#abortion pill ruling

[mudwerks]

(via Judge Who Could Ban Abortion Pill Doesn't Want the Public to Know When the Hearing Is)

On Friday, federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk held a conference call with the lawyers involved in the case that could result in a national ban of the abortion drug mifepristone. He wanted to talk about the hearing that’s taking place this Wednesday in Amarillo, Texas, that may well end in him immediately banning the pill. Specifically, Kacsmaryk said he wanted to keep the hearing off the online public docket as long as possible “to try to minimize disruptions and possible protests,” the Washington Post reported, because “courthouse members have received threats in the wake of the lawsuit.”

he wants to make sure he can fuck over US women in the dark - without being so exposed...

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk - you’re gonna hear more about this “judge”

[iamonlyhereforthefreefood]

“If pro-life people think life begins at conception then why aren’t they trying to ban IVF?”

A lot of them are trying to ban IVF....

[don-lichterman]

Amazon Places Purchase Limit on Emergency Contraceptive Pills After US Supreme Court Ruling

Amazon Places Purchase Limit on Emergency Contraceptive Pills After US Supreme Court Ruling

Amazon has placed a temporary purchase limit of three units per week on emergency contraceptive pills, the company said on Tuesday. The move comes days after the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that recognised women’s constitutional right to abortion. Women with unwanted pregnancies in the country now may face the choice of traveling to another state where the…

[wilwheaton]

I was just thinking: I have too many rights. We’ve got to cull, cull, cull! Do I really need to be voting and controlling my own body? That feels like much too much. Also, it’s spring! What better time to go through all the rights and see which ones spark joy (access to assault weapons) and which ones don’t (uncensored proximity to books, bodily autonomy). Just like they’re doing in Florida! Constitution? Please! If we were all meant to be covered by it, we would have been explicitly included! Isn’t all this rights nonsense getting in the way of more important things, like the ability of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to consider exciting hypotheticals not borne out by science: What if a drug that has been proven safe for decades … weren’t? Plus, millions of Americans have been given the gift of learning the name Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, most often used in the sentence, “Wait, Judge Kacsmaryk can undo the FDA approval of a drug used safely by millions for 20-plus years just … because?” It was good that the 5th Circuit did not need to think about the people most impacted by the decision to overturn Food and Drug Administration approval. After all, we’re not really people! If we were supposed to be people, we wouldn’t have uteruses. Clearly, I have been addled by having too many rights, too much autonomy. All the voting had gone to my head. I see that now.

Alexandra Petri: Great abortion pill ruling, 5th Circuit! I felt too much like a person.

[profeminist]

"If you use birth control (condoms, IUD, the pill), stock up: "As the Supreme Court on Friday declared the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court should also reconsider past rulings establishing rights to contraception, same-sex relationships and gay marriage."

There are no jokes to be made, this is deadly serious. As in "men go get vasectomies" time. I've been pro-choice and fighting for it since I was old enough to consider the issue as a teen. If you aren't for forced childbirth, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Join activist groups, be a clinic protector, donate to the people that are doing things. TODAY. THEN TOMORROW. THEN KEEP GOING."

-Jo Lilore on Facebook

[reasonsforhope]

Mexico’s Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion Wednesday [September 6], ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights in a sweeping decision that extended Latin American’s trend of widening abortion access.

The high court ordered that abortion be removed from the federal penal code. The ruling will require the federal public health service and all federal health institutions to offer abortion to anyone who requests it.

“No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion,” the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction, known by its Spanish initials GIRE, said in a statement.

Some 20 Mexican states, however, still criminalize abortion. While judges in those states will have to abide by the court’s decision, further legal work will be required to remove all penalties.

Celebration of the ruling soon spilled out onto social media.

“Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!” Mexico’s National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The government organization called the decision a “big step” toward gender equality...

The Details

The court said on X that “the legal system that criminalized abortion” in Mexican federal law was unconstitutional because it “violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.” ...

-via AP News, September 6, 2023. Article continues below.

The decision came two years after the court ruled that abortion was not a crime in one northern state. That ruling set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalizing it.

Last week, the central state of Aguascalientes became the 12th state to drop criminal penalties.

Abortion-rights activists will have to continue seeking legalization state by state, though Wednesday’s decision should make that easier. State legislatures can also act on their own to erase abortion penalties.

For now, the ruling does not mean that every Mexican women will be able to access the procedure immediately, explained Fernanda Díaz de León, sub-director and legal expert for women’s rights group IPAS.

What it does do — in theory — is obligate federal agencies to provide the care to patients. That’s likely to have a cascade of effects...

Lifting Abortion Restrictions Across Latin America

Across Latin America, countries have made moves to lift abortion restrictions in recent years, a trend often referred to as a “green wave,” in reference to the green bandanas carried by women protesting for abortion rights in the region.

The changes in Latin America stand in sharp contrast to increasing restrictions on abortion in parts of the United States. Some American women were already seeking help from Mexican abortion rights activists to obtain pills used to end pregnancies.

Mexico City was the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion 15 years ago.

After decades of work by activists across the region, the trend picked up speed in Argentina, which in 2020 legalized the procedure. In 2022, Colombia, a highly conservative country, did the same.

-via AP News, September 6, 2023. Headings added.

[tripod-fish]

conservatives want to genocide trans people & imprison sex workers in the next election - cis people are in danger as well. nobody is talking about this, so REBLOG IT.

REBLOG THIS. i do not care if this doesn't fit with your blog. conservatives, if the next president is republican, want to implement things that involve killing/jailing trans people, information control, actively stopping efforts to stop climate change, etc. if a twitter thread is more digestible, you can find one i made here. RETWEET IT.

https://twitter.com/nuniyoa/status/1698534141472727358

so fucking nobody (that i've seen) is talking about this and i've only seen 1 tumblr post about it with less than 6k notes. @asterosian was the one who brought this to my attention, and here's his post: https://ganbreedings.tumblr.com/post/727921195127865344

the document, which can be found below this paragraph, is ~1000 pages long and i know nobody on tumblr has the patience to read that. use ctrl+f on this pdf (link is to view it in browser) to look up specific topics. in this post, i will be briefly discussing some of the things said using textual evidence and citations. https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

just some of the things this document talks about are:

wanting to imprison trans people for existing, make discrimination of people legal in the workplace, punish education about the existence of trans people, make sex work illegal, make education about sex illegal, make contraception unaffordable, ban the week-after pill, imply fatherhood is a requirement, ban education on real american history, ignore other governments, seal the borders, enforce the death penalty (including for trans people for just existing), stop efforts to end climate change, fund the military, claim OAR science is theoretical and downsize it and NOAA, eliminate critical race theory in education, want to eliminate teaching of critical race theory based on a gross misunderstanding, eliminate diversity, the teaching of marxism's existence, "deleting" words regarding queer and reproductive topics, and so much more.

we trans people are called pornography:

"Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology sexualization of children..." (page 37)

and conservatives want to outlaw pornography and say those who distribute it should be imprisoned. if trans people are pornography, is not going about our day outside distributing porn?

"Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned" (page 37)

they also support the death penalty and say that "child sexual abusers" should be given that. i am not disagreeing that CSA is bad; it is. i'm talking about how they're going to classify trans people as that for exposing minors to "porn" for simply going out in public. by saying this, they are using roundabout language and logic to say trans people should be given the death penalty.

"It should also pursue the death penalty for applicable crimes...crimes involving...sexual abuse of children..." (page 554)

they don't want people to be taught about our existence. and they don't want sex taught at all; even safe sex.

"Educators and public librarians who purvey [porn] should be classed as registered sex offenders..." (page 37)

sex education needs to be taught, period. and if they're going to ban abortions and contraceptives, it especially needs to be taught.

"HHS should rescind...preventive services...preventive services include contraception..." (page 483)

"Eliminate the week-after-pill..." (page 485)

they want to ignore what other countries say.

"International organizations and agreements that erode our Constitution, rule of law, or popular sovereignty should not be reformed: They should be abandoned" (page 12)

they want the border SEALED and illegal immigration ended:

"Illegal immigration...ended...the border sealed..." (page 12)

and, of course, more xenophobic shit about china:

"Economic engagement with China ended..." (page 13)

"[Universities funded by the CCP should] lose their accreditation, charters, and eligibility for federal funds" (page 13).

they want to stop efforts to end climate change:

"Repeal climate change initiatives..." (page 508)

and downsize funds given to the government division (OAR) that forwards its information on climate change to the NOAA, and they want climate change research "disbanded":

"...[OAR climate change research is] theoretical..." (page 676)

"...disbanded..." (page 676)

they want critical race theory and gender ideology erased from schools because they "poison our children". they are erasing things from being taught; and critical race theory isn't about affirming one's characteristics. it's for showing that white people are on top and that it needs to change:

"...'critical race theory and 'gender ideology' should be excised from curricula in every public school in the country..." (page 5)

"These theories poison our children..." (page 5)

"...affirm the color of their skin fundamentally determines their identity and even their moral status..." (page 5)

and they straight up don't want america's history being taught. america is founded on racism, tears, oppression, etc. they don't want this taught because they don't want people knowing real american history. so they can't see history repeating itself:

"...racist, anti-American, ahistorical propaganda [in] America's classrooms" (page 8)

they want discrimination based on queer status and "sex characteristics" legal. this is said in regards to the military, but it won't stop there. and "sex characteristics" means YOU, cis people. you can be denied things just for having boobs or a beard. even if you're cis:

"Rescind regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics" (page 585)

"...abolish newly established diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and staff" (page 103)

and misinformation is present of course by saying gender-affirming care causes irreparable damage:

"...'gender transition' procedures or 'gender-affirming care,' which cause irreversible physical and mental harm to those who receive them"

and, quite abhorrently, and i quote, they want words related to queerness DELETED:

"This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity ('SOGI'), diversity, equity, and inclusion ('DEI'), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights..." (pages 4-5).

there is... SO much more i could cover. but i need to cut it short somewhere. and remember: this affects everyone.

cis people, you can be discriminated against for "sex characteristics", which includes things like breasts or facial hair. transphobic queer people, you can and will be discriminated against for your sexuality. your children are at danger of being taught deliberate misinformation at school. america is sealing itself off in a fascist bubble; as much as it hates countries like china and north korea, it is doing the exact same thing. and climate change regulations want to be repealed and climate change science is called "theoretical". this isn't even just about america anymore; this is about the whole world.

vote in the 2024 election. vote democrat. don't let the "mandate of leadership: the conservative promise" by the heritage foundation make this shithole country even worse.

[a-really-big-cat]

Ohio's Issue 1 is a disaster.

On November 7, Ohioans will have the chance to vote on Issue 1 ("The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety"), a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to abortion into Ohio's state constitution. This is a crucial battle for not only Ohio but also the country, both because people from Kentucky, Indiana, and other nearby states would travel to Ohio for abortions, and because our opposition wants to build momentum with the narrative that Americans are overall pro-abortion.

Of course, this is a lie. Supporters of Issue 1 are running ads telling Ohioans that a yes vote means they are protecting access to emergency care for miscarriages or life-threatening situations; such interpretations gloss over the fact that Ohio's current abortion statutes already do that (see Section 2919.11 regarding missed miscarriage and Section 2919.12(C)2 regarding emergencies). Abortion activists have to lie about the nature of these ballot initiatives, because in general Americans are very sympathetic to abortion for emergencies, and very unsympathetic to elective abortion. And the reality is these initiatives dramatically expand elective abortion.

This is a winnable fight.

Here's the good news: First, initial polls found less than 60% of Ohioans supported Issue 1; usually at this stage in a ballot fight, the side that wants a ballot to be approved hopes for at least 60% support so they have a buffer when there's voter attrition. Second, the language that will appear on the ballot is modified from the language originally used for gathering signatures, and specifically the word "fetus" has been replaced with the phrase "unborn child" (see the recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling here at paragraphs 43 & 44). Research shows the more we humanize the unborn, the less inclined people are to support abortion. Third, support for Issue 1 decreases as we talk to more voters about the full impacts of this amendment. We are already moving in the right direction. 

Learn the impacts of Issue 1.

Pro-life organizations and volunteers in Ohio are finding voters are not difficult to persuade. Often when they learn the full impacts of the text of the amendment, they oppose it. Issue 1 impacts can include:

Eliminating parental rights (notification and consent) as they've already done in Illinois and California

Eliminating health and safety standards for abortion clinics

Eliminating the Down Syndrome Nondiscrimination Act

Eliminating 24 hour waiting periods

Allowing elective abortion of healthy, viable fetuses under broad "health" exceptions that include not just physical health but emotional, familial, and financial wellbeing, among other factors. (More here.)

Allowing anyone (including abusers) to purchase abortion pills over the counter - no physician oversight required

Requiring abortions to be taxpayer funded

Again, when voters learn about these impacts, they oppose Issue 1. Even pro-choice voters want common sense abortion regulation.

[and-claudia]

Against All Odds pt.4 (Joel Miller x fem! reader)

Time skip

WARNINGS: ANGST!!!!!! Mentions of abortions, arguing

General Warnings for later on: The main story will have an age gap between Joel and the reader (Reader will be 25 once we get to the main storyline), this will also be your warning that it will eventually be an x pregnant reader (if that's not your jam, I'm sorry) there is also going to be more graphic/trigger parts later on so please always to be sure to read the warnings BEFORE reading. This story will also be 18+ and TO BE ON THE TAGLIST YOU CAN NOT BE AN AGELESS BLOG (i do actually check that) also there first hand full of parts are all prologue so Joel won't actually be in it for a bit

Wordcount: 4200+ (I am so sorry it's so long)

Taglist Sign-Up (read my rules carefully before filling it out)

It’s crazy how three years of being happy and in love can come shattering to the ground with a two-word sentence. 

“I’m pregnant.” The words seemed to be echoing in the small living room of my and Joel’s apartment. 

He stood there. His expression was unreadable. I was debating on if I should repeat myself or just wait it out. I chose the latter. It felt like time had slowed as I stared back at him waiting anxiously. At this point, I would be happy if he would even just yell at me to get out. Anything seemed better than this deafening silence I was being forced to endure. 

A heavy sigh. 

Okay, good. We’re getting somewhere. 

Then he turned and began pacing, running his fingers up through his hair, then wiping his hands down his face as he tried to process what I had said. I stayed quiet. 

“How? How did this even happen? We’re always so careful.” He said. 

“I mean not every time. Ther-” 

“No. I’ve been careful. I know damn well I have been. Maybe you haven’t.” He cut me off with his suggestion. 

“I know you’re not implying that I’ve cheated on you, Joel.” I said, clearly hurt, “There have been plenty of times where we weren’t. I mean hell if I had to guess this probably happened on my birthday. We definitely were not careful then. So don’t you dare try to accuse me of cheating.” 

I felt a wave of relief when he stepped forward and pulled me to him. I hadn’t realized that tears had begun falling from my eyes until I could see them staining his shirt. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m sorry, ‘m just shocked. It’s okay. Don’t worry, we’ll get it taken care of.”

His words made me pull back but not completely out of his arms, “What do you mean?” 

“We can get you an abortion pill, I know they still have those. We’ll get one and take care of this.” He explained. 

“No…” I shook my head, “I don’t want to do that Joel… I mean I know this wasn’t planned but I’m honestly kinda excited about having our own little family.” I admitted. 

“Sweetheart… I just, I can’t do this again. It’s been so long since I’ve been around small kids, let alone a baby. Shit, it’s been 30 years since I’ve held a baby probably, longer than you’ve been alive.” 

That made me step away from him. At first, I thought he meant he couldn’t do this again because of what happened to his daughter. I wouldn’t blame him for that at all. He hadn’t talked about her again in the three years we’d been together, not unless he was waking up from a nightmare. 

“So you don’t want this baby because you don’t want to have to start over again?” I asked, disgusted for even thinking that was going to be his reasoning. 

“I mean it’s just been so long since I’ve done this.” 

“Okay, so? I’ve never done this, hell, Joel, I’ve never even actually held a baby! I am 25 years old and I’ve never held a baby let alone raised one! I was also the youngest in my family so I know literally nothing about raising a kid. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want this baby any less.” 

He reverted to silence once again. I couldn’t take it. I needed to get out of here. 

“You know what? It’s Wednesday, I was supposed to go to the market earlier… I am going to go now. Do whatever the fuck you want to here. Pack your shit, hell pack my shit, kick me out. I don’t care.” I said, walking over to the kitchen counter to grab my bag and the money we set aside for food at the market. 

“Take your gun.” He called to me. 

“I am.” I snapped as I grabbed it and tucked it into the top of my jeans before letting my shirt cover it. 

When I got to the market there weren’t that many people there thank goodness. I went over to the vendor that always has potatoes and was surprised to see that he still had most of his produce there considering it was pretty late in the day.

“Not selling this week?” I asked as I walked up. 

“Nope. Not at this price.” He said, clearly not happy. 

“I’m sorry. Give it a week though, they will be coming back next week when they realize how much they need them.” I tried to reassure him. 

“Let’s hope. Here is your bag.” He said, reaching down to grab the bag he stashed for Joel and me. 

We’ve helped him out with various things and this was how he paid us for it. I finished getting a few other things but took my time heading back to the apartment. When I got there, Joel was passed out on the couch. When I went to set my stuff down on the table I wasn’t too surprised to find the decanter of homemade moonshine half empty again, nor was it a shocker that there was a baggie with a couple of pills left in it. I just sighed and grabbed them both to put them away. When I came and saw what else was left out I was a little confused. Joel had gotten the maps out of their hiding place in the floor. I decided it wasn’t worth my time asking about now, not that I’d be able to wake him up anyways. Ever since his brother went radio silence on him he’s been a wreck. Instead, I put away the food I had gotten at the market and decided to just go to bed. 

The next morning when I woke up I heard two voices and I didn’t even have to guess who it was. I knew it was Tess. I quietly made my way over to the closed door, careful not to make my presence known just yet, and listened. 

“Trucks no good without the battery. And if I don’t get to Tommy soon, he’ll die out there.” I heard Joel say. 

What? Joel hadn’t mentioned anything about going to find Tommy. I continued to listen. From what I gathered this had been in the works for at least a little bit. They had a battery lined up for them but got screwed over. 

“We’ll get our money back and get the battery.” I heard Tess say to him. 

I finally opened the door making them turn their attention to the sound. They both froze when they saw me. 

“You’re leaving, together?” I asked. 

“Shit.” He mumbled. 

I turned around and slammed the door. I was beyond hurt. He wasn’t even going to tell me. I needed to clear my head, so I quickly got dressed then went over to the window before climbing out onto the fire escape. 

I wasn’t sure how long it had been but I continued to sit out there cross-legged. No tears fell, I didn’t have the energy for that, I just simply sat there thinking. Eventually, I heard the window slide open behind me but made no attempt to look at him. 

"Yn, come inside. You know it's not safe on that thing." He said gently. 

"Oh. So suddenly he cares." I said bitterly, “Thought you would have already left by now.” 

"Yn, I've always cared about you, always will." He said. 

"Bullshit." 

He sighed. I could hear him getting up and sitting back down on the windowsill. He didn't say a word after that. We stayed in silence for a few minutes before I spoke up again. 

"I thought my age didn't mean anything to you. I thought it never mattered that I was only 25." I said. 

"It doesn't." He said. 

"You're such a fucking liar, Joel... you told me that you couldn't do this again. That it had been over 30 years since you held a baby since you've raised a newborn. 30 years, longer than I've even been alive. Clearly, subconsciously my age has been an issue for you." I said finally turning to see him hanging his head down. 

He didn't speak up again. 

“We’re you going to tell me?” I asked referring to his plan to go find Tommy. 

“I was.” 

“When?” 

“Last night, but then you blindsided me with-” 

“I did not blindside you. I wasn’t expecting this either… so does this mean we’re done?” 

“I don’t know, like I said I can’t do this again. I think we just need to sit down and have a serious conversation about it all. Maybe this trip will give us both the time to think everything through and we can talk about it when I get back.” He suggested. 

“When you get back?... I’m goin' with y’all.” 

“Yn, no, you can’t.” 

“Why?” 

“You’re pregnant, you don’t need to be traveling all the way to Wyoming.” He tried to sound reasonable. 

“What do you care? You don’t even want the baby. Now move, I need to pack.” I said, standing up. 

He knew it was no use arguing with me once I made my mind up it was made and I was going to stick to it. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t pissed that I was going. 

I grabbed my bag and threw in what I would need before tossing my gun in on top. Joel had already left the room and was getting the rest of the supplies together out in the living room. Lucky for Tess, we usually left the QZ from mine and Joel's apartment so she had stashes of supplies with ours so she was able to pack hers as well. Once we were packed we devised a plan. Well, they did. I didn’t know the details and Joel was being petty not telling me them and Tess was following along. All I knew was that we’d go into the old subway tunnels to come up through the bottom of the building where their guy that had their money and truck battery should be. 

“Alright, come on, kid.” Tess said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

“I’m not a fucking kid.” I snapped. 

“Damn, someone is not happy today.” She said, walking out the door. 

I grabbed Joel by the sleeve of his denim shirt to get him to hang back for a second. 

“Have you told her yet?” 

“No.” 

“Good. Don’t.” I said. 

“Hate to break it to you but she’ll find out eventually. Can’t hide it forever, sweetheart.” He shot back. 

“I know. And when I am ready to tell her about my baby, I will.” I said before letting go of his arm and following Tess out. 

The walk to the access point of the abandoned subway tunnels was quiet. When we finally made it to the building, the doors had been re-chained and locked once again. That had never deterred us before, it definitely wouldn’t do it today. Joel cut the chain and we were in. We took a second to get our guns and flashlights out. I had never liked going through the tunnels before, they were dark and damp and smelt like mildew. I wasn’t entirely sure if the smell had actually gotten worse since I had been down there or if maybe it was because I was pregnant but it was almost making me gag. 

And the deeper we got, the worse it smelt. I was half tempted to just turn back around. But I had a point to prove, I wouldn’t give Joel the satisfaction of leaving me here. When I heard Tess say she found the way out I was relieved. Once we got through the door I stopped in the small entry area as Tess went on ahead. 

“Joel, can you grab my water for me, I feel like I am going to puke?” I asked, trying to keep myself from puking, the air in here wasn’t nearly as bad. 

“I told you, you shouldn’t go with us.” He said but still stepped over to grab the canteen from my bag. 

Before he got a chance to grab it though we heard Tess yell. That caused both of us to spring into action and follow where she had gone, guns ready. When we made it around the corner we saw no immediate threats, but as my eyes scanned I saw why she had yelled. 

Fused to the wall was, what used to be, a person. Their body was completely taken over by the fungus. 

“It’s dead.” 

“No shit, Joel.” I said back. 

“I know, I just wasn’t really expecting it.” 

“Was he not here last time?” I asked and she shook her head. 

“You think he came down here after he was infected?” Tess asked. 

Joel was quick to respond with, “Maybe down here is where he was infected.” 

“I’m sure we’re fine…” I said trying not to dwell on that idea too much. 

“Yeah, let's just keep moving.” Tess said, turning and leading the way once again. 

We finally made it to a sketchy-looking ladder. Tess went first, then me, and lastly Joel. As we climbed Joel made a comment about the construction of the building itself, something about it getting updated in the 80s or something. Despite the fact I didn’t always know what he was talking about when it came to construction, I always loved hearing and learning about his old interests. Tess cracked a joke teasing him about his construction-nerd comment, which made me smile slightly. We climbed a little bit higher before Tess got off the ladder. 

It was a small landing with only a single door. 

“This should lead into the hallway.” She said as she went to push it. 

“Is it stuck? Or is something blocking it?” I asked after it didn’t budge. 

“What the fuck?” She asked, shoving it again. 

Then the smell hit me. 

“Okay, I know y’all have got to be able to smell that.” I said. 

“Yeah, it’s gunpowder.” Joel confirmed 

We all scanned the area around us for its source. Then Tess found it, seeping up from under the door was a stream and pool of blood. She shoved the door a little harder and was able to move the body that was slumped in front of it. 

When we made it through I was shocked. There were probably at least half a dozen dead people. Beside one of the men was the truck battery. I didn’t know much about cars, but I did know one that corroded wouldn’t have worked. 

As if to confirm my thought Tess spoke up from where she was squatting down beside it, “Well, the battery’s no good.” 

“Do you think he knew?” I asked. 

“Oh yeah. He knew, and he still tried selling it, twice. Greedy motherfucker.” Tess said as she stood. 

Just as she finished speaking we heard something further up the hall. Joel wasted no time, bringing his gun up and going in pursuit of the sound. I was right behind him, my own gun raised as well. 

“Stay back I got this.” He said quietly over his shoulder. 

“What if there is more than one?” 

He gave no answer and just continued down the hall. We rounded a corner and there was someone trying to help another person up off the ground. Before we got close enough to them the door to our right swung open. I stepped back in time, but Joel didn’t react quickly enough. Someone lept out of the now open door, knife in hand. Joel threw them to the ground quickly and pointed his gun at them. It was then that I realized it was a kid, couldn’t be older than 15. 

“Joel?” The lady down the hall called out. 

I turned my attention back to her and brought my gun up to aim it at her just as a precaution. 

“Marleen?” Joel asked back. 

They know each other?

The lady, now known to me as Marleen, checked on the girl who said she was fine. But then she went to grab the knife she had lost after getting thrown to the ground by Joel, but he quickly stepped on it blocking her from being able to. 

Marleen then called the girl’s name, Ellie, to get her attention. That’s when she noticed that Marleen was hurt. She had just finished reassuring her when Tess joined us. 

“So this is who Robert screwed us over with?” 

The two of them continued a small banter as my attention went back to the girl. I saw her reach for the knife again. Joel quickly turned to point his gun at her. 

“Don’t.” He warned, causing Marleen and the person she was helping to bring their own guns up to point them at him. 

“Not at her!” Marleen said firmly, as Tess and I both aimed our guns back at her and the person with her, “Point it at me.” 

I stole a glance at Ellie, her hands were raised and she looked terrified. Joel slowly took his aim off her and brought it back to Marleen. 

“No offense,” She began, “Our reason for needing that battery is much bigger than yours. Tommy is just one man…” She paused to gauge Joel’s reaction, “It’s our job to know things.” 

“To know things.” Joel repeated, “You’re the same cause that caused my brother to turn against me.” 

“Okay, Joel.” Marleen said as if they have had this conversation before. 

Marleen’s friend finally spoke up, “That was a lot of gunfire.” 

“That means FEDRA will be here soon.” I added, knowing we needed to get the hell out of here. 

“I know.” Marleen said quietly as if she were deep in thought about something. She sighed before speaking up again. 

“We were going to move Ellie out of the QZ tonight. But now we won’t make it anywhere, not for a while at least… So, now I’m thinking, you’re gonna do it.” She said. 

“What?” 

“Like hell we are.” 

“I’m not goin’ with them!” 

Me, Joel, and Ellie all spoke at the same time.

I turned to look at Tess as Joel did the same, “Tess we don’t have time this.” He said. 

“Who is she?” Tess asked, ignoring Joel. 

“For you, consider her cargo.” 

“We don’t smuggle people.” Joel said to Marleen. 

“There is a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House. I know what’s out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that very reason. Now I don’t have that, and I don’t have a truck with FEDRA closing in. All have now is you. And I know what you are capable of… For better or worse.” Marleen said. 

I glanced down at Ellie as she spoke up, “What are they capable of?” 

“You don’t want to know.” I said quietly to her, shaking my head slightly. 

“You get her there safely,” Marleen continued, “and they’ll give you what you need. Not just a battery, but the whole thing. Anything you need. I swear.” 

Joel stayed silent as he looked back at Tess and me. I glanced between the two of them waiting for one of them to make a decision about what we were doing. Tess finally nodded for Joel and me to step away with her so we could discuss. 

“I don’t think I trust her.” I said once we stopped. 

“Neither do we, but she seems desperate.” Tess said. 

“A Firefly vehicle usually means stuff repurposed from FEDRA which would give us a better-than-decent chance makin’ it to Tommy. The second we hand that kid over-” Joel got cut off. 

“Y’all can talk it through but keep in mind I am bleeding out still.” Marleen called out to us. 

We waited a moment before Tess turned back to them. 

“Okay so here’s the deal. We’ll get her to the State House. But we will not hand her over until we have been given everything we want. If not, we kill her, there and then.” 

I wanted to protest that plan but before I could, Marleen said it was a deal. 

“Really? That fast?” Ellie asked. 

“I was thinking the same thing.” I mumbled to myself. 

“You are all that matters. Go grab your bag.” 

It took her a second but she got up and went back into the room to get it. When she got back I let her go ahead of me, following Tess with Joel at the rear of our small group. We walked through the rain back to the apartment. When we got there Joel handed Tess the key to unlock it. She did and held it open for Ellie, I followed behind her. Then Tess was closing the door. 

“Keep an eye on the kid, Joel and I need a second.” She said. 

“Seriously? I can help plan!” I yelled through the door. 

I could hear them discussing which route we take and Bill and Franks. With a sigh, I turned to Ellie. 

“You can go set your bag down.” I said, nodding her over to the living room.

I waited by the door for Joel to come back inside. He eventually did and went straight to the couch. 

“What’s the plan?” I asked. 

“Kill time until it’s dark, then leave.” He said matter of factly. 

“Kill time? What are we supposed to do?” 

“Figure it out.” He snapped before closing his eyes. 

“Just don’t talk to him right now, Ellie. He’s in a bad mood.” I said. 

“Clearly.” She said making me laugh a little. 

“You like card games?” I asked, grabbing our deck off the shelf.

“Yeah.” She smiled, walking over to the table where I had already sat down. 

We played for a bit before I told her I was going to take a short nap before it got dark and advised her to do the same. I went to mine and Joel’s room to lie down on the bed there. 

I wasn’t sure how long I was asleep for, but I was being woken up by Tess. 

“You comin’ or what? Get a jacket, kid. Come on.” She said. 

I quickly got up and went to grab my jacket but hesitated. I wasn’t sure how long we’d be out there. Hopefully not long but if something goes wrong and we’re away longer than we expect, I didn’t want my jacket not to fit when I start showing so instead, I grabbed one of Joel’s older ones and threw that on. When I walked out wearing it Joel gave me a weird look. 

“That mine?” 

“I couldn’t find mine, let’s just go.” I lied. 

“You’re still coming with us?” He asked. 

“Oh my gosh, yes, Joel. I am going. Deal with it.” 

And with that, I left the apartment. 

We made it out and passed the patrols. Then we made it outside of the walls, but we weren’t in the clear yet. They had patrols on the wall. Tess was leading our group, then Ellie behind her, then me, then Joel. We had just about made it when we failed, trying to sneak past a footguard taking a piss. I felt a wave of panic but then when he realized who we were and didn’t just shoot us I felt a little better. 

“Get on your knees!” He kept yelling at us. 

“Just do it.” Tess said, getting down. 

I followed her lead, no need in making this difficult. Joel and Ellie followed as well. 

“Look, you let us do this run we will split the cards with you.” Tess tried to bargain but it wasn’t working. He had us facing away from him and was about to test all of us for infection. I still hated getting this done. Tess went first as she continued to try and sweeten the deal with him. When he got behind me, Joel reached over to grab my hand to give me some comfort, knowing I hated this, but I pulled it away quickly just as the device pricked me. Then he went on to Joel, who also tried to negotiate a better deal for us to be let go, he wasn’t biting. He got to Ellie, but to everyone’s surprise, she whipped around and stabbed the guard in the leg. As Ellie stood I was quick to get to my feet to stand in front of her as the guard aimed his rifle at her. 

“Get out of my fucking way!” The guard yelled. 

“No.” I said firmly. 

By this point Joel had gotten up and was now in front of me, “We can fix this!” 

“Move.” 

It all happened so fast. One moment Joel was in front of me blocking me from the rifle, next he had tackled the guard to the ground and was beating the shit out of him. There was nothing I could do besides watch. 

“Hey, guys!” Tess yelled getting mine and Joel's attention. 

She held up the device the guard was using to test us for infection. It was lit up red. Ellie tried to argue that she wasn’t sick. I tuned out her and Tess arguing and just looked at Joel waiting for him to react. The sound of sirens broke me from my trance. 

“We need to get the fuck out of here. Now!”

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[pronoun-fucker]

Like many people in Britain, you probably watched with horror the US supreme court’s reversal of Roe v Wade, thinking, “Thank goodness women could never be prosecuted for having an abortion here.”

But let me tell you, it already happens here.

Two women are currently awaiting criminal trial in England for abortion-related offences, both facing charges that carry a maximum sentence of life. At least 17 women have been investigated by police over the past eight years for having had abortions.

In Oxford, a 25-year-old mother of one is facing trial for allegedly taking the drug misoprostol – one of the two pills routinely prescribed by doctors to abort a pregnancy. But her baby was born alive and she was subsequently reported to the police. She is being charged under the Offences Against the Person Act, a law passed by parliament in 1861, before the invention of the lightbulb and before women had the right to vote. The law states that a woman must be “kept in penal servitude for life” if she procures an abortion.

Another woman is facing trial after she took abortion pills she obtained from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) by post when rules were relaxed during the pandemic to allow this. She was allegedly 28 weeks pregnant at the time and is facing charges of “child destruction” (note the visceral language) under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act from 1929, which also comes with a maximum life sentence. She could spend the rest of her life in prison.

We so often think that the 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion. But it did no such thing. It partially decriminalised abortion in England, Scotland and Wales, so long as strict conditions were in place, such as a confirmation from two medical practitioners that the pregnancy had not exceeded 28 weeks (subsequently reduced to 24 weeks in 1990), or that the termination was necessary to prevent injury or mental harm. Any abortion outside these criteria is still a criminal offence.

We know that it is overwhelmingly vulnerable women who are investigated and prosecuted for having abortions. One woman collapsed in the dock when she was sentenced to two and a half years in 2015 for taking tablets she had bought online to induce a miscarriage after the 24-week period of gestation. The court heard that she had “a history of emotional and psychological problems”.

Another woman, a mother of one, ordered pills online to induce an abortion in 2019 after her abusive boyfriend had told her not to go to the doctor. She had believed she was eight to 10 weeks pregnant but after a traumatic miscarriage in her bath tub, where she has described sitting in an inch of blood, she realised her pregnancy had been much further along. She was arrested in her hospital bed and served two years in prison.

These are just some examples of women who have faced trial: there are multiple other women who face gruelling police investigations. In 2021, a 15-year-old girl was investigated for a year after suffering an unexplained stillbirth. Her phone and laptop were confiscated during her GCSE exams, she was self-harming, and the investigation only ended after a coroner concluded that the pregnancy ended due to natural causes. Another woman was arrested in hospital last year and kept in a prison cell for 36 hours after a stillbirth at 24 weeks, and is now suffering PTSD. My question is this: if a woman has had an abortion late in the gestation period, or a traumatic miscarriage or stillbirth, should she go to prison or should she be offered support from medical practitioners at what is clearly a horrendous time, both mentally and physically?

Women in 2022 are being shackled by a 160-year-old law made at a time when we were not even allowed to set foot in the House of Commons. Urgent reform is needed to protect more women from harm, which is why organisations such as BPAS and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) are calling on the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Max Hill QC, to drop all charges against these women. The RCOG this month has gone further, calling on ministers to finally legalise abortion. There is absolutely no public interest in sending vulnerable women to prison for terminating pregnancies. Instead, these prosecutions will only serve to put off women seeking help from doctors because they might get arrested, pushing more women into unsafe and underground options.

Meanwhile, according to the criteria of the Abortion Act, a woman has to show that she would suffer grave permanent injury to her mental health if she did not have an abortion after 24 weeks. Why should women still have to pathologise themselves as mad, hysterical, unfit or suffering to legally access healthcare?

The state currently has a triple lock on women’s bodies. By not legalising abortion it has the right to force pregnancy, birth and motherhood upon us. Look to the rules on organ donation: it is illegal to donate people’s organs after they die (however desperately they are needed by people on waiting lists) without their permission. The law at present, which denies women the right to abort a pregnancy on their own terms, is to give us less autonomy than a corpse.

Link | Archived Link

[mariacallous]

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in a challenge to abortion pill access across the country, including in states where abortion is legal. The stakes for abortion rights are sky-high, and the case is the most consequential battle over reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

At the center of this fight is mifepristone, a pill that blocks a hormone needed for pregnancy. The drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for more than two decades, and it’s used to treat some patients with Cushing’s syndrome, as well as endometriosis and uterine fibroids. But its primary use is the one contested now—mifepristone is the first of two pills taken in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy for a standard medication abortion, along with the drug misoprostol.

If the justices side with the antiabortion activists seeking to limit access to mifepristone, it could upend nationwide access to the most common form of abortion care. A ruling that invalidates mifepristone’s approval would open the door for any judge to reverse the FDA approval of any drug, especially ones sometimes seen as controversial, such as HIV drugs and hormonal birth control. It could also have a chilling effect on the development of new drugs, making companies wary of investing research into medicines that could later be pulled from the market.

Pills are now the leading abortion method in the US, and their popularity has spiked in recent years. More than six in 10 abortions in 2023 were carried out via medication, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute. Since rules around telehealth were relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many patients seeking medication abortions have relied on virtual clinics, which send abortion pills by mail. And it keeps getting more popular: Hey Jane, a prominent telemedicine provider, saw demand increase 73 percent from 2022 to 2023. It recorded another 28 percent spike comparing data from January 2023 to January 2024.

“Telemedicine abortion is too effective to not be in the targets of antiabortion folks,” says Julie F. Kay, a longtime reproductive rights lawyer and director of the advocacy group Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

Tomorrow’s argument comes after a long, tangled series of legal disputes in lower courts. The Supreme Court will be hearing two cases consolidated together, including FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, in which a coalition of antiabortion activists filed a suit challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, asking for it to be removed from the market. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian law firm that often takes politically charged cases.

Despite decades of scientific consensus on the drug’s safety record, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has alleged that mifepristone is dangerous to women and leads to emergency room visits. A 2021 study cited by the plaintiffs to back up their claims was retracted in February after an independent review found that its authors came to inaccurate conclusions.

In April 2023, the Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary ruling on the FDA case invalidating the agency’s approval of mifepristone. The ruling sent shock waves far beyond the reproductive-rights world, as it had major implications for the entire pharmaceutical industry, as well as the FDA itself; the ruling suggested that the courts could revoke a drug’s approval even after decades on the market.

The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed Kacsmaryk’s decision a week later, allowing the drug to remain on the market, but undid FDA decisions in recent years that made mifepristone easier to prescribe and obtain. That decision limited the time frame in which it can be taken to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and put telemedicine access, as well as access to the generic version of the drug in jeopardy.

Following the 5th Circuit ruling, the FDA and Danco Laboratories sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, asking the justices to preserve access until it could hear the case. In its legal filing, Danco aptly described the situation as “regulatory chaos.”

SCOTUS issued a temporary stay, maintaining the status quo; the court ultimately decided to take up the case in December 2023.

As all this was unfolding, pro-abortion-rights states across the country were passing what are known as shield laws, which protect medical practitioners who offer abortion care to pregnant patients in states where abortion is banned. This has allowed some providers, including the longtime medication-abortion-advocacy group Aid Access, to mail abortion pills to people who requested them in states like Louisiana and Arkansas.

Though the oral arguments before the Supreme Court begin on Tuesday, it will likely be months before a ruling. Court watchers suspect a decision may be handed down in June. With the US presidential election in the fall, the ruling may become a major campaign issue, especially as abortion access helped galvanize voters in the 2022 midterms.

If the Supreme Court agrees with the plaintiffs that mifepristone should be taken off the market, some in the pharmaceutical industry worry that it will undermine the authority of the FDA, the agency tasked with reviewing and approving drugs based on their safety and efficacy.

“This case isn't about mifepristone,” says Elizabeth Jeffords, CEO of Iolyx Therapeutics, a company developing drugs for immune and eye diseases. Jeffords is a signatory on an amicus brief filed in April 2023 that brought together 350 pharmaceutical companies, executives, and investors to challenge the Texas district court’s ruling.

“This case could have easily been about minoxidil for hair loss. It could have been about Mylotarg for cancer. It could have been about measles vaccines,” Jeffords says. “This is about whether or not the FDA is allowed to be the scientific arbiter of what is good and safe for patients.”

Greer Donley, an associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on abortion on the law, doesn’t think it’s likely that the court will revoke mifepristone’s approval entirely. Instead, she sees two possible outcomes. The Supreme Court could dismiss the case or could undo the FDA’s decision in 2023 to permanently remove the in-person dispensing requirement and allow abortion by telehealth. “This would be an even more narrow decision than what the 5th Circuit did, but it would still be pretty devastating to abortion access,” she says.

The Supreme Court could also decide that the plaintiffs lack a right to bring the case to court, says David Cohen, a professor of law at Drexel University whose expertise is in constitutional law and gender issues. “This case could get kicked out on standing, meaning that the plaintiffs aren't the right people to bring this case,” he says. “If most of the questions are about standing, that will give you a sense that that's what the justices are concerned about.”

As the current Supreme Court is considered virulently antiabortion, reproductive-health-care workers are already preparing for the worst. Some telehealth providers have already floated a backup plan: offering misoprostol-only medication abortions. This is less than ideal, as the combination of pills is the current standard of care and offers the best results; misoprostol on its own can cause additional cramping and nausea. For some providers who may have to choose between misoprostol-only or nothing, it’s better than nothing.

Abortion-rights activists have no plans to give up on telehealth abortions, regardless of the outcome of this particular case. “Let us be clear, Hey Jane will not stop delivering telemedicine abortion care, regardless of the outcome of this case,” says Hey Jane’s CEO and cofounder, Kiki Freedman.

“They’re not going to stuff the genie back in the bottle,” Kay says.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Thought I’d let you know that the op of the abortion post (pronoun-fucker) is a terf. When I looked at the recommended post it was suggesting a bunch of terf shit and when I check their blog yeah they’re a terf. You don’t have to answer this just thought I’d let you know cuz I reblogged the post without even realising.

Oh, gross. Alright then, let's see...

Cool, okay, so the post was literally just the text of the linked newspaper article, so allow me to recreate it here:

Like many people in Britain, you probably watched with horror the US supreme court’s reversal of Roe v Wade, thinking, “Thank goodness women could never be prosecuted for having an abortion here.” But let me tell you, it already happens here.

Two women are currently awaiting criminal trial in England for abortion-related offences, both facing charges that carry a maximum sentence of life. At least 17 women have been investigated by police over the past eight years for having had abortions.

In Oxford, a 25-year-old mother of one is facing trial for allegedly taking the drug misoprostol – one of the two pills routinely prescribed by doctors to abort a pregnancy. But her baby was born alive and she was subsequently reported to the police. She is being charged under the Offences Against the Person Act, a law passed by parliament in 1861, before the invention of the lightbulb and before women had the right to vote. The law states that a woman must be “kept in penal servitude for life” if she procures an abortion.

Another woman is facing trial after she took abortion pills she obtained from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) by post when rules were relaxed during the pandemic to allow this. She was allegedly 28 weeks pregnant at the time and is facing charges of “child destruction” (note the visceral language) under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act from 1929, which also comes with a maximum life sentence. She could spend the rest of her life in prison.

We so often think that the 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion. But it did no such thing. It partially decriminalised abortion in England, Scotland and Wales, so long as strict conditions were in place, such as a confirmation from two medical practitioners that the pregnancy had not exceeded 28 weeks (subsequently reduced to 24 weeks in 1990), or that the termination was necessary to prevent injury or mental harm. Any abortion outside these criteria is still a criminal offence.

We know that it is overwhelmingly vulnerable women who are investigated and prosecuted for having abortions. One woman collapsed in the dock when she was sentenced to two and a half years in 2015 for taking tablets she had bought online to induce a miscarriage after the 24-week period of gestation. The court heard that she had “a history of emotional and psychological problems”.

Another woman, a mother of one, ordered pills online to induce an abortion in 2019 after her abusive boyfriend had told her not to go to the doctor. She had believed she was eight to 10 weeks pregnant but after a traumatic miscarriage in her bath tub, where she has described sitting in an inch of blood, she realised her pregnancy had been much further along. She was arrested in her hospital bed and served two years in prison.

These are just some examples of women who have faced trial: there are multiple other women who face gruelling police investigations. In 2021, a 15-year-old girl was investigated for a year after suffering an unexplained stillbirth. Her phone and laptop were confiscated during her GCSE exams, she was self-harming, and the investigation only ended after a coroner concluded that the pregnancy ended due to natural causes. Another woman was arrested in hospital last year and kept in a prison cell for 36 hours after a stillbirth at 24 weeks, and is now suffering PTSD. My question is this: if a woman has had an abortion late in the gestation period, or a traumatic miscarriage or stillbirth, should she go to prison or should she be offered support from medical practitioners at what is clearly a horrendous time, both mentally and physically?

Women in 2022 are being shackled by a 160-year-old law made at a time when we were not even allowed to set foot in the House of Commons. Urgent reform is needed to protect more women from harm, which is why organisations such as BPAS and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) are calling on the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Max Hill QC, to drop all charges against these women. The RCOG this month has gone further, calling on ministers to finally legalise abortion. There is absolutely no public interest in sending vulnerable women to prison for terminating pregnancies. Instead, these prosecutions will only serve to put off women seeking help from doctors because they might get arrested, pushing more women into unsafe and underground options.

Meanwhile, according to the criteria of the Abortion Act, a woman has to show that she would suffer grave permanent injury to her mental health if she did not have an abortion after 24 weeks. Why should women still have to pathologise themselves as mad, hysterical, unfit or suffering to legally access healthcare?

The state currently has a triple lock on women’s bodies. By not legalising abortion it has the right to force pregnancy, birth and motherhood upon us. Look to the rules on organ donation: it is illegal to donate people’s organs after they die (however desperately they are needed by people on waiting lists) without their permission. The law at present, which denies women the right to abort a pregnancy on their own terms, is to give us less autonomy than a corpse.

Link | Archived Link

And, just to be clear, while is a situation that is 100% rooted in punishing women for having sex and also primarily affects women, women are NOT the only people affected by it. Trans men and enbies also can get hit by these laws, and we shouldn't forget them.

[cricketcat9]

War on women

in Poland continues. From Polish newspaper “Wyborcza”:

“The case of Justyna Wydrzyńska, an activist of the Abortion Dream Team, reminds us of what it means to maintain this power*** after the elections. The case of Justyna Wydrzyńska, an activist of the Abortion Dream Team, reminds us of what it means to maintain this power after the elections. She was found guilty today and convicted of helping another woman get an abortion.”

“The former partner of Anna, one of the women Justyna Wydrzynska helped three years ago (she gave her her own abortion pills), reported everything to the police. Abortion assistance is punishable by up to three years in prison. The court considered further evidence brought by the prosecutor's office and the ultra-Catholic organization Ordo Iuris, which acts as a social party in the trial (represents the interests of the unborn fetus).

Sentence: eight months of restriction of freedom through community service. The activist is to work unpaid for 30 hours a month. Her work is to be controlled. Justyna Wydrzyńska must also bear the costs of the trial”.

She will appeal, and said that she does not regret her action.

*** This power is the current ruling party PiS, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, bigoted, corrupted and Catholic Church’s ass-kissing bunch.

[rapeculturerealities]

Supreme Court will decide access to key abortion drug mifepristone - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/13/abortion-drug-supreme-court-mifepristone-fda/

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will decide this term whether to limit access to a key abortion drug, returning the polarizing issue of reproductive rights to the high court for the first time since the conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

The Biden administration and the manufacturer of mifepristone have asked the justices to overturn a lower-court ruling that would make it more difficult to obtain the medication, which is part of a two-drug regimen used in more than half of all abortions in the United States.

The conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said the federal government acted unlawfully years ago when it began loosening regulations for obtaining the pill. The appeals court said the Food and Drug Administration did not follow proper procedures when it allowed the drug — which was first approved more than 20 years ago — to be taken later in pregnancy, to be mailed directly to patients and to be prescribed by a medical professional other than a doctor.

Medications to terminate pregnancy have increased in importance because more than a dozen states severely limited or banned abortions after the Supreme Court’s ruling last June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That’s partly because the drugs can be sent by mail and taken at home.

If access to mifepristone was restricted, abortion providers and advocates say, pregnancies could still be terminated using only the second drug in the regimen, misoprostol. But using that drug alone causes more cramping and bleeding, and abortion opponents could move to restrict its use as well if they win limits on the use of mifepristone from the high court.

[ Faced with abortion bans, doctors beg hospitals for help with key decisions ]

The court’s decision to review the mifepristone case is not surprising. In April, after a District Court ruling to suspend FDA approval of the drug, the justices said existing rules for prescribing and distributing mifepristone would remain in place nationwide while the litigation continues.

In that order, only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would not have granted the Biden administration’s request for a stay of the District Court decision. Critics say the lower court’s ruling undermines the role of federal regulatory agencies.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar told the high court that mifepristone has been safely used by millions of people over more than two decades, and warned that allowing the lower court’s decision to stand would have “damaging consequences for women seeking lawful abortions and a healthcare system that relies on the availability of the drug under the current conditions of use.”

The challenge to mifepristone was initiated by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an association of antiabortion doctors and others. The group asserted that the FDA did not sufficiently consider safety concerns when it approved the drug in 2000 or when it removed some restrictions years later — allowing the use of mifepristone through 10 weeks of pregnancy, for instance, instead of seven.

The group filed its lawsuit in Amarillo, Tex., where U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — a Trump nominee with long-held antiabortion views — is the sole sitting judge. He sided with the challengers and suspended FDA approval of the medication.

The 5th Circuit reversed that part of Kacsmaryk’s order, but agreed with him in blocking the changes starting in 2016 for how the drug was prescribed and distributed, and at what point in a pregnancy it could be used.

[profeminist]

"New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday said he would consider defying the Supreme Court and continue to provide mifepristone if the court rules in favor of a ban on the abortion pill. 

When asked if the state would prescribe mifepristone after such a ruling, Murphy told MSNBC: “To be determined.”

“When I say everything is on the table, Katy, I mean that. This action generally, whether it’s mifepristone, or whether it’s North Carolina or South Carolina, or Florida at six weeks,” he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Katy Tur, also referring to other abortion restrictions on the state level. 

“This is going to cost peoples’ lives. It’s going to cost them health, it’s also going to cost peoples’ lives, women in particular sadly. That’s what’s at stake, we’ll do whatever it takes to save lives,” said Murphy, a Democrat." 

Read the full piece here: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/17/nj-governor-supreme-court-mifepristone-ban.html

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

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