#Trigger Laws

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Abby Vesoulis at Mother Jones:

Dr. Leilah Zahedi-Spung spent four years in medical school, four years in an OB-GYN residency, and three years in a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship learning how to care for high-risk pregnant patients. In her decade-plus of medical training, she learned that in some cases, the only rational and responsible option for medical intervention is an emergency abortion. In July 2021 she moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and discovered she was the sole provider in her area trained to perform second-trimester dilatation and evacuation abortions for patients who needed them to survive.

But in 2022, the Supreme Court delivered its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, and Tennessee’s trigger ban—written in preparation for the possibility that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe—went into effect a month later. Suddenly, providing an abortion in Tennessee became an immediate Class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. There were no exceptions, even when an abortion was necessary to save a life or prevent serious bodily harm. Only after being arrested could a physician provide something called an “affirmative defense” to fight the charges. (Eight months after the trigger law took effect, the GOP governor signed a bill allowing abortions in limited medical emergencies.)

Given her unique work, which also includes genetic testing and live deliveries, Zahedi-Spung felt as if she wore a bull’s-eye on her back. She hired a criminal defense attorney—just in case—and immediately began looking for a maternal-fetal medicine position out of state. She didn’t want to leave Tennessee at all, she says, but her goal was “to not go to jail.”  Relocating for work isn’t a novel concept, but in the age of unfettered abortion restrictions, there has been an exodus of OB-GYNs from abortion-banned states, and dwindling interest among future OB-GYNs to settle in those states. The result is worsening health outcomes for the vulnerable patients and moms who remain. 

“As more clinicians leave those states, as more maternity care deserts happen, we will see poorer outcomes,” says Dr. Stella Dantas, an OB-GYN in Oregon and the president-elect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “And I do think we will see more maternal mortality just by the sheer fact that we won’t have providers even trained to take care of some of these obstetric emergencies.” Indeed, 64 percent of practicing OB-GYNs who responded to a KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) survey said the Dobbs ruling has worsened maternal mortality.  In the before times, a high-risk obstetrics patient might consider having an abortion to nearly eliminate their potential maternal health risks, or even just seek more frequent monitoring to decrease them. But what happens when there are fewer clinicians left to treat sicker pregnant patients—and higher numbers of them—as birth rates rise in abortion-banned states? Data from states tell the story.

Even before outright abortion bans, the states that eventually restricted the medical procedure had higher rates of pregnancy-related deaths, sicker patient populations, and less access to maternal and preventative health care, according to data from KFF and Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit that researches health and social issues.

[...]

The care deserts will disproportionately affect low-income people and people of color. In her new maternal-fetal health role in Colorado, Zahedi-Spung says many of her dilatation and evacuation patients travel to her from Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho because of unworkable abortion laws there. Given the current reproductive health care landscape, they are the lucky ones. She fears others in abortion-restricted states lack the resources to travel.

“We know that privileged people will always have access to abortion. We know that they will always have access to health care,” says Monica Simpson, the executive director of Sister Song, one of the oldest reproductive justice organizations in the country. For everyone else, Simpson says, “thousands of people are falling through the cracks.” Further, the states restricting abortion are also less likely to have social support benefits to help moms and children. For example, 10 of the 13 states that rejected federal funds for low-income kids to get summer food assistance have banned abortion, either beyond six weeks or at conception. “Those same people who are anti-choice are the ones who want to cut welfare,” says Zahedi-Spung. “They’re the same ones who don’t want to provide food stamps. They’re the same ones who don’t want to expand birth control options.” 

The Dobbs ruling in 2022 has led to an increased rate in maternal mortality, particularly in states that have strict abortion bans.

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[sedehaven]

A bad thing happened today--June 24, 2022

The US Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v Wade.

What does that mean?

It means that women can no longer get a safe abortion in many states in the US, my state included.

Louisiana has a series of trigger laws that are taking effect immediately. "Trigger laws" are laws that are already written and passed, waiting for some "trigger" to activate them.

My state has some very scary laws against abortion. Laws which were written to take effect immediately after Roe v Wade is overturned.

I live in a state where abortion is not available. Right now. No abortions.

No abortions if the pregnancy is from rape or incest. No matter how young the pregnant person is.

If the pregnant person is in danger of dying, the doctors would have to prove (to the satisfaction of the prosecutor's office) that the pregnancy is non-viable before proceeding with an abortion.

Guess how often that's going to happen?

But wait, there's more.

I am gay. We are childfree. But this decision is still about to destroy my life.

My GF and I are both on medications that cause miscarriages in pregnant people.

Again, neither one of us intends to become pregnant.

But if doctors start being prosecuted (or sued) for prescribing drugs that *might* cause a miscarriage, then our doctors *might* not prescribe those medications anymore.

Our medications. The ones that keep us (mostly) comfortable and, you know, ALIVE.

This is not just possible. It's probable.

As for our medications, there is literally nothing else that we can take.

GF is on progesterone. Without it, every day is the elevator scene from "The Shining."

And me? There are no "safe" seizure medications for pregnant people. The medication that I'm on is safe FOR ME. Not for some theoretical fetus (that would be conceived through rape).

We can't leave the state. Louisiana runs on Napoleonic Code. Which means that GF and I cannot be considered common-law married and lose 1/3 of our SSI benefits. (Yes, this is a Thing that Can and Does Happen in the US.)

All of those lovely countries that are willing to open their borders to US asylum seekers are not going to open their arms to a mated pair of lesbians who are disabled and unemployed.

There is a lot of support for red-state folx seeking abortion. That's fantastic. More of that, yes, please!

But--

Please remember that there are many other problems that are unfolding around the Roe v Wade decision, and that it is likely to affect many people who are not pregnant and do not intend to become pregnant.

-- Stephanie

P.S. Justice Thomas saying that the court needs to overturn Obergefell v Hodges (gay marriage) and Lawrence v Texas (decriminalizing sodomy) in the middle of Pride is just the fecal icing on the crap cake, innit?

[that-vampire-loser]

I know this isn’t what I usually post, but a lot is going on right now, and I need to talk about it.

What’s going on in the US right now is honestly disgusting. I am terrified to be a person with a uterus right now, and now they’re going after my other rights as well? You’ve got to be kidding me. Now, same sex marriage and same sex relationships are up for discussion.

America isn’t safe for us any more if you’re lgbtq, BIPOC, or a woman, and the truth is that it hasn’t been for a while now.

I panicked enough about this back when it was leaked a month or so ago; now I am just angry. It’s land of the free, if you’re a rich, white, cis-het man, but for the rest of us there is no freedom.

I am tired. I am angry. And I am scared. I can’t even try to fight for my own rights because I’m a minor. There isn’t much I can do. I am terrified at the idea that something could happen and I would be forced to carry a child to term, regardless of my age, health, or circumstances. I live in a state where trigger laws went into affect, and abortion is completely illegal now. Illegal from the moment of conception, and there are no exceptions. You can’t even get care if you’ve had a miscarriage.

This is wrong; there’s no arguing about it. Even pro life people agree that it’s wrong. They are outlawing care for everything that has to do with reproductive health, including miscarriages. Next, they will be going for contraceptives, same sex marriage, and queer relationships, and don’t think it will stop there. This is outright dystopian.

Stay safe. Delete your menstrual cycle trackers, and be careful.

Expect more posts like this from me now on. There is a lot going on, and it needs to be talked about.

[gothicashworld]

[bannedwheatandwheatbyproducts]

Texas trigger laws

these are the key elements of the trigger law set to go into effect in texas.

It will outlaw abortions in Texas unless the mother's life is in danger.

It will take make performing an abortion in Texas a felony crime.

Doctors who perform abortions could face life in prison and fines up to $100,000.

It DOES NOT have an acception  for rape and incest. 

WHAT THE FUCK. THIS SHIT IS SICK.

I’m so very, deeply scared, but the majority of my on going reblogs for this topic will focus on spreading resources to those who need them.

We’re all scared, we already know that. 

So please, stay safe, stay informed, and try to protect your rights.

[nationallawreview]

What Employers Need to Know in a Post-Dobbs Landscape

What Employers Need to Know in a Post-Dobbs Landscape

On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overturned both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and held the access to abortion is not a right protected by the United States Constitution. This article analyzes several employment law issues employers may face following the Dobbs decision. Federal Law The Pregnancy Discrimination Act…

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Abortions up to six weeks of pregnancy can resume in Texas after a state court blocked an anti-abortion law written before the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade went into effect following the high court’s decision to strike down the constitutional right to abortion care last week.

Abortion rights advocates, providers and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit to block the pre-Roe law, which the state’s Attorney General warned would hold physicians “criminally liable” for providing abortion care.

On 28 June, a judge in Harris County temporarily blocked the century-old anti-abortion law from going into effect. A hearing date is set for 12 July.

Meanwhile, a Tennessee court has allowed that state’s law banning abortions at six weeks of pregnancy – before many people know they are pregnant, or roughly two weeks after a missed period – to go into effect, vacating a two-year-old injunction blocking the law.

Outlawing abortions at six weeks will be “nothing short of devastating,” according to said Melissa Grant, CEO of abortion provider carafem.

“Since the Supreme Court’s decision, we have been flooded with phone calls from patients urgently trying to find out their options and our staff has worked around the clock to serve them,” she said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this latest court decision means many will no longer have any option other than carrying to term against their will or fleeing the state if they need care beyond six weeks in pregnancy, before many even know they’re pregnant.”

A decision to block the Texas law “will allow abortion services to resume at many clinics across the state, connecting Texans to the essential health care they need. Every hour that abortion is accessible in Texas is a victory,” according to a statement from Center for Reproductive Rights senior counsel Marc Hearron.

“It is a relief that this Texas state court acted so quickly to block this deeply harmful abortion ban,” he said.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruled Roe and its affirming decision in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, ending a half century of constitutional protections for abortion.

The landmark decision handed the issue of abortion laws to states, rather than granting Americans the right to abortion care, and ignited a wave of legal challenges as several state-level laws that outlaw nearly all abortions went into effect.

Judges in Utah and Louisiana have also temporarily blocked anti-abortion “trigger” laws in those states. Lawsuits have been filed in Idaho, Mississippi and Kentucky seeking similar relief.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of abortion Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Women’s Health Alliance, which provides abortion care in Texas, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs and the reinstatement of the state’s anti-abortion law “will be felt for generations” if they withstand legal challenges.

“We know this because we have been on the frontlines of the battle for abortion rights and access for years,” she said. “Pregnant people deserve better. Families deserve better. ... It is why we will persist unrelentingly in our mission to deliver the compassion, empathy, support, and care that the politicians responsible for this nightmarish situation have made clear they will not.”

Dr. Alan Braid, an abortion provider at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services, said he plans to provide abortions “for as long as I legally can” while Texas law is blocked.

“Abortion is a standard and necessary part of maternal health care,” he said in a statement. “Nobody should be forced to travel across state lines for basic, time-sensitive health care. It is devastating that this will be the reality in many states, including Texas.”

[fuck-customers]

I work in a public school district with over 30k students. I don't even know how many staff. Our IT department is like 70 people. That's not fucking enough. They announced a few months ago that they're cutting 9 people from the staff that are actually in the schools, AND today they announced that they're cutting all 8 of our part time employees. There were only 33 school-level staff to start with. We're losing over 40% of our man-hours.

For important context, we're a pretty up-scale district, at least for our region of the US. Projectors/smartboards or smart TVs with touch screens in every class, every student has an iPad or MacBook depending on grade level, etc.. This much tech and they're cutting 40+% of our hours.

Next school year will be real interesting, because the whole IT department is in agreement that we're not gonna push ourselves to keep up. Work will get done when it gets done, and if that bothers people then they can go talk to the guys in finance who decides IT isn't important.

[marty--party]

we’re exact opposites, so we get along great

you could even say we go together like black and white

[irafook]

Small painting to go with one of @heart-cores 's amazing fics ♡

[nationallawreview]

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe and Casey: What This Decision Means for Employers

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe and Casey: What This Decision Means for Employers

As many expected based on the draft opinion that was leaked months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court has held the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to obtain an abortion. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022). Dobbs overturns nearly 50 years of precedent from the Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania v. Casey on the issue. The…

[milyoasis]

Back to danganronpa trash

I didn’t feel like putting the effort of my regular style, so they’re trapped in a cartoon show for now.

[meteortrails]

lowkey losing my mind about the fact that like. even near the very fucking end, when Cora is finally getting ready to pull the rug on this whole operation and to try and take doflamingo down like he’s spent literal years preparing to do, he’s still willing to kill himself so doflamingo can have eternal life if that’s what doflamingo asks him to do. he hears that his brother wants him to eat the op op fruit and is Immediately like ‘well we both know I can’t say no to him so he’s gonna ask me to do the immortality operation’ and like! there’s no hesitation! what do you MEAN you can’t say no to him you’ve been spying on him for literal years!!! but at the end of the day that’s still his big brother. and his big brother is the monster under his bed, his absolute worst nightmare, but he’s also the only family he has left, and so he’d do anything for him. how does that not drive you fucking insane to think about

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Texas Supreme Court issued an order late Friday partially granting state Attorney General Ken Paxton's request to stay a lower court order that had temporarily blocked a nearly century-old abortion ban in the state.

The state high court's order now allows for civil enforcement of the 1925 pre-Roe v. Wade ban, court documents show.

But the Center for Reproductive Rights has interpreted the stay to mean that the law cannot be enforced criminally.

CNN reached out to Paxton's office on Saturday to ask whether it agrees that criminal prosecutions remain stayed but has not received a response as of Saturday afternoon. Paxton, a Republican, lauded the state high court's ruling on Twitter on Saturday.

"Thanks to my appeal, (the Texas Supreme Court) has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water," he wrote, adding that Texas' pre-Roe abortion bans are "100% good law."

A separate Texas law prohibiting abortion, its so-called trigger ban, will go into effect within the next few weeks.

After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, Paxton issued an advisory that told local prosecutors they were able to now bring prosecutions under the pre-Roe law.

Abortion providers in the state filed a lawsuit Monday against the handful of local district attorneys whose jurisdictions cover the locations of some of their clinics, as well as against some state officials, including Paxton.

On Tuesday, a Harris County district court judge issued a temporary restraining order against the 1925 abortion ban, which then allowed some clinics in the state to resume abortion procedures for up to around six weeks into pregnancy.

The district court is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter in a preliminary injunction hearing in the case on July 12, according to a release from the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court directed the parties involved to submit briefings by Thursday, July 7, at 5 p.m., over whether the district court has jurisdiction to enforce a criminal statute.

"These laws are confusing, unnecessary, and cruel," Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement Friday. "Texas's trigger ban is not scheduled to take effect for another two months, if not longer. This law from nearly one hundred years ago is banning essential health care prematurely, despite clearly being long repealed."