ACLU, Planned Parenthood challenge Ohio abortion restrictions after voter referendum

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed a legal challenge on Friday to some of Ohio’s abortion laws, now that Ohio voters have enshrined voting rights in the state’s constitution. The lawsuit filed on behalf of abortion clinics says that since Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to protect such rights in an … Read more

50 years after the former Yugoslavia protected abortion rights, that legacy is under threat

ZAGREB, Croatia — With vigils outside clinics, marches drawing thousands and groups of men kneeling to pray in public squares, religious and neo-conservative groups have been ramping up pressure to ban abortions in staunchly Catholic Croatia. The fierce debate has fueled divisions in the European Union nation of about 3.9 million people where abortion remains … Read more

Lawsuit says Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban violates the state constitution

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge on Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under 18. The litigation, brought in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, alleges the law … Read more

Bill that would have placed the question of abortion access before Louisiana voters fails

BATON ROUGE, La. — A bill that ultimately would have let voters decide whether abortions should be legal in Louisiana, a state with a near-total ban, failed after a Republican-controlled committee rejected it Monday. The legislation proposed an amendment to Louisiana’s constitution that would enshrine reproductive rights for women, including allowing contraceptives such as birth … Read more

A Kansas judge says barring driver’s license changes doesn’t violate trans people’s rights

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas judge ruled Monday that the state isn’t violating transgender residents’ rights under the state constitution by refusing to change their driver’s licenses to reflect their gender identities. District Judge Teresa Watson kept in place indefinitely an order she first issued in July 2023 to prevent the Kansas Department of Revenue … Read more

France becomes the only country to explicitly guarantee abortion as a constitutional right

PARIS — French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy. The historic move was proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen … Read more

Republicans vote to make it harder to amend Missouri Constitution

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republican lawmakers on Thursday voted to make it harder to change the Missouri Constitution amid a campaign to restore abortion rights through a voter-backed constitutional amendment. Currently, Missouri constitutional changes are enacted if approved by a majority of votes statewide. State senators voted 22-9 along party lines to also require a … Read more

Alabama IVF ruling puts spotlight on state plans for tax breaks and child support for fetuses

TOPEKA, Kan. — The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are legally protected children is highlighting how support for the idea that a fetus should have the same rights as a person underpins far less dramatic laws and proposals from abortion foes across the U.S. Lawmakers in at least six states have proposed … Read more

New Hampshire Senate rejects enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution

CONCORD, N.H. — Another attempt to enshrine abortion rights in the New Hampshire Constitution failed Thursday, this time in the Senate. State law prohibits abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy except when the mother’s health or life is in danger or there is a fatal fetal anomaly. The Republican-led House earlier this month voted 193-184 … Read more

Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024?

The Florida Supreme Court is hearing arguments Wednesday on whether a ballot measure to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution should go before voters in November. It’s one of several states where abortion might be on the ballot this year. There has been a major push across the country to put abortion … Read more