview with WMUR in New Hampshire – one of the early states in the GOP’s nomination process: Scott hasn’t officially declared his candidacy, but yesterday announced the formation of an exploratory committee, a key step in running for the White House. The senator represents South Carolina, and his fellow Republican senator from the state Lindsey Graham last year proposed a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
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Post by Webster on Apr 13, 2023 14:15:44 GMT -5
(The Guardian) DOJ 'strongly disagrees' with abortion ruling, will appeal to supreme courtAttorney general Merrick Garland said the justice department will ask the supreme court to review an appeals court decision that preserved access to abortion medication mifepristone but placed new restrictions on its use and distribution. “The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to deny in part our request for a stay pending appeal,” Garland said in a statement. “We will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.” Last week, conservative federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk had sided with abortion foes and revoked the Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of the drug, in a ruling that was to take effect this Friday. The justice department appealed, and late yesterday the fifth circuit court of appeals in New Orleans blocked the deauthorization. However, the judges allowed to go into effect portions of Kacsmaryk’s ruling that required mifepristone be prescribed during in-person doctor’s appointments and limiting its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy from its current 10 weeks.
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Post by Webster on Apr 13, 2023 14:16:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Harris calls mifepristone lawsuit 'next step to a nationwide abortion ban'Kamala Harris says the White House “will continue fighting” to protect abortion rights while calling the lawsuit that seeks to ban mifepristone “the next step to a nationwide abortion ban.” In a statement, she the vice-president also warned that if allowed to proceed, the decision could jeopardize access to medication intended to treat a variety of ailments. Here’s the full text of Harris’s statement: Last night, the Fifth Circuit issued a decision which invalidates the scientific, independent judgment of the FDA about when and how a medicine is available to Americans. The Justice Department has already announced that they are seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court.
More than 20 years ago, the FDA approved medication abortion as safe and effective for the American people. Last week, a Texas district court ruled to block access to this medication in every state in the country.
The Fifth Circuit’s decision—just like the district court’s—second-guesses the agency’s medical experts. If this decision stands, no medication—from chemotherapy drugs, to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin—would be safe from attacks. This decision threatens the rights of Americans across the country, who can look in their medicine cabinets and find medication prescribed by a doctor because the FDA engaged in a process to determine the efficacy and safety of that medication.
This lawsuit is the next step to a nationwide abortion ban. The decision severely limits access to mifepristone, standing between doctors and their patients. President Biden and our Administration remain firmly committed to protecting access to medication abortion, as the President and I have made clear since the day of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.
There is a reproductive health care crisis in America. Our Administration will continue fighting to protect women’s health and the right to make decisions about one’s own body.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:02:24 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Florida enacts six-week abortion banAbortion access in Republican-controlled states are facing additional coordinated attacks, with Florida and Texas serving as major political battlegrounds. In Florida, Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week ban on abortion late Thursday after the bill was approved by the GOP-majority legislature. Florida’s most recent ban will only take effect if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld before its supreme court, which has a conservative majority. The ban could give DeSantis, who is expected to run for president in 2024, a key victory with Republican primary voters. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice may file an appeal with the supreme court today, attempting to stop the restriction of mifepristone, the at-home abortion bill, in Texas.
Republican governor Ron DeSantis quietly signed off on a six-week abortion ban late last night, after the majority-GOP legislature approved of the bill. Florida’s ban is not in effect yet, as the state’s original 15-week ban faces a legal challenge in its supreme court, which is mostly conservative. Up until Thursday, Florida was one of few southern states that had not enacted a near-total abortion ban--serving as a resource for southern people who could not access the procedure in their own state, reported Axios. Since the overturning of Roe v wade, Florida has seen one of the largest increases in abortion demand. Clinicians provided 7,190 more abortions in the six months following the Dobbs decision, according to data from the Society of family planning. “In the last six months since Dobbs, the number of out-of-state patients coming to [us] for abortion care has quadrupled,” said Damien Filer, a representative of Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida (PPSEN), to the Guardian in an interview last month. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and other nearby states have either completely banned or severely restricted the procedure--with many clinics closing completely.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:04:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) US abortion pill maker calls for supreme court to interveneUS abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories has asked the supreme court to intervene in attempts to restrict the medication, ahead of a possible appeal file from the Department of Justice today, reported Reuters. The pill maker put out a statement yesterday in response to a federal judge in Texas suspending US approval of mifepristone, one of two medications commonly used in abortion procedures. “This is a dark day for public health, especially for reproductive rights and the reliance on science and medical expertise to guide decisions about what drugs are safe and effective and should be available to patients,” wrote Abby Long, Danco’s Director of Public Affairs in a statement. A separate ruling from a Washington judge followed shortly, ordering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to avoid taking any action that could impact the availability of the medication. The two conflicting rulings have set off a complicated legal battle, which could put the pill’s future availability in jeopardy.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:05:20 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden admin asks supreme court to block abortion pill limitsThe Biden administration has asked the supreme court to stop limits from lower courts on the abortion pill as the government seeks to defend the drug against attacks from anti-abortion activists and Republican legislators, reports Reuters. Meanwhile, the justice department has filed an emergency request for supreme court justices to put on hold a ruling by a federal Texas judge that would significantly restrict the distribution of the abortion pill, Reuters further reported. The latest developments come as litigation by anti-abortion groups is underway, challenging mifepristone’s regulatory approval.
As apart of its appeal to the supreme court, the Biden administration argued that limits on the abortion pill from lower courts would require the relabeling of the drug, a process that could take months and deny people access to the medication, reported Reuters. The administration noted that the lower court orders would have “sweeping consequences” for those who require access to mifepristone, one of two common medications used in abortions. The administration added that the ruling could impact the FDA’s scientific judgment authority over drug safety.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:06:13 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Reproductive rights groups have denounced the six-week abortion ban signed into law by Ron DeSantis, warning that the policy would carry disastrous consequences for the Florida governor’s constituents. “These policy decisions disproportionately hurt Black and Latino people, LGBTQ+ people, and people with low incomes due to systemic racism and discrimination,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said yesterday. “We will keep fighting back in the days, months, and years to come until all Floridians can get the care they deserve without barriers or delay.” Noting that a majority of Floridians do not support such restrictions, reproductive rights leaders predicted abortion bans would spell electoral disaster for Republicans next year. “As Republicans are learning in every single election since Dobbs, it is not a path to victory,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Naral. “The more harm DeSantis and extremists are willing to inflict on their constituents in their quest for power, the worse Election Night will be for them.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis signing a six-week ban on abortions may have political consequences ahead of his rumored presidential run, reports Politico. DeSantis backing the near-total ban could rally some Republican voters, especially in what is expected to be a packed 2024 presidential candidate race. But enacting a total ban could bring political trouble and weaken support for DeSantis amid any voters who see such harsh abortions restrictions as too far. From Politico’s Sally Goldenberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein: DeSantis is banking on support in the primary from anti-abortion voters, particularly those angry at Donald Trump. … But a six-week ban pushes the outer boundary of anti-abortion rights proposals. And it could spell trouble for DeSantis among independents and suburban voters in a general election, if he makes it that far.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:08:41 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The majority of Americans do not support restrictive bans on abortion, Politico reports. -72% of Americans oppose “laws that make it illegal to use or receive through the mail FDA-approved drugs for a medical abortion,” according to a survey by the nonpartisan Public religion research institute. -62% are against six-week abortion bans or bans around when a fetus’ heartbeat is detected. -52% of Americans are opposed to restrictions on abortions after 15-weeks.
Danco Laboratories has said that they will continue to distribute the abortion pill, according to an email from the company. Reuters reported that the company emailed a statement confirming that they will still continue to dispense Mifeprex to its customers.
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Post by Webster on Apr 14, 2023 14:09:44 GMT -5
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