Abortion rights supporters won in the four states where access was on the ballot Tuesday, as voters enshrined it into the state constitution in battleground Michigan as well as blue California and Vermont and dealt a defeat to an anti-abortion measure in deep-red Kentucky. In all, it was a dramatic...
Roe v. Wade’s Apparent Demise Draws Fresno Cheers and Jeers
News that the U.S. Supreme Court appears to be on the verge of overturning a nearly 50-year-old decision to legalize abortion in America predictably prompted drastically divergent reactions from abortion opponents and pro-choice supporters, respectively. Although abortion rights supporters have long anticipated that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe...
Supreme Court Throws Abortion Fight Into Center of Midterms
WASHINGTON — In agreeing to hear a potentially groundbreaking abortion case, the Supreme Court has energized activists on both sides of the long-running debate who are now girding to make abortion access a major issue in next year’s midterm elections. For many evangelicals, the case could serve as a validation...
Why an Abortion Law Ruling Trigged Mass Protests in Poland
WARSAW, Poland — Poland is a largely conservative country compared to much of Europe, a place where churches fill up on Sundays and Roman Catholicism is deeply interwoven with the national identity. So why has a court ruling restricting abortion sparked more than a week of angry protests across the...
Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Abortion Clinic Law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era. Chief Justice John Roberts joined with his four more liberal colleagues in ruling that...
No Halt to Culture Wars During Coronavirus Outbreak
WASHINGTON — A partisan fight over voting in Wisconsin was the first issue linked to the coronavirus to make it to the Supreme Court. Efforts to limit abortion during the pandemic could eventually land in the justices' hands. Disputes over guns and religious freedom also are popping up around the country. The...
Trump Campaign Kicks off Catholic Voter Outreach Project
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is ramping up its courtship of Catholic voters ahead of a likely November matchup against a devout Catholic Democrat, former Vice President Joe Biden. The campaign previewed its message at a Thursday night launch of a “Catholics for Trump” coalition, touting the...
Down Syndrome Abortion Ban Is Going Before a Federal Court
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal court in Cincinnati will hear complex legal arguments Wednesday for and against Ohio's Down syndrome abortion ban 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...
Supreme Court Divided in 1st Big Abortion Case of Trump Era
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared divided in its first major abortion case of the Trump era, leaving Chief Justice John Roberts as the likely deciding vote. Roberts did not say enough to tip his hand in an hour of spirited arguments at the high court Wednesday. The court's election-year...
US Appeals Court Upholds Trump Rules Involving Abortions
SEATTLE — In a victory for the Trump administration, a U.S. appeals court on Monday upheld rules that bar taxpayer-funded family-planning clinics from referring women for abortions. The 7-4 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned decisions issued by judges in Washington, Oregon and California. The court had already...