Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2016 / 06:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a changed political landscape, pro-abortion rights groups have filed lawsuits against three states’ abortion laws.
Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU’s reproductive freedom project, told the British newspaper The Independent that the lawsuits were just the “first wave” in their efforts.
But to Marjorie Dannenfelser of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, the lawsuits were a sign of panic among abortion advocates.
“They lost big at the ballot box, so now they’re looking to the courts to undo the will of state legislatures,” said Dannenfelser, who advised the Trump campaign. “They realize the sense of urgency to head to the courts now knowing that the judicial landscape will change under a pro-life President Trump.”
Planned Parenthood chief medical officer Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley claimed recent political developments combine to make “the biggest threat we’ve seen” in the abortion provider’s history.
The lawsuits were filed by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Attorneys from the latter two groups told a Nov. 30 press conference that the lawsuits aim to follow up on a 2016 Supreme Court case that struck down abortion restrictions in Texas.
The Missouri lawsuit challenges rules similar to the rejected Texas law that required abortion clinics to meet physical standards for surgical abortion clinics and to have doctors with admitting privileges in nearby hospitals.
Only one licensed abortion clinic remains in Missouri, in St. Louis, the Associated Press said, crediting the law for some abortion clinic closures.
In Alaska, the pro-abortion rights groups challenged 40-year-old regulations barring abortion in outpatient health centers after the first trimester of pregnancy. They said the rules compel women who want to procure abortions to travel out of state. Planned Parenthood said it sends about 30 of such women out of state each year.
In North Carolina, the law allows doctors to perform abortions after 20 weeks into pregnancy only in cases of immediate medical emergencies. The ACLU objected that this bars abortions for women in high-risk pregnancies from having abortions until death or major health damage is imminent.
As Republicans take control of the House, Senate and presidency, Planned Parenthood could face a renewed push against its more than $500 million in annual federal funding. There are also discussions over whether to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funds being used directly for most abortions.
Article Archive
Wave of abortion lawsuits may signal panic amid political shift
Related Articles • More Articles
null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...
The St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States, on April 9, 2020, in New Orleans. / Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on a suspicion that it may be linked to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in a search warrant granted to Louisiana State Police.The affidavit requesting the search warrant, first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they were sexually abused. It further alleges a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed to provide "gifts" to certain priests, which were meant to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.According to the ...
Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese's major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew BalanBaltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city's parishes.Several parishes from the state's largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's "Seek the City" parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of...