South Dakota court decision threatens abortion rights measure on November ballot
4 months, 2 weeks ago

South Dakota court decision threatens abortion rights measure on November ballot

Associated Press  

The South Dakota Supreme Court has reversed a judge’s ruling from last month that dismissed a lawsuit aiming to remove an abortion rights initiative from the November ballot. The anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund had appealed Judge John Pekas’s ruling that dismissed its lawsuit seeking to invalidate the measure. Weiland said, “This is just an ongoing effort by the Life Defense Fund and the right-to-life lobby to stop and impede voters’ right to weigh in on this measure, and they continue, and have for almost 18 months, to do everything that they can think of, now, to kick it off the ballot.” Measure backers submitted about 54,000 petition signatures in May. The measure would bar the state from regulating “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation” in the first trimester, but it would allow second-trimester regulations “only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” The constitutional amendment would allow the state to regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester, “except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.” South Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime except in instances to save the life of the mother, under a trigger law that took effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion.

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Judge dismisses a lawsuit over South Dakota abortion-rights measure that voters rejected
1 month ago

Judge dismisses a lawsuit over South Dakota abortion-rights measure that voters rejected

Associated Press  

A South Dakota judge dismissed a lawsuit that an anti-abortion group filed in June targeting an abortion rights measure that voters rejected this month. In a statement, Life Defense Fund co-chair Leslee Unruh said: “The people have decided, and South Dakotans overwhelmingly rejected this constitutional abortion measure. “The Life Defense Fund’s accusations were part of a broader, failed effort to …

Abortion opponents prepare to undermine just-passed ballot measures
1 month, 1 week ago

Abortion opponents prepare to undermine just-passed ballot measures

Politico  

While President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans campaigned on a promise to leave abortion policy to the states, Students for Life is lobbying allies on Capitol Hill to ban telehealth prescriptions of abortion pills and slash funding for colleges and universities that provide abortion pills through student health centers. “The federal government has a sacred duty to protect the right …

Most states that considered abortion rights amendments approved them
Trending News
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Most states that considered abortion rights amendments approved them

NPR  

Most states that considered abortion rights amendments approved them toggle caption Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images/AFP Ten states considered adding language guaranteeing abortion rights in their state constitutions during this year’s elections. Sponsor Message In Arizona, voters approved a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights up to the point of viability in the state constitution, likely upending the state’s …

South Dakota rejects effort to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution
1 month, 2 weeks ago

South Dakota rejects effort to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution

NPR  

South Dakota rejects effort to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution toggle caption Jack Dura/AP This piece originally appeared as part of NPR's live coverage of the 2024 election. — South Dakota voters rejected an abortion rights amendment to the state constitution, according to a call by the Associated Press. More: South Dakota election results The vote affirms one …

Anti-abortion forces broke the left’s post-Roe winning streak, but seven more states enacted protections
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Anti-abortion forces broke the left’s post-Roe winning streak, but seven more states enacted protections

Politico  

Many of the measures won — and in Florida, came close to winning — despite widespread efforts by GOP state officials, Republican-appointed judges and anti-abortion advocacy groups to prevent them from passing or from reaching the ballot, using legislation, lawsuits and public pressure campaigns. “This won’t be the last time Missourians vote on so-called ‘reproductive rights,’” said GOP state Sen. …

South Dakota to Decide on Abortion Rights and Recreational Marijuana
1 month, 2 weeks ago

South Dakota to Decide on Abortion Rights and Recreational Marijuana

Associated Press  

South Dakota will hold a vote on Tuesday to decide whether to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana. The abortion rights measure would amend the state constitution to bar restrictions on terminating a pregnancy during its first 12 weeks. The recreational marijuana measure would legalize recreational use for those 21 and older, with up to 2 ounces in a …

The Catholic father-son duo fighting for abortion rights in South Dakota
1 month, 3 weeks ago

The Catholic father-son duo fighting for abortion rights in South Dakota

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. We all got together, drafted the amendment, filed it and started collecting signatures.” On …

More abortion ballot measures are set to pass. Then state courts will have their say.
2 months, 1 week ago

More abortion ballot measures are set to pass. Then state courts will have their say.

Politico  

In Arizona, progressive groups are holding events and knocking on doors to make GOP-appointed state Supreme Court Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King the first in state history to lose a retention vote by reminding voters the pair ruled this year to uphold an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions. But they can interpret what it means, and what the …

A lawsuit challenging a South Dakota abortion rights measure will play out after the election
3 months ago

A lawsuit challenging a South Dakota abortion rights measure will play out after the election

Associated Press  

An anti-abortion group’s lawsuit to invalidate an abortion rights measure appearing on South Dakota’s statewide ballot won’t be resolved until after the November election. In a statement, Life Defense Fund spokesperson Caroline Woods said both parties were surprised the trial was not going to happen next week. Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said, “I think for us the bottom …

Nebraska ballot will include competing measures to expand or limit abortion rights, top court rules
3 months, 1 week ago

Nebraska ballot will include competing measures to expand or limit abortion rights, top court rules

Associated Press  

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that competing measures that would expand or limit abortion rights can appear on the November ballot. Today, their plans failed.” Matt Heffron, an attorney with the conservative Thomas More Society, which challenged the measure to expand abortion rights, called the court’s ruling “deeply concerning” and said the group fears that if the measure passes, …

In 'win for reproductive freedom,' North Dakota judge strikes down abortion ban
3 months, 1 week ago

In 'win for reproductive freedom,' North Dakota judge strikes down abortion ban

Raw Story  

Two days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that "every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative" wanted the federal right to abortion care to be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, a North Dakota judge became the latest on Thursday to strike down a state-level abortion ban, saying it violated residents' constitutional rights. Meetra Mehdizadeh, a staff attorney at CRR, …

North Dakota judge strikes down the state’s abortion ban
3 months, 1 week ago

North Dakota judge strikes down the state’s abortion ban

LA Times  

A state judge struck down North Dakota’s ban on abortion Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus is viable. The judge acknowledged in his ruling that in the past, the North Dakota courts had relied on federal court precedents on abortion, but said those state precedents had been “upended” by the …

Missouri Supreme Court restores abortion rights ballot initiative
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Missouri Supreme Court restores abortion rights ballot initiative

Raw Story  

Reproductive freedom defenders on Tuesday cheered the Missouri Supreme Court's restoration of an abortion rights referendum—one of numerous 2024 ballot initiatives seeking to codify access to the healthcare procedure in states from coast to coast. Missouri's highest court overturned Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh's ruling removing Amendment 3—also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative—from the November 5 ballot. …

Abortion rights supporters in South Dakota blast state’s video of abortion laws
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Abortion rights supporters in South Dakota blast state’s video of abortion laws

Associated Press  

A newly released, state-produced video intended to help doctors comply with South Dakota’s strict abortion law isn’t specific enough to ensure health care professionals don’t violate the regulations and open themselves up for prosecution, a group of abortion rights supporters said Friday. The video notes that its collaborators included the health department, the state attorney general’s office, the American Association …

Missouri abortion-rights amendment could be axed from the ballot after ruling
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Missouri abortion-rights amendment could be axed from the ballot after ruling

Associated Press  

— A Missouri judge on Friday ruled that an abortion-rights campaign did not meet legal requirements to qualify for the November ballot, potentially thwarting a yearslong effort to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. In his ruling, Limbaugh said Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not do enough during the signature-gathering process to inform voters that the measure would undo the …

Judge’s ruling imperils Missouri abortion rights ballot initiative
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Judge’s ruling imperils Missouri abortion rights ballot initiative

LA Times  

A Missouri judge ruled Friday that an abortion rights campaign did not meet legal requirements to qualify its constitutional amendment initiative for the November ballot, potentially thwarting a years-long effort to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. In his ruling, Limbaugh said Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not do enough during the signature-gathering process to inform voters that the measure …

Nebraska Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging measure to expand abortion rights
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Nebraska Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging measure to expand abortion rights

Associated Press  

— The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to expedite a hearing on a lawsuit that could keep voters from deciding whether to expand abortion rights in the state. “And it’s without any sort of regulation from the state at all.” Backers of the initiative to expand abortion rights have asked the court for the chance to defend their proposal, which …

Nebraska Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging measure to expand abortion rights
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Nebraska Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging measure to expand abortion rights

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Nebraska Supreme Court has …

North Dakota judge will decide whether to throw out a challenge to the state’s abortion ban
5 months ago

North Dakota judge will decide whether to throw out a challenge to the state’s abortion ban

Associated Press  

BISMARCK, N.D. — Attorneys argued Tuesday over whether a North Dakota judge should toss a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban, with the state saying the plaintiffs’ case rests on hypotheticals, and the plaintiffs saying key issues remain to be resolved at a scheduled trial. State District Judge Bruce Romanick said he will rule as quickly as he can, but …

South Dakota anti-abortion group appeals ruling that dismissed its lawsuit over ballot initiative
5 months ago

South Dakota anti-abortion group appeals ruling that dismissed its lawsuit over ballot initiative

Associated Press  

— An anti-abortion group in South Dakota has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court after a judge dismissed its lawsuit to take an abortion rights initiative off the November ballot. In a statement, Life Defense Fund Co-Chair Leslee Unruh said the group has asked for an expedited order from the court “because there are absolutely no legal grounds for this …

Arkansas is sued for rejecting petitions on an abortion-rights ballot measure
5 months, 1 week ago

Arkansas is sued for rejecting petitions on an abortion-rights ballot measure

Associated Press  

— Arkansas is being sued for rejecting petitions in favor of a proposed ballot measure to scale back the state’s abortion ban, with supporters asking the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to order officials to start counting more than 100,000 signatures from people who back amending the constitution. Giving voters a chance to weigh in on the state’s ban would …

Ruling keeps abortion question on ballot in South Dakota
5 months, 1 week ago

Ruling keeps abortion question on ballot in South Dakota

Associated Press  

A state court judge’s ruling Monday keeps an abortion-rights question on the November ballot in South Dakota. “This is another failed effort by a small group opposed to giving women the option to terminate pregnancies caused by rape and incest or to address dangerous pregnancies affecting the life and health of women.” Republican Rep. Jon Hansen, who is a co-chair …

What to know about legal battles on details of abortion rights ballot measures across US
5 months, 1 week ago

What to know about legal battles on details of abortion rights ballot measures across US

Associated Press  

Abortion access ballot measures are the center of a new wave of legal and procedural questions across the U.S. In Arizona, election officials are still verifying whether there are enough valid signatures to add a measure protecting abortion rights to the ballot. The organizations behind two Montana ballot measures — including one to ensure abortion rights — this week sued …

An anti-abortion group in South Dakota sues to take an abortion rights initiative off the ballot
6 months, 1 week ago

An anti-abortion group in South Dakota sues to take an abortion rights initiative off the ballot

Associated Press  

An anti-abortion group in South Dakota has sued to block an abortion rights measure from the November ballot. Life Defense Fund alleged Dakotans for Health didn’t file a required affidavit for petition circulators’ residency, and that petitioners didn’t always provide a required circulator handout and left petition sheets unattended. In the end, the Court will determine whether such unlawful conduct …

Abortion rights initiatives make the ballot in South Dakota and Colorado
7 months, 1 week ago

Abortion rights initiatives make the ballot in South Dakota and Colorado

Associated Press  

Voters in Colorado and South Dakota will have a say on abortion rights this fall after enough signatures were collected to put measures on the ballots. South Dakota’s top election official announced Thursday that about 85% of the more than 55,000 signatures submitted in support of the ballot initiative are valid, exceeding the required 35,017 signatures. Voters of seven other …

Abortion rights initiatives make the ballot in Colorado and South Dakota
7 months, 1 week ago

Abortion rights initiatives make the ballot in Colorado and South Dakota

LA Times  

Colorado lawmakers pose for a photo with Gov. Abortion rights measures will appear on statewide ballots in Colorado and South Dakota this fall. Voters in Colorado and South Dakota will have a say on abortion rights this fall after enough signatures were collected to put measures on ballots in both states. Voters in seven other states have already approved abortion …

An abortion rights initiative in South Dakota receives enough signatures to make the ballot
7 months, 3 weeks ago

An abortion rights initiative in South Dakota receives enough signatures to make the ballot

Associated Press  

Supporters of a South Dakota abortion rights initiative submitted far more signatures than required Wednesday to make the ballot this fall. “Women that get raped, victims of incest, women carrying nonviable or problem pregnancies have zero options.” Weiland said the ballot measure is based on Roe v. Wade, which had established a nationwide right to abortion. The initiative would allow …

A new front opens over South Dakota ballot initiatives: withdrawing signatures from petitions
9 months, 1 week ago

A new front opens over South Dakota ballot initiatives: withdrawing signatures from petitions

Associated Press  

Kristi Noem has signed a bill to allow signers of ballot initiative petitions to revoke their signatures — a move opponents decry as a jab at direct democracy and a proposed abortion rights initiative, which would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state constitution. Hansen said he brought the bill to counter misleading or fraudulent initiative tactics, alleging …

What to know about the latest court rulings, data and legislation on abortion in the US
9 months, 3 weeks ago

What to know about the latest court rulings, data and legislation on abortion in the US

Associated Press  

A judge in Montana rejected abortion restrictions, the attorney general in Missouri is accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally transporting minors for abortions and new data shows how the way abortions they’re provided continues to shift in a nation where some states have bans and others are protecting access. A judge last year also put on hold enforcement of more restrictions …

GOP lawmakers try to thwart abortion rights ballot initiative in South Dakota
10 months ago

GOP lawmakers try to thwart abortion rights ballot initiative in South Dakota

Associated Press  

— South Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature is trying to thwart a proposed ballot initiative that would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state constitution. If voters approve it, the three-paragraph addition to the South Dakota Constitution would ban the state from regulating abortion in the first trimester and allow regulations for the second trimester “only in ways that are …

Bill to ban nearly all abortions advances in North Dakota
1 year, 7 months ago

Bill to ban nearly all abortions advances in North Dakota

Associated Press  

Lawmakers in North Dakota’s House passed a bill on April 17 that would ban abortions at all stages of pregnancy with some narrow exceptions, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Opponents of the bill said six weeks is too early to ban abortions for victims of rape or incest, because many women don’t know they are pregnant by that time. The House …

North Dakota’s abortion ban bill becomes veto-proof
1 year, 7 months ago

North Dakota’s abortion ban bill becomes veto-proof

Associated Press  

North Dakota state senators overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Last month, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled a state abortion ban will remain blocked while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds. Lawmakers have said they are passing this abortion bill and sending a message to the state’s Supreme Court that the people …

North Dakota bans nearly all abortions as governor signs law with slim exceptions of 6 weeks
1 year, 8 months ago

North Dakota bans nearly all abortions as governor signs law with slim exceptions of 6 weeks

India Today  

North Dakota on Monday adopted one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country as Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed legislation banning the procedure throughout pregnancy, with slim exceptions up to six weeks’ gestation. Last year’s US Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision that legalised abortion nationwide has triggered multiple state laws banning or restricting the …

South Carolina abortion ruling: State Supreme Court protects reproductive rights.
1 year, 11 months ago

South Carolina abortion ruling: State Supreme Court protects reproductive rights.

Slate  

The South Carolina Supreme Court delivered a victory for reproductive rights on Thursday, though that victory may be short-lived. It’s the first time a state Supreme Court has found a right to abortion in its state constitution since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in June. Now that there’s no more federal right to abortion, the decision of …

North Dakota high court: Judge should revisit abortion order
2 years, 2 months ago

North Dakota high court: Judge should revisit abortion order

Associated Press  

FARGO, N.D. — The North Dakota Supreme Court ordered a lower court judge to reconsider his decision to prevent the state’s abortion ban from taking effect pending the outcome of a clinic’s legal challenge. The state Supreme Court late Tuesday ordered Judge Bruce Romanick to weigh the clinic’s chances of succeeding in reconsidering whether his decision to temporarily halt enforcement …

Judge puts hold on North Dakota trigger law banning abortion
2 years, 3 months ago

Judge puts hold on North Dakota trigger law banning abortion

Associated Press  

FARGO, N.D. — A judge on Thursday again blocked a trigger law banning abortion in North Dakota as he weighs arguments from the state’s lone abortion clinic that the law violates the state constitution. The clinic already moved its services a short distance to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, where abortion remains legal, even as it seeks to block the North Dakota …

Judges Block Abortion Bans In Wyoming, North Dakota
2 years, 4 months ago

Judges Block Abortion Bans In Wyoming, North Dakota

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING CHEYENNE, Wyo. A judge in Wyoming on Wednesday sided with a firebombed women’s health clinic and others who argued the ban would harm health care workers and their patients, while a North Dakota judge sided with the state’s only abortion clinic, Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo. Natalie Behring via Getty Images Attorneys arguing before Teton County …

Judge puts hold on North Dakota trigger law banning abortion
2 years, 4 months ago

Judge puts hold on North Dakota trigger law banning abortion

Associated Press  

FARGO, N.D. — A North Dakota judge on Wednesday put on hold the state’s trigger law banning abortion while a lawsuit moves forward that argues it violates the state constitution, ruling that the attorney general had prematurely calculated the date when the ban should take effect. Burleigh County District Judge Bruce Romanick sided with the state’s only abortion clinic, the …

SD gov: Bar abortion pills, but don’t punish women for them
2 years, 5 months ago

SD gov: Bar abortion pills, but don’t punish women for them

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — South Dakota’s Republican governor pledged on Sunday to bar mail-order abortion pills but said women should not face prosecution for seeking them. “I don’t believe there should be any punishment for women, ever, that are in a crisis situation or have an unplanned pregnancy.” At issue is mail-order or so-called telemedicine abortion pills, which have been on the …

Minnesota Senate Democrats try to force abortion debate
2 years, 7 months ago

Minnesota Senate Democrats try to force abortion debate

Associated Press  

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate Democratic minority tried unsuccessfully to force consideration Thursday of nine abortion and health-related bills that the Republican majority has kept bottled up in committee, saying it was critical to take a stand even though they lacked the votes to prevail. The leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the …

Overturning Roe would outlaw abortion in North Dakota
2 years, 7 months ago

Overturning Roe would outlaw abortion in North Dakota

Associated Press  

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota has been poised for years to outlaw abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 ruling that legalized the procedure. North Dakota is one of about a dozen states, including South Dakota, that have laws that would come into force if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as a draft opinion …

Judge halts South Dakota Gov. Noem’s abortion pill rule
2 years, 10 months ago

Judge halts South Dakota Gov. Noem’s abortion pill rule

Associated Press  

— A federal judge temporarily halted a South Dakota rule from taking effect that would have made the state one of the hardest places in the U.S. to get abortion pills. Schreier, who was appointed under former President Bill Clinton, found that Planned Parenthood had shown the rule likely “imposes an undue burden on a person’s right to seek an …

South Dakota governor proposes stricter rules for medicine-induced abortions
2 years, 11 months ago

South Dakota governor proposes stricter rules for medicine-induced abortions

LA Times  

Kristi Noem is pushing new rules for medicine-induced abortions that would be among the most restrictive in the country, but a legislative committee on Monday withheld its approval until it could get more information on the proposal. The state Department of Health’s proposed rule would add further requirements for women to get abortion pills, including that they visit a doctor …

South Carolina abortion law challenge backed by 20 states
3 years, 3 months ago

South Carolina abortion law challenge backed by 20 states

Associated Press  

Twenty Democratic attorneys general have voiced their support for a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s new abortion law, arguing that the restrictive measure could harm their states by taxing resources if women cross borders to seek care. “As a result, South Carolina’s restrictive abortion laws will cause many of its citizens to seek abortion care in Amici States — potentially straining …

Federal judge rules against South Dakota in abortion lawsuit
3 years, 4 months ago

Federal judge rules against South Dakota in abortion lawsuit

Associated Press  

— A federal judge Friday ruled against South Dakota’s attempt to lift a decade-old injunction that nullified part of a state law requiring women to consult with a crisis pregnancy center before having an abortion. Planned Parenthood sued the state in 2011 after lawmakers passed a law requiring a three-day wait period for women seeking an abortion, as well as …

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