A state court judge’s ruling Monday keeps an abortion-rights question on the November ballot in South Dakota. Judge John Pekas dismissed a lawsuit filed by an anti-abortion group, Life Defense Fund, that sought to have the question removed even though supporters turned in more than enough valid signatures to put it on the ballot. “They … Read more
Abortion access ballot measures are the center of a new wave of legal and procedural questions across the U.S. Opponents of abortion access have focused on the technicalities at a time when votes have been siding with abortion access advocates. That side has prevailed on all seven ballot questions in the last two years. Abortion-related … Read more
PHOENIX — Backers of a November abortion rights ballot initiative have sued a GOP-led legislative committee that seeks to include proposed language for the voter pamphlet referring to a fetus as an “unborn human being.” Arizona for Abortion Access filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court on Wednesday, asking that a judge refuse to … Read more
A ballot measure to scale back the abortion ban in Arkansas won’t go before voters after the secretary of state on Wednesday found that organizers failed to submit required paperwork about the paid canvassers it used to help gather signatures that were submitted earlier this month. But the issue will be directly before voters in … Read more
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas election officials on Wednesday rejected petitions submitted for an abortion-rights ballot measure that organizers hoped to put before voters this fall in a predominantly Republican state. The secretary of state’s office rejected the petitions submitted on Friday by supporters of the proposal, saying the group didn’t submit statements required regarding … Read more
WASHINGTON — A solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a rising number support access to abortions for any reason, a new poll finds, highlighting a politically perilous situation for candidates who oppose abortion rights as the November election draws closer. Around 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow … Read more
MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Committee’s platform committee has adopted a policy document that reflects former President Donald Trump’s position opposing a federal abortion ban and ceding limits to states, omitting a national ban for the first time in 40 years. The committee, according to two people briefed on the language, agreed on language that, … Read more
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court decided Tuesday to consider two challenges to a 175-year-old law that conservatives maintain bans abortion without letting the cases wind through lower courts. Abortion advocates stand an excellent chance of prevailing in both cases given the high court’s liberal tilt and remarks a liberal justice made on the … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four anti-abortion activists who were convicted in January on felony conspiracy charges for their roles in a 2021 Tennessee clinic blockade were sentenced this week to terms ranging from 6 months in prison to three years of supervised release. The sentences were below those asked by prosecutors, and U.S. District Judge Aleta … Read more
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ highest court strongly reaffirmed Friday that the state constitution protects abortion access, striking down a ban on a common second-trimester procedure and laws regulating abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. The pair of 5-1 decisions suggests that other restrictions — even ones decades on the books — might … Read more
