March 13, 2020

Right wing legislative contingency planning (banning abortion)

Idaho bill outlaws abortion if Roe v. Wade is reversed
https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/capitol-watch/idaho-bill-outlaws-abortion-if-roe-versus-wade-reversed/277-f6d84877-a97d-470e-ada9-9a8f23008bfd

The Idaho Senate has approved legislation making abortion a crime should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide.

The Senate voted 27-7 Thursday to approve the measure that includes exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Under the measure, criminal punishment would apply to the person performing the abortion, not the woman.

...

Emphasis added. That is exactly how it was in the old days.

March 12, 2020

Down syndrome abortion fight in Ohio takes legal twists (NBC)

Down syndrome abortion fight in Ohio takes legal twists
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/down-syndrome-abortion-fight-ohio-takes-legal-twists-n1155276

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal court in Cincinnati will hear complex legal arguments for and against Ohio's Down syndrome abortion ban Wednesday, in a case viewed as pivotal in the national debate over the procedure.

Attorneys for the government contend in legal filings that the sidelined 2017 law does not infringe on a woman's constitutional rights — because it “does not prohibit any abortions at all.”

That was certainly not how the measure's proponents in the Ohio Legislature saw it, said one backer.

“I'm of the mind that it certainly does prevent abortions,” said state Rep. Candice Keller, a Republican abortion opponent.

...

The state and federal government will argue Wednesday during a rare hearing before the entire U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati that, because of how it's structured, the law only impedes doctors, not pregnant women.

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This one is bizarre on top of the usual anti-choice slippery slope. OK to abort a normal healthy one, but not with Down syndrome?

March 12, 2020

Tennessee abortion reversal bill could allow doctors to be charged

Tennessee abortion reversal bill could allow doctors to be charged
https://www.wjhl.com/news/regional/tennessee/tennessee-abortion-reversal-bill-could-allow-doctors-to-be-charged/

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Doctors who fail to inform women that drug-induced abortions may be halted halfway could face felony charges under a bill advancing in Tennessee.

Medical groups say the claim isn’t backed up by science and there is little information about the reversal procedure’s safety.

The measure advanced out of the House Health Committee on Tuesday. It now moves to the full House chamber and must also clear the Senate.

However, in the GOP-dominant Statehouse, the bill is likely to be approved by Republicans supportive of abortion restrictions. Gov. Bill Lee has also come out in support of anti-abortion measures, backing his own sweeping restrictions during this year’s legislative session.

Six states already require doctors to tell women that it may be possible reverse a medication abortion: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah. In two other states, Oklahoma and North Dakota, these so-called “abortion reversal” laws are blocked or blocked by legal challenges.

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Emphasis added.

March 12, 2020

Utah's Women Senators Walk Out As Men Pass Abortion Ultrasound Bill

Utah's Women Senators Walk Out As Men Pass Abortion Ultrasound Bill
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/utahs-women-senators-walk-out-as-men-pass-abortion-ultrasound-bill/ar-BB112BLb

Six women in Utah's Senate, from both sides of the aisle, walked out on their male peers Tuesday, as they passed a bill requiring pregnant women to sit through an ultrasound before being able to undergo an abortion.

NCAA tournament games closed to fans
'Got married!' U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar says
Six women in Utah's Senate, from both sides of the aisle, walked out on their male peers Tuesday, as they passed a bill requiring pregnant women to sit through an ultrasound before being able to undergo an abortion.

a close up of a computer: An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room at Whole Woman's Health of South Bend on June 19, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Men in Utah's Senate passed a bill seeking to force women undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion.© Scott Olson/Getty An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room at Whole Woman's Health of South Bend on June 19, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Men in Utah's Senate passed a bill seeking to force women undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion.
House Bill 364 was passed entirely by male senators as their six female colleagues, Democrats Luz Escamilla, Jani Iwamoto, Karen Mayne and Kathleen Riebe and Republicans Deirdre Henderson and Ann Millner walked out on the vote.

According to Escamilla, who tweeted about the incident, the decision to walk out of the Senate was not planned.

"Love my sisters in the Senate," Escamilla said, sharing photos of the six women senators embracing each other after walking out. "A spontaneous decision not planned of sisterhood against the invasive nature of HB 364," she said.

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Emphasis added.

March 11, 2020

Albany Bishop William Love to face hearing in disciplinary case for blocking same-sex marriage

Albany Bishop William Love to face hearing in disciplinary case for blocking same-sex marriage
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/09/18/albany-bishop-william-love-to-face-hearing-in-disciplinary-case-for-blocking-same-sex-marriage/

[Episcopal News Service – Minneapolis, Minnesota] Albany Bishop William Love, who last year flouted a General Convention resolution on marriage equality when he vowed to continue blocking same-sex marriage in his diocese, was referred Sept. 18 to a hearing panel for potential discipline under The Episcopal Church’s Title IV Canon.

Love, who is one of an estimated 135 bishops and bishops-elect who are in Minneapolis this week for the fall House of Bishops meeting, was informed of the decision at about the same time as The Episcopal Church issued a late-afternoon press release on the update to his case. Love told Episcopal News Service on Sept. 19 that he was “thankful” that the matter had made it to the hearing panel, as he denied that he had done anything wrong.

“What I tried to do as best I can, by the grace of God, is to be faithful and obedient to that which I believe the Lord has called me to, even though it sometimes can be very difficult, and sometimes it’s not politically correct,” he said. Love also released an online statement in response to the news.

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March 9, 2020

Where I am (Chicago) there is *no* shortage of hand sanitizer or toilet paper ...

... nor is there panic price gouging.

Anybody here have a tale of shortages and panic?

First hand only please, *not* from a media report or Twitter.

March 7, 2020

Doctor Trump

Best possible spin is he's just fucking with us. To "own" us you see.

That's the best. More likely he really is a deluded psycho.

March 4, 2020

States scramble to prepare ahead of food stamps rule change (ABC)

States scramble to prepare ahead of food stamps rule change
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/states-scramble-prepare-ahead-food-stamps-rule-change-69379113

CHICAGO -- Having food stamps offers Richard Butler a stability he’s rarely known in his 25 years. He was in state custody at age 2, spent his teen years at a Chicago boys’ home and jail for burglary, and has since struggled to find a permanent home.

The $194 deposited monthly on his benefits card buys fresh produce and meat.

“It means the world to me,” said Butler, who shares a one-bedroom apartment with two others. “We can go without a lot of things, like phones and music. We can’t go without eating.”

But that stability is being threatened for people like Butler, who are able-bodied, without dependents and between the ages 18 and 49. New Trump administration rules taking effect April 1 put hundreds of thousands of people in his situation at risk of losing their benefits. They hit particularly hard in places like Illinois, which also has been dealing with a separate, similar change in the nation's third-largest city.

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March 3, 2020

Putin proposes to enshrine God, heterosexual marriage in constitution

Putin proposes to enshrine God, heterosexual marriage in constitution
https://www.france24.com/en/20200302-putin-proposes-to-enshrine-god-heterosexual-marriage-in-constitution

Moscow (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to parliament a number of new constitutional changes, including amendments that mention God and stipulate that marriage is a union of a man and woman.

Putin in January unleashed a political storm by proposing an overhaul of the constitution, the first changes to the basic law since 1993.

Last month the Russian parliament's lower house unanimously approved the constitutional reform bill in a first reading after less than two hours of debate.

Ahead of a second and key reading set for next week, Putin submitted 24 pages worth of amendments, said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

"The president's amendments are the result of his dialogue with representatives of all factions (and) civil society," he said in comments released by the State Duma.

The amendments enshrine the mention of Russians' "faith in God" and also stipulate that marriage is a heterosexual union, Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy told AFP.

Most Russians identify as Orthodox Christians but Russia is officially a secular state.

The new amendments also ban giving away Russian territory and any call promoting such a move would also be outlawed.

A member of a Kremlin-appointed constitutional working group, actor Vladimir Mashkov, has suggested that such an amendment would ensure that Russia keeps Crimea -- which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 -- or the Kuril Islands -- disputed with Japan for decades -- even after Putin quits power.

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March 2, 2020

Which one of you guys is the smart alec?