The Supreme Court rejected a request to remand Texas’ six-week abortion law back a federal district court Thursday, marking another setback for advocates who have been fighting to strike down the controversial measure. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Breyer dissented from the decision, which returns the issue to a state court for additional procedural determinations. The bill,…Read More
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments Wednesday over whether a Health and Human Services mandate can force religious-based hospitals to perform sex-reassignment procedures that could cause “harm” to patients, plaintiffs say. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden’s administration restored federal protections for gay and transgender people, allowing them to sue…Read More
The final vote was 52-48. Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana joined Republicans to vote in favor of the repeal. Even with Senate approval, the GOP-backed resolution is unlikely to overturn the mandate. The Democrat-controlled House is not expected to take up the measure and President Biden would…Read More
High-profile death row inmate Julius Jones has lost at a federal appeals court, meaning his execution will be carried out Thursday unless Gov. Kevin Stitt intervenes. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled Friday against Jones and three other inmates — Wade Greely Lay, Donald A. Grant and Gilbert Ray Postelle. Their…Read More
More than 70 House and Senate Democrats announced Tuesday that they will reintroduce a bill ending the federal death penalty, enacting one of President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promises. Spearheaded by incoming Senate majority whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and democratic socialist congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), the bill would prohibit a sentence of death for any federal…Read More
Planned Parenthood will be foregoing as much as $60 million annually from a federal family planning program that will carry new anti-abortion rules. “Planned Parenthood is still open. We are continuing to fight this rule in court,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president of Planned Parenthood, said in a call with reporters Monday. She said…Read More