PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has delivered a landmark decision in giving the go-ahead to enforce a long-dormant law that bans nearly all abortions, drastically altering the legal landscape within the state around terminating pregnancies. The law predating Arizona’s statehood provides no exceptions for rape or incest and allows abortions only if the mother’s … Read more
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state can enforce its long-dormant law criminalizing all abortions except when a mother’s life is at stake. The case examined whether the state is still subject to a law that predates Arizona’s statehood. The 1864 law provides no exceptions for rape or incest, but allows … Read more
When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys defending Tennessee’s sweeping abortion ban alleged Thursday that doctors challenging the law do not want any oversight when deciding to terminate a pregnancy and instead are improperly withholding care to women facing serious medical emergencies. The Tennessee Attorney General’s office laid out its arguments while attempting to persuade a three-judge panel … Read more
TRENTON, N.J. — Frustrated at having unsuccessfully agitated for over three years to get lawmakers to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos, workers on Friday tried a new tactic. They filed a lawsuit to try to overturn a law that leaves casino workers as the only ones not covered by the protections of a clean … Read more
Karen Nickel has been dealing with lupus and other illnesses for years, illnesses she blames on childhood exposure to a suburban St. Louis creek where Cold War-era nuclear waste was dumped decades ago. It’s time, she said Friday, for the federal government to start making amends. “People have died and are still dying,” Nickel, co-founder … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee would become the latest state to require public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable, under legislation that is headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. The GOP-dominated Senate passed the legislation Thursday, with the five Democrats in attendance and one … Read more
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed a law that would have allowed over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill for girls and women ages 15 and above, his office said. Duda said he was concerned about the health of minors and heeding the voices of parents. A statement by Duda’s office said … Read more
LANSING, Mich. — Rachael Lang and her husband share the same last name as their biological daughter, but are not listed on her birth certificate. Instead, it bears the name of a surrogate who carried their daughter due to Lang’s past cancer diagnosis. Michigan’s ban on paid surrogacy contracts — the only state with such … Read more
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
