Bioethics Public Policy Report: September 10
STATE By State
An Ohio state court judge blocked the enforcement of the State’s 24-hour waiting period law for abortions, citing the state constitutional amendment voted on in 2023. The court said that the amendment guarantees access in a manner incompatible with the State’s law. Attorney General Dave Yost said that he would appeal. For further information, click here.
The California legislature has approved a bill that would expand in vitro fertilization (IVF) access to LGBTQ individuals in same-sex relationships. SB 729 requires that large group health plans cover fertility treatment, including IVF, for LGBTQ individuals. For further information, click here.
State legislators and concerned citizens are filing a lawsuit challenging the inclusion of proposed Amendment 3 on the Missouri ballot this November, being represented by the Thomas More Society. They argue that the proposed amendment violates the state constitution. For further information, click here.
Planned Parenthood is challenging a new Missouri state law that blocks Medicaid funds from reimbursing them for treating patients within the state. They are arguing to the state administrative hearing commission that the law violates federal Medicaid law. For further information, click here.
Florida is investigating petition signatures for fraud regarding the ballot initiative for proposed Amendment 4, which would vastly expand abortion throughout the State. State officials were alerted by “very concerning invalidity rates” among many of the circulators of the petitions. For further information, click here.
In West Virginia, Delegate Pat McGeehan is working to put a state constitutional ban on assisted suicide. While assisted suicide is already illegal as a species of homicide in West Virginia, McGeehan is seeking to start a trend towards constitutional bans. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
A New York federal district court judge temporarily blocked the state attorney general’s attempt to prevent pro-life pregnancy centers from promoting chemical abortion pill reversal medications. In the court’s ruling, the judge said that the pregnancy centers were “likely to succeed” in arguing a First Amendment violation, and thus a preliminary injunction against the promotion of the medication was improper. For further information, click here.
A crisis pregnancy center is suing Massachusetts for using “state resources to defame, threaten, and intimidate pro-life pregnancy resource centers,” following the Commonwealth’s “public awareness campaign” against the pregnancy centers. Your Options Medical claims unfair targeting for religious and political speech, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. For further information, click here.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was successful in blocking the Biden administration’s Affordable Care Act rule regarding “gender transition” procedures nationwide as litigation is pending. The rule, if allowed, would force taxpayer-funded hospitals to perform transgender surgeries at the risk of loss of federal funding. For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court has declined to reinstate federal funding for Oklahoma after the Biden administration took away federal funding for its refusal to give information about abortion to patients on request. Justices Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch dissented from the majority. For further information, click here.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a motion to hold Red Rose Rescue in contempt of court for violating a court order mandating a 15-foot “buffer zone” between the group and abortion clinics within the state. James is also seeking monetary sanctions for the violations of the court order. For further information, click here.
international
In Ireland, an evangelical Christian teacher has been jailed for a third time for violating an injunction requiring him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School. The injunction had been issued because he refused to use a student’s “preferred pronouns.” For further information, click here.
The Norwegian government is proposing a liberal new abortion law that would expand abortion access from 12 weeks to 18 weeks into a pregnancy. The health minister said that practically nothing would change because “almost no one is denied an application for abortion after week 12.” For further information, click here.
Sharing the Resources: If you enjoy receiving the NCBC’s Public Policy Report and would like to support its continued publication, please consider making a donation to the NCBC.
The National Catholic Bioethics Center website is a significant resource for bioethics information. NCBC bioethicists are also on call for consultation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at 215-877-2660.
Justin Corman
Justin Corman is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.