June 24, 2023

Saturday, June 24, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

I think the Roundup makes people feel not so alone.

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Title IX.

Yesterday, we celebrated the anniversary of Title IX. It became law in 1972.

It changed women’s sports life forever. It changed women’s lives forever. It changed American life forever.

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One year since we lost Roe.

Where abortion laws stand in every state a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe

STATES WHERE ABORTION IS BANNED THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY

ALABAMA

Law adopted in 2019 took effect after Dobbs.

Exception: Woman’s life or health.

ARKANSAS

Law adopted in 2019 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Woman’s life.

IDAHO

Law adopted in 2020 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Rape, incest and life of the woman. A judge has blocked enforcement in cases of medical emergencies.

The state also has a law making it a felony to transport a minor for the purpose of obtaining an abortion without parental consent.

KENTUCKY

Law adopted in 2019 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Health or life of the woman.

Kentucky voters in 2022 defeated a ballot question for an amendment that would have declared there to be no right to abortion in the state constitution.

LOUISIANA

Law adopted in 2006 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Life or heath of the woman.

MISSISSIPPI

Law adopted in 2007 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Rape and the life of the woman.

MISSOURI

Law adopted in 2019 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Life or heath of the woman.

NORTH DAKOTA

A new law was adopted in 2023, replacing one that was blocked by a court.

Exceptions: Rape, incest and health or life of the woman.

OKLAHOMA

Law adopted in 2022 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Life of the woman.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Law adopted in 2005 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Life of the woman.

TENNESSEE

Law adopted in 2020 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Health or life of the woman.

TEXAS

Law adopted in 2021 took effect after Dobbs.

Exceptions: Health or life of the woman.

WEST VIRGINIA

Ban adopted in 2022 after the Dobbs ruling.

Exceptions: Rape, incest and health or life of the woman.

WISCONSIN

Ban is from an 1849 law. There’s litigation over whether it should be in effect.

Exceptions: Woman’s life.

STATES WHERE ABORTION IS BANNED AFTER 6 TO 15 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY

ARIZONA

A ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation was adopted in 2022 and took effect after the Dobbs ruling.

Exceptions: Health or life of the woman.

A state court has ruled that a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy does not apply to doctors; there’s a legal dispute about whether it is in effect for “helpers.”

GEORGIA

Law adopted in 2019 bans abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, generally around six weeks into pregnancy — and before women often know they’re pregnant.

Exceptions: Rape, incest and health or life of the woman.

NEBRASKA

Law adopted in 2023 bans abortion at 12 weeks’ gestational age.

Exceptions: Rape, incest and life of the woman.

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STATES WHERE BANS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BUT ARE NOT YET IN EFFECT

FLORIDA

A ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation was adopted in 2022 and took effect after the Dobbs ruling.

Exceptions: Health or life of the woman.

If a court finds the current ban to comply with the state constitution, it is to be replaced with a more stringent one adopted in 2023 that would ban abortion after six weeks and add exceptions for cases of rape and incest.

NORTH CAROLINA

A ban on abortions after 20 weeks is in place until July 1, when a ban after 12 weeks, with exceptions for the health and life of the woman, rape and incest takes effect.

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STATES WHERE BANS OR RESTRICTIONS HAVE BEEN PUT ON HOLD BY COURTS

INDIANA

A ban on abortion after 22 weeks’ gestation is in place.

A law to ban abortion at any point in pregnancy was adopted in 2022 after Dobbs, but the Indiana Supreme Court put it on hold.

MONTANA

Abortion is banned after viability. A Montana judge has put on hold enforcement of a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and one on the most commonly used procedure in the second trimester, dilation and evacuation, after 15 weeks.

OHIO

A ban on abortions after 22 weeks is in place. A county judge put on hold a ban on abortion after cardiac activity can be detected. The state Supreme Court is reviewing that decision.

Abortion-rights groups are pursuing a measure for the November ballot that would enshrine in the state constitution a right to make one’s own decisions about a variety of reproductive care issues.

SOUTH CAROLINA

A ban on abortions after 20 weeks is in place. A judge has put on hold enforcement of a ban after cardiac activity can be detected.

UTAH

A ban on abortions after 18 weeks is in place. A state court has put on hold enforcement of a ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy. A ban on abortion clinics is also on hold.

WYOMING

Abortion is banned after viability. Courts have put on hold enforcement of two different bans at all stages of pregnancy, and blocked a specific ban on abortion pills while a lawsuit proceeds.

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STATES THAT HAVE MOVED TO PROTECT ABORTION ACCESS

CALIFORNIA

Abortion is banned after viability.

Since last year, the state has adopted an executive order, laws and a state constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.

COLORADO

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy.

An executive order and laws to protect access to abortion and one to bar “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centers have been adopted since last year.

CONNECTICUT

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order signed last year protects access to abortion.

DELAWARE

Abortion is banned after viability. A law has been adopted since last year to protect access.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy. A law has been adopted since last year to protect access.

HAWAII

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order and law have been adopted since last year to protect access.

ILLINOIS

Abortion is banned after viability. A law has been adopted since last year protecting access.

MAINE

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order has been signed since last year protecting access.

MARYLAND

Abortion is banned after viability. A law has been adopted since last year protecting access.

MASSACHUSSETS

Abortion is banned after 24 weeks. A law has been adopted since last year protecting access.

MICHIGAN

Abortion is banned after viability. A constitutional amendment was adopted in 2022 to protect abortion access.

MINNESOTA

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order and law have been adopted since last year to protect access.

NEVADA

Abortion is banned after 24 weeks. An executive order and law have been adopted since last year to protect access.

NEW JERSEY

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy. A law has been adopted since last year protecting access.

NEW MEXICO

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy. An executive order and law have been adopted since last year to protect access.

NEW YORK

Abortion is banned after viability. Laws have been adopted since last year to protect access.

PENNSYLVANIA

Abortion is banned after 24 weeks. An executive order has been signed since last year protecting access.

RHODE ISLAND

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order has been signed since last year protecting access. A 2023 law expands coverage for abortion for state workers and Medicaid enrollees.

VERMONT

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy. A constitutional amendment and law protecting access have been enacted since last year.

WASHINGTON

Abortion is banned after viability. An executive order and law have been adopted since last year to protect access.

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STATES WHERE KEY ABORTION POLICIES ARE UNCHANGED SINCE DOBBS

ALASKA

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy.

IOWA

A ban on abortion after 22 weeks’ gestation is in place.

KANSAS

A ban on abortion after 22 weeks’ gestation is in place.

Voters in 2022 defeated a ballot question that would have found no right to abortion in the state constitution.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Abortion is banned after 24 weeks.

OREGON

Abortion is not banned at any point in pregnancy.

VIRGINIA

Abortion is banned after the second trimester, around 26 weeks.

(Associated Press).

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Things we’ve learned about abortion since Roe fell.

With the legal and political landscape still roiling, here are 10 surprises from the past year.

1. SCOTUS wanted to wash their hands of the abortion issue. That’s not happening.

2. The Right isn’t united on a path forward.

The anti-abortion movement worked for nearly five decades to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now that they’ve achieved that, they’re faced with competing visions about what the post-Roe future should look like.

Soon after winning back the majority earlier this year, House Republicans passed two measures to condemn attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and penalize doctors who refuse to care for infants who are born after an abortion attempt. But they haven’t made good on their pledge to hold a vote on a national abortion ban, despite pressure from anti-abortion groups to do so.

3. The Left isn’t united, either.

4. Abortion rights are winning at the ballot box. Both sides are behaving accordingly.

Abortion-rights proponents prevailed on all six abortion-related ballot measures last year — including in red states like Kentucky and Montana.

Energized by those wins, abortion-rights groups in Florida, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota, are angling to get measures on the ballot either this year or in 2024 that would codify the right to abortion in those states’ constitutions.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups are mobilizing to prevent those measures from reaching voters, in what they say is an effort to keep deep-pocketed, out-of-state groups from spending millions to sway policy. GOP lawmakers in several states introduced bills this year to make it harder to get abortion-rights measures and other progressive proposals on the ballot. Anti-abortion groups have also appealed to the executive and judicial branches in Missouri and Ohio, respectively, to stymie the proposed measures.

5. Republicans are struggling to define their abortion views heading into 2024.

6. State constitutions in some surprising places may protect abortion rights — the state Supreme Court just has to say so.

7. Most doctors will not break the law.

8. Abortion is difficult to separate from other health care.

9. Religion cuts both ways.

State and federal officials have frequently invoked religion when enacting restrictions on abortion over the past year — even, in some cases, putting religious language into the text of the laws. But religious freedom arguments could help topple those bans.

Clergy members and practitioners of everything from Judaism to Satanismhave filed nearly a dozen different challenges to state abortion laws in state and federal court. Most of the suits seek religious exemptions to state abortion bans, arguing that the laws infringe on their right to free exercise, while a few ask courts to block the bans altogether because they violate the separation of church and state by imposing one religion’s view of when life begins on the entire population.

Legal experts say the strategy has a decent chance of persuading courts to loosen or block state bans, and challengers have already secured temporary wins in Indiana and Wyoming.

But the plaintiffs say that if they don’t prevail in court, they hope to show the public that there is more diversity of thought about abortion within religious groups than many assume. That argument is reflected in post-Dobbs polling, which found that majorities of most religions believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

10. Fears of states reaching across their borders to prosecute abortion providers have not come to pass.

(Politico).

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How a Year Without Roe Shifted American Views on Abortion.

New and extensive polling shows public opinion increasingly supports legal abortion, with potential political consequences for 2024.

For decades, Americans had settled around an uneasy truce on abortion. Even if most people weren’t happy with the status quo, public opinion about the legality and morality of abortion remained relatively static. But the Supreme Court’s decision last summer overturning Roe v. Wade set off a seismic change, in one swoop striking down a federal right to abortion that had existed for 50 years, long enough that women of reproductive age had never lived in a world without it. As the decision triggered state bans and animated voters in the midterms, it shook complacency and forced many people to reconsider their positions.

In the year since, polling shows that what had been considered stable ground has begun to shift: For the first time, a majority of Americans say abortion is “morally acceptable.” A majority now believes abortion laws are too strict. They are significantly more likely to identify, in the language of polls, as “pro-choice” over “pro-life,” for the first time in two decades.

And more voters than ever say they will vote only for a candidate who shares their views on abortion, with a twist: While Republicans and those identifying as “pro-life” have historically been most likely to see abortion as a litmus test, now they are less motivated by it, while Democrats and those identifying as “pro-choice” are far more so.

Gallup happened to start its annual survey of American values just as the court’s decision in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, leaked last May. That was when the balance began to tilt toward voters identifying as “pro-choice.” And when the question was divided into whether abortion should be legal in the first, second or third trimester, the share of Americans who say it should be legal in each was the highest it has been since Gallup first asked in 1996.

The biggest change in polls has been the swing in who votes on abortion. In the most recent example, Gallup found that in 2020 roughly 25 percent of Democrats and Republicans alike had said they would vote only for a candidate who shared their view on abortion. The share of Democrats saying this has jumped since the leak of the Dobbs decision, to 41 percent. Among Republicans the percentage was down slightly.

To read the whole New York Times article on America’s views on abortion, click here.

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Biden expected to get endorsement by major abortion rights groups.

A joint announcement by NARAL, Emily’s List and Planned Parenthood will come at a Dobbs anniversary rally.

Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver speech in North Carolina on anniversary of Roe v. Wade reversal.

The vice president is set to speak in Charlotte exactly a year after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 landmark decision on abortion rights.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a major speech in North Carolina on June 24 as part of the Biden administration's plans to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, a White House official said Thursday.

During the speech in Charlotte, Harris, the first female vice president, will rally supporters, advocates and community leaders around the administration’s focus on the fight for reproductive rights, the official told NBC News.

It will be among several events the White House plans to hold this month to mark the anniversary, putting a spotlight on an issue campaign advisers see as a dominant 2024 voting issue.

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are also expected to participate in events, the White House official said.

In her remarks next week, Harris plans to draw a contrast between the “Republicans’ extreme approach” to reproductive health care and the Biden administration’s approach, the White House official said.

Harris is also scheduled to sit down Tuesday with MSNBC’s Joy Reid for a televised roundtable discussion about the impact of the Supreme Court's decision.

Harris will speak in Charlotte exactly a year after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to reverse the landmark 1973 ruling on abortion rights. The Supreme Court’s ruling last year proved to be one of the defining moments of the midterm elections, galvanizing key voting groups — especially women — in support of Democratic candidates.

Democrats ultimately defied historical trends in which the president's party usually has major losses at the ballot box, especially in congressional races. While Republicans won control of the House, they did so only narrowly, while Democrats added a seat to their slim majority in the Senate.

Now, Biden advisers say they expect abortion to be even more significant in the 2024 election. Republican governors and legislators have moved swiftly in several states to enact more restrictive abortion policies.

As part of the lead-up to the June 24 anniversary, the White House held a pair of events Wednesday and Thursday, hosting Democratic legislators from 41 states to discuss state-level attacks on reproductive rights.

The White House on Wednesday hosted 49 legislators from 25 states that have taken steps to roll back reproductive rights. On Thursday, it hosted 32 legislators from 16 states working to safeguard access to abortion care. Some of the participants from the White House were Neera Tanden, assistant to the president and the director of the Domestic Policy Council, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The Biden administration has been trying to navigate ways to protect reproductive health care services after last year's Supreme Court decision.

Abortion rights advocates are entrenched in a legal battle over the abortion medication mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen, to self-manage the ending of a pregnancy. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana recently heard arguments in the case, but the appeals process could take months. (NBC News).

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Jen Psaki has a special guest tomorrow. Noon.

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One year since we lost Roe.

It takes more than a minute to think about what the end of Roe means, what has happened and what this country is about.

I will be thinking more about this as Eve and I move to the beach 🏖️ this weekend. Lucky us.

Unless there is breaking news, I will likely not see you until Tuesday.

Have a good Pride Celebration and weekend. I will miss you as I always do, during any hiatus.

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