Lauren Handy outside the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, the day the Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Eric Lee / The Washington Post via Getty Images) Emotions ran high over the past few weeks as reproductive rights activists watched United States v. Lauren Handy et al., play out in federal court. On Tuesday, a […]
North Carolina’s GOP controlled state legislature overrides vetoes to pass anti-trans laws
On Wednesday, Republican supermajorities in the North Carolina House and Senate overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on three anti-trans bills, stripping transgender youth of their rights to access gender-affirming healthcare, to play sports, and to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. House Bill 808- “Gender Transition Procedures on Minors” The first […]
Ohio’s Abortion Rights Future: Issue 1 Defeat Highlights Voter Commitment
Ohioans Vote for Abortion Rights, Defeating Issue 1 Last week, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted against a ballot measure that would make it harder to amend the state’s constitution. The hotly contested election served as a proxy battle between pro-abortion and anti-abortion forces committed to winning victory in the upcoming November 2023 ballot initiative to add abortion […]
Indiana’s near total abortion ban currently paused
Indiana’s latest extreme abortion ban was set to go into effect today, but remains on hold as the ACLU has filed a petition to the state Supreme Court challenging the law. The ban would outlaw abortions in all cases, except rape and incest, but only in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The health of […]
Ohio’s abortion rights amendment qualifies for November ballot
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash In November, Ohio voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to include a right to reproductive freedom. State officials said on Tuesday that the petition had culled 495,938 valid signatures across 55 counties, surpassing the requisite 413,487 signatures across 44 counties. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio […]
Opill becomes first FDA-approved contraceptive pill for over-the-counter use
In the United States, the path to accessible birth control pills hasn’t always been easy. Although the first FDA-approved birth control pill became available in 1960, the Comstock Act (a 150 year old “chastity law”) has created barriers to accessing it. These barriers were not challenged until Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, when the Supreme […]
Biden-Harris administration forgives student debt for 804,000 borrowers
When the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student debt relief plan, he remained determined. At a June 30 press conference he told reporters, “We need to find a new way.” Two weeks later, the Department of Education announced the details: it will cancel $39 billion in Federal student loans. On July […]
Though most Iowans support abortion access, legislators pass six-week ban
Last month, the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on whether the state could reinstate an abortion ban around six weeks. The case centered around a 2018 statute that many people believed had “no chance of taking effect,” Justice Thomas D. Waterman observed. Without Court consensus, abortion remained legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy. That changed […]
Supreme Court lets businesses discriminate against a protected class for the first time in history
In 2017, the Supreme Court heard a case about a bakery owner who refused to create a cake for a gay wedding. The Court ruled that the cake represented free expression, so the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) could not force the owner to sell a cake for the couple’s wedding. On June 30, the Court […]
Democrats reintroduce legislation to expand the Supreme Court, set term limits
The Supreme Court ended its term with decisions that challenged precedent and rolled back rights for the environment, Black and Latino college applicants, same-sex couples, and student loan borrowers. With a 6-3 conservative majority, the Court is making its highest rate of conservative decisions since 1931.Two of its Justices have violated ethics protocol and its […]