Abortion and Reproductive Health

[easye]

Denied abortion for a doomed pregnancy, she tells Texas court: 'There was no mercy'

www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/19/1188828153/denied-abortion-for-a-doomed-pregnancy-she-tells-texas-court-there-was-no-mercy

AUSTIN, Texas – Samantha Casiano, who gave birth to a baby who lived just four hours, broke down and became physically ill on the witness stand as she told the story of her doomed pregnancy in an Austin, Texas, courtroom on Wednesday. Her husband, Luis Villasana, rushed to the front of the courtroom to help her, during a hearing in a case challenging the abortion bans in Texas.

Casiano was one of three women who gave dramatic testimony about their pregnancies in a hushed and spellbound courtroom in the case brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights. The case, on behalf of 13 patients and two doctors, argues that the medical exceptions to Texas' laws are unclear and unworkable for doctors in ways that harm patients. They also say that the state has done nothing to clarify its laws.

The case is thought to be the first time the experiences of women have been heard in open court since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion last June.

In Wednesday's proceeding, which will continue on Thursday, lawyers for Casiano and the other plaintiffs asked the judge to temporarily suspend the bans for people who have medical complications in their pregnancies as the case proceeds. State Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is asking for the case to be dismissed.

[easye]

Also related to TX Abortions.....

Nearly two years after Texas’ six-week abortion ban, more infants are dying

www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/health/texas-abortion-ban-infant-mortality-invs/index.html

exas’ abortion restrictions – some of the strictest in the country – may be fueling a sudden spike in infant mortality as women are forced to carry nonviable pregnancies to term.

Some 2,200 infants died in Texas in 2022 – an increase of 227 deaths, or 11.5%, over the previous year, according to preliminary infant mortality data from the Texas Department of State Health Services that CNN obtained through a public records request. Infant deaths caused by severe genetic and birth defects rose by 21.6%. That spike reversed a nearly decade-long decline. Between 2014 and 2021, infant deaths had fallen by nearly 15%.

In 2021, Texas banned abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy. When the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights the following summer, a trigger law in the state banned all abortions other than those intended to protect the life of the mother.

The increase in deaths could partly be explained by the fact that more babies are being born in Texas. One recent report found that in the final nine months of 2022, the state saw nearly 10,000 more births than expected prior to its abortion ban – an estimated 3% increase.

But multiple obstetrician-gynecologists who focus on high-risk pregnancies told CNN that Texas’ strict abortion laws likely contributed to the uptick in infant deaths.

[redchimera]

Meanwhile, a key paper backing up the anti-abortion claims turns out to be flawed, and is yet another case of a academic resorting to defamation law to silence her detractors.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66249015

[Haighus]

Jul 21, 2023 5:30:55 GMT -5 redchimera said:

Meanwhile, a key paper backing up the anti-abortion claims turns out to be flawed, and is yet another case of a academic resorting to defamation law to silence her detractors.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66249015

That is well dodgy, and looks like the paper should be retracted. I don't see why they would commission a panel, then ignore the panel findings because of a legal threat. Surely retracting an article for poor research integrity is covered in the T&Cs when submitting the article?

[redchimera]

The whole topic of some scientists resorting to defamation law to prevent their research being given a going over by their peers (which how the whole world of science is supposed to work) and journals backing down because they can't afford the defence and/or just don't like printing retractions, is worthy of it's own thread.

[Disciple of Fate]

I'm just wondering why they didn't pull it in 2011. I guess leaving it up for a decade might have strengthened her legal position in some manner.

[grog]

Meanwhile the president of Stanford has resigned because he manipulated his research data. You won’t ever mention that though.

[Disciple of Fate]

How would we mention it if nobody has seen a link?

[Disciple of Fate]

So long story short, he personally was cleared but should have overseen his lab better. Resigns over that. Sounds like a nothing burger.

www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188828810/stanford-university-president-resigns

[easye]

Ruling deals blow to access to abortion pill mifepristone — but nothing changes yet

www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/16/1194280392/ruling-deals-blow-to-access-to-abortion-pill-mifepristone-but-nothing-changes-ye

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that mifepristone, one of two pills used in medication abortions, should not be prescribed past seven weeks of pregnancy or via telemedicine. However, a previous stay by the Supreme Court means this won't go into effect right away.

The pills will remain on the market in states where abortion is legal and available by telemedicine and mail for the time being.

In a 93-page ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with plaintiffs that want to restrict use of mifepristone, a pill used in medication abortions.

The 5th Circuit..... LOL...... Court shopping much?

[easye]

The end of Roe was just the beginning. This is like Pre-Civil War Slave States vs. Free States all-over again.....

Alabama attorney general says he has right to prosecute people who facilitate travel for out-of-state abortions

www.cnn.com/2023/08/31/politics/alabama-attorney-general-abortion-prosecute/index.html

Alabama’s Republican attorney general said in a court filing that he has the right to prosecute people who make travel arrangements for pregnant women to have out-of-state abortions.

In a court filing Monday, attorneys for Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote that providing transportation for women in Alabama to leave the state to get an abortion could amount to a “criminal conspiracy.”

The court filing comes in response to lawsuits against Marshall that was filed in July from two women’s health centers and Yellowhammer Fund, an organization which says it provides “financial and practical support for those who are pregnant and require assistance.” The plaintiffs argue that Marshall violated their constitutional rights by publicly stating that organizations which help pregnant women in Alabama get an abortion out of state could be criminally investigated.

“Alabama can no more regulate out-of-state abortions than another state can deem its laws legalizing abortions to apply to Alabama,” the Yellowhammer Fund lawsuit argues.

Marshall is now asking Judge Myron Thompson to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that helping a woman avoid Alabama’s restrictions by facilitating an abortion elsewhere is a conspiracy.

The Fugitive Fetus Act! I look forward to the Abortion equivalent to Dredd Scott at the Supreme Court in my lifetime!

[skyth]

Remember when the anti-Roe crowd was saying that they couldn't/wouldn't do that?

[Disciple of Fate]

They never expected to get to this point, so now everything they can get through is just a horrible bonus to them.

[easye]

This case is so messed up. There is so much smoke it is hard to see where the actual fire is in this case. The whole thing is a mess.

www.npr.org/2023/11/02/1210198143/idaho-abortion-kidnapping-charges-oregon-underage-girlfriend-parental-rights

A mom and son are charged in Idaho after a teen is taken to Oregon for an abortion

An Idaho woman and her son have been charged with kidnapping after prosecutors say they took the son's minor girlfriend out of state to get an abortion.

Court documents show Idaho police began investigating the mother and son earlier this summer after a 15-year-old girl's mother told authorities her daughter had been sexually assaulted and later taken to Oregon to have an abortion.

With some narrow technical exceptions, abortion is banned throughout pregnancy in Republican-controlled Idaho. The procedure is legal in left-leaning Oregon, prompting many patients to cross the state border for services, a trend anti-abortion opponents have struggled to stifle ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion last year.

Idaho's Republican-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Brad Little are seeking more ways to curb abortion as well. Recently, the state made it illegal to help minors get an abortion without their parents' consent, legislation aimed at preventing minors who don't have parental approval from getting abortions out of state. However, that law is being challenged in court, and prosecutors in the kidnapping case aren't relying on it.

According to an affidavit, the mother of the girl who travelled for the abortion believed her daughter was living with her father, but told authorities she later discovered the teen was staying at her boyfriend's house for several months in Pocatello, Idaho.

[Haighus]

I presume the US does not have a sensible equivalent to Gillick competency and the Fraser guidelines, and therefore treats teenagers as inanimate property regarding medical decisions?

Kidnapping seems bizarre in this case, as it is making the assumption that the girl was coerced into an abortion and not capable of making her own decision. Maybe they were coerced but the story suggests otherwise...