Missouri: State Supreme Court Upholds 24-Hour Waiting Period On Abortions
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The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the state’s 24-hour waiting period for abortions, a decision that turns the focus of the legal battle to federal court.
AP has more:
SCOTUS: Racketerring Laws Can’t Be Used To Stop Abortion Clinic Demonstrations
| Schiedler vs. NOW, et al___________
Opinion: Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc., et al. Arguments: Scheidler, Joseph, et al. v. National Organization for Women, Inc., et al. (PDF) Scheidler v. National Organization for Women (2003 Arguments and Opinion) |
The U.S. Supreme Court this in Schiedler vs. National Organization for Women, et al, week ruled that abortion clinics cannot use federal laws against racketerring and extortion to stop demonstrations.
The New York Times has more:
The opinion by Justice Stephen G. Breyer turned on two words. The justices ruled that clinics could not use the decades-old Hobbs Act, which outlaws the obstruction of commerce by “robbery or extortion,” to stymie protesters.
“Physical violence unrelated to robbery or extortion falls outside the Hobbs Act’s scope,” Justice Breyer wrote. To try to use the act as the National Organization for Women and other abortion-rights advocates have done “broadens the Hobbs Act’s scope well beyond what case law has assumed,” he wrote.
Moreover, the ruling noted, Congress specifically addressed the needs of abortion clinics and their patients in 1994, when it passed legislation that makes it a federal crime to attack or blockade abortion clinics, their operators or their patrons. By its actions in 1994, Congress suggested that the much older Hobbs act did not address anti-abortion protests, Justice Breyer wrote.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. did not take part in today’s ruling. He took his seat on the court after the case, Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, No. 04-1244, was argued last Nov. 30.
Michigan: AG Cox Files Brief To Support Ruling That Declared MI Abortion Law Unconstitutional
Attorney General Mike Cox filed a brief Monday backing his appeal of a ruling that declared a Michigan abortion law unconstitutional.
MILive has more:
High Court Will Revisit Partial Birth Abortion Ban
The Supreme Court has agreed to review a law passed by Congress in 2003 that prohibits a procedure that opponents refer to as partial birth abortion.
Two Federal Appeals Panels Declare Late-Term Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
Two federal appeals courts on opposite coasts Tuesday declared Congress’ ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure unconstitutional — making it a virtual certainty that newly confirmed Justice Samuel A. Alito will have the opportunity to rule on the issue in the future.
The LA Times: