RandySF
RandySF's JournalIndiana abortion ban starts next month
NDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's near-total ban on abortion is expected to begin Aug. 1.
"This decision is truly devastating," said Dr. Caroline Rouse, a maternal fetal medicine physician at IU Health.
For months, abortion providers, doctors and health care experts have watched and waited to see what the Indiana Supreme Court would do as an injunction prevented the state's abortion ban from taking effect.
But now that the Indiana Supreme Court has struck down the injunction and sent the case back down for further action, that law is expected to take effect in just a few weeks. It's a decision that's frustrating for providers like Rouse.
“It is terrible for the health of Hoosiers,” Rouse said. "The exam room is no place for the legislature, and that's exactly where they have put themselves, into a position where they are preventing physicians and patients from being able to have evidence-based discussions for the best health care decision for that patient."
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/health/indiana-abortion-ban-looming-for-hoosier-women/531-d7da3783-bc40-4487-a6d2-6a5c26cb0a93
North Carolina's New Abortion Law Is Also a Weapon Against Free Speech
NORTH CAROLINA’S NEW law banning abortions after 12 weeks not only restricts abortion access in the state that saw the largest increase in abortions since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, but is also the first example since the Supreme Court’s decisionof a state limiting what people can say online about abortion. This speech restriction will create confusion for lawmakers, tech platforms, and users alike, and ultimately undermine online expression.
The North Carolina law contains two provisions that restrict speech. First, the current law provides that “t shall be unlawful after the twelfth week of a woman's pregnancy to procure or cause a miscarriage or abortion in North Carolina.” After a federal district court judge suggested that the law as written likely unconstitutional because it could cover someone advising another about how to obtain a lawful out-of-state abortion, North Carolina agreed that under the new law these actions would not be a criminal offense.
But the state’s abortion ban also prohibits purchasing an ad, hosting a website, or providing an internet service if the purpose is “solely to promote the sale” of an abortion drug taken outside of a doctor’s office, and this law has not yet faced a legal challenge. The law’s impact will depend on how courts interpret words like solely. An expansive interpretation could prevent platforms from hosting a wide range of abortion-related content and could limit speech rights for people within and beyond the state, since they could face legal liability if their posts are read in North Carolina. That might mean, for example, that a Twitter account with information about how to safely use an abortion drug like mifepristone would violate the law unless it were to block access for all pregnant women in North Carolina. If it doesn’t, Twitter and the account’s administrators could be fined for every piece of offending content.
Courts may find that these provisions are unconstitutional. In 1975, the Supreme Court held in Bigelow v. Virginia that Virginia could not prosecute a newspaper publisher within the state who printed an ad for abortion services that were legal in New York. But the court has since suggested that decision was predicated on a constitutionally protected right to abortion (which no longer exists post-Dobbs) and has given mixed messages about when it is constitutional to restrict truthful advertisements in states where the advertised activity is illegal.
https://www.wired.com/story/north-carolinas-new-abortion-law-is-also-a-weapon-against-free-speech/
Democratic PAC unveils 'steamy and horrifying' ad with GOP lawmaker interrupting couple in bedroom
Progressive Action Fund launched a new ad attacking crackdowns on reproductive rights ahead of an Ohio ballot measure, featuring an elderly Republican congressman in a couple’s bedroom.
The ad begins with a sex scene in which a woman asks, “Do you have a condom?”
The man reaches for the condom in a bedside table drawer, and another suit-covered arm reaches for it as well, shocking the couple.
“This is our decision, not yours,” the woman replies, adding, “Get out of our bedroom!”
The Republican congressman says eerily, “I won the last election, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just gonna watch and make sure you don’t do anything illegal.” The ad then ends with a frame of the Republican congressman’s face next to text that reads: “Keep republicans out of your bedroom.”
It urges voters to “vote no” on 8 August, in reference to State Issue 1, which would require proposed amendments to Ohio’s constitution “receive the approval of at least 60 per cent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment.” If passed, State Issue 1 would replace a simple majority requirement.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/democratic-pac-ad-couple-bedroom-b2376850.html
Grammy-winning artist John Legend visiting Cincinnati for rally against Issue 1 Tuesday
Twelve-time Grammy-winning artist John Legend will visit Cincinnati Tuesday.
As part of a One Person One Vote rally, Legend – an Ohio native – will appear at 4702 Montgomery Road, across from the Hamilton County Board of Elections, from noon to 1 p.m., encouraging others to vote against Issue 1 during the state's special election Aug 8. Innovation Ohio, a progressive political organization, posted about the event Saturday via Facebook.
In May, House Republicans passed a resolution 62-37 that, if approved by voters, would increase the voter threshold to enact new constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%.
Abortion rights advocates are working to put a ballot question before Ohio voters in November that would enshrine abortion access and other reproductive rights in the constitution. Republican officials have openly said Issue 1 aims, in part, to keep that issue from passing.
Legend is from Springfield, Ohio.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2023/07/17/john-legend-visiting-cincinnati-rally-against-ohio-issue-1/70420832007/
OH: Instead of being a responsible elections chief, Frank LaRose is being an openly partisan hack
“One of the things I love about this work is it’s completely nonpartisan. The vast majority of the other secretaries of state take the same approach. What we do here is about protecting the foundation of our democracy.” – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, 2020.
That same guy is actively campaigning for passage of State Issue 1, the Republican amendment to end 100 years of majority voter power in Ohio on Aug. 8. He is stumping with special interests trying to stop a majority of voters from upending right wing agendas (take your pick) to outlaw abortion, rig legislative districts, loosen gun laws, reject minimum wage increases, etc. And on Monday, LaRose announced he thinks he deserves a promotion to the U.S. Senate.
Ohio’s elections chief is leading the crusade to pass Issue 1 and impose minority rule on citizen ballot initiatives to amend the constitution. The vote of a majority of Ohio voters (the unchallenged standard in the state since 1912) would no longer be enough to enact constitutional change that reflects majority will. But a 41 % percent minority of voters would be enough to decide the fate of future constitutional amendments under the legislative initiative LaRose is championing.
The top elections official in charge of running free and fair elections in the state wants to make it nearly impossible for voters to petition their government for redress by moving the goal posts for citizen-initiated amendments to the constitution. Issue 1 would mandate a new 60% supermajority for passage instead of the simple majority margin that has stood for a century.
From his early attempts to fast-track Issue 1 through the legislature, to his notorious flip-flop on using a typically low-turnout, high-cost August election to pass a game-changing legislative amendment and his embrace of plainly prejudicial ballot language to mislead voters on Issue 1, LaRose has dropped any pretense of being a neutral referee running evenhanded elections.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/07/18/instead-of-being-a-responsible-elections-chief-frank-larose-is-being-an-openly-partisan-hack/
Republican Betty Montgomery says Ohio Issue 1 on August ballot is 'anti-democratic'
Lifelong Republican Betty Montgomery doesn’t mince words when she sees a threat to democracy.
The former Wood County prosecuting attorney, Ohio senator, state auditor and state attorney general, has been outspoken in her concerns about the lingering support for former president Donald Trump – going as far as predicting continued support will mean the demise of the Republican party.
Now, Montgomery is sounding the alarm about what she sees as another enemy of democracy – Ohio Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 ballot.
Issue 1, which if passed by 50% plus one vote, would require 60% support to pass any future citizen-initiated amendment to the state constitution. That is wrong on many levels, Montgomery said during a weekend phone interview.
“There is so much about Issue 1 that is anti-democratic,” she said.
Montgomery isn’t the only state leader to criticize the issue. In an almost unheard of bipartisan effort, four former Ohio governors and five former state attorneys general have taken a formal stand against the issue.
https://bgindependentmedia.org/republican-betty-montgomery-says-ohio-issue-1-is-anti-democratic/
OH: League of Women Voters Leader calls on citizens to defeat Issue 1 in August
Jen Miller, the Executive Director of League of Women Voters of Ohio, was a guest speaker during the Richland County Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting at the their headquarters on Thursday evening. The League of Women Voters of Ohio is a nonpartisan political organization based in Columbus that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Miller, a Shelby native, has been making the rounds across Ohio to push for people to vote no on Issue 1 come Aug. 8, including a talk at 6 p.m. Monday at the Bucyrus Public Library, 200 E. Mansfield St.
Discussions surrounding Issue 1 is that if passed, it will limit the power of ordinary citizens trying to voice their concerns and seek changes.
We need folks to put their personal feelings aside and put democracy first," said Miller, during her speech. "We will beat this in August. We will give some folks pause for overreaching and then we can use that to continue to push for a stronger democracy that works for us. The people in Ohio are good people. We care about fairness and we care about democracy. It's high time for us to claim this back."
Miller stressed the importance of voters not skipping the election and expressed ways for people to spread the word such as posting on social media, calling or texting family and friends, distributing items and writing to editors of publications in their city/town to spread the word.
https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/18/jen-miller-speaks-at-richland-county-democratic-party-building-ahead-of-august-election/70410923007/
Ohio election workers crack the whip to validate petitions for November ballot issues
Now that he’s retired, Indiana Jones might want to volunteer as an election worker.
While he won’t get into any car chases or fist fights, his expertise at deciphering hieroglyphics would be put to good use validating signatures on ballot petitions.
At least that was my experience last week as I worked the night shift at the Franklin County Board of Elections. Poring over the petitions to put abortion rights and legalizing marijuana on the November ballot left me bleary-eyed but satisfied that there’s no monkey business going on behind the scenes.
After Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted their petitions to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office in early July, those petitions were sent to the counties’ bipartisan boards of election. The boards were then tasked with verifying the signatures — by comparing them to the boards’ computerized voter files. If the signatures didn’t match, the boards would cull them from the list.
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights turned in 709,786 voter signatures from around the state, far more than the required 413,487 signatures. The campaign said that Franklin County had a whopping 82,509 signatures.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, meanwhile, said that it collected 223,233 voter signatures, more than the required 124,046 signatures, with the greatest number of signatures, 50,004, coming from Franklin County.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/07/18/ohio-election-workers-crack-the-whip-to-validate-petitions-for-november-ballot-issues/
TN: Litigation likely to follow AG's foray into business world's race-based policies
A venture by “red-state” attorneys general into private businesses’ race-based employment policies could lead to new legal challenges, a political scientist says.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 13 attorneys general last week in warning Fortune 100 companies, including three with a presence in Tennessee, that they could face legal action if they use hiring, promotion and contracting policies based on race. A letter to the chief executive officers of companies such as Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare and FedEx as well as Detroit-based Ford Motor Co., which is building the $5.6 billion BlueOval City in West Tennessee, based its legal argument on the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down decades of quotas for college admissions designed to increase the number of minority students.
The group of attorneys general is “aggressively trying to expand this Supreme Court decision on race-based admission to colleges to the private sector and beyond, which would lead one to believe that this situation is not over and we’re probably going to see more court challenges as people try to apply the standard the Supreme Court ruled for higher education to all kinds of other circumstances,” said MTSU political science professor Kent Syler.
Decades ago, businesses lobbied against Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to stop the federal government from placing requirements on private enterprise in an effort to bolster the hiring of Black employees. But under the leadership of Skrmetti, attorneys general are using the same law to turn back affirmative action policies and tell businesses they can’t take race into account when hiring and contracting.
https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/07/18/litigation-likely-to-follow-ags-foray-into-business-worlds-race-based-policies/
NM: Statehouse leaders to assert 'legislative privilege' in redistricting lawsuit
As a state district court judge decides whether New Mexico’s congressional map signed into law in 2021 is a partisan gerrymander, he will have to figure out a way to properly question the lawmakers who drew it.
Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Fred Van Soelen met by phone on Monday morning with attorneys representing the Republican Party of New Mexico and government officials representing the governor’s office and the statehouse.
Carter Harrison was one of the attorneys who appeared on behalf of the New Mexico GOP, which argues that the new map “cracked” a Republican voting bloc in the southeastern part of the state, making it harder for a Republican candidate to win the Congressional District 2 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2022, under the redrawn maps, southern New Mexico Democrat Gabe Vasquez won the congressional district by 1,346 votes. All three of the state’s federal delegates in the U.S. House are Democrats.
Van Soelen in April 2022 refused to dismiss the lawsuit, and Democratic leaders that July asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether the state’s courts have the power to weigh in on cases like this one.
The justices on July 5 found state courts do have that power, ruled in favor of the GOP, and sent the case back down to Van Soelen.
https://sourcenm.com/2023/07/18/statehouse-leaders-to-assert-legislative-privilege-in-redistricting-lawsuit/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 59,229
