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Judge Blocks Texas Forced Sonogram Bill, Texas Women See Glimmer of Hope

August 30, 2011 By 9 Comments

NOTE: This is an update to fabulous Feminists For Choice blogger Maureen’s post. You can read it here.

I’m sure you read the horrific news coming out of Texas over the last few months. Our governor (and GOP presidential candidate) Rick Perry signed a bill requiring women seeking abortions to view a sonogram of their fetus. And that’s not even the bad part – these women would be forced to watch the sonogram with their physician describing the images to them and listen to an audio of the fetus’ heartbeat.

Yeah. Pretty terrible stuff, right? Luckily for Texas women (and children) though, the Texas Independent has reported that U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks has blocked the bill and struck down 2 of its more egregious provisions. In response to a petition from the Center for Reproductive Rights petition, Judge Sparks found that provisions of the bill violated the free speech rights of both patient and physician.  [Read more...]

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Judge Rules Out Voluntary Manslaughter in the Tiller Case

January 29, 2010 By 1 Comment

Some excellent pro-choice news to kick start your weekend…

You can breathe a sigh of relief, because after all that worry, it turns out Scott Roeder will not be given a chance at a lesser charge in the murder of Dr. George Tiller. After the defense rested its case Thursday, the judge ruled that the jury cannot consider a voluntary manslaughter charge, which Kansas law defines as “an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force” and carries a slim four-to-six-year sentence. [Read more...]

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Senate Republicans Block Pro-Choice Judicial Nominee Edward Chen

December 29, 2009 By 1 Comment

Senate Republicans, in their relentless tirade on women’s bodily autonomy, have blocked yet another pro-choice judicial nominee by President Obama, Edward Chen. Barack nominated the U.S. Magistrate for a federal judgeship in San Francisco. Chen happens to be a former attorney for ACLU and vehemently pro-choice. To little surprise, this caused an uproar among Senate Republicans who inevitably filibustered his nomination.

Not only is this news incredibly disappointing because it means the loss of a pro-choice candidate in the San Francisco judiciary, it also means the loss of the first Asian-American judge in the Northern District of California. In addition, he seems to be pretty damn tuned in on racial disparities in the U.S. (something a judge should be conscious of). Bob Egelko, a chronicle staff writer at the San Francisco Gate, reports, [Read more...]

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Judge Postpones Debate on the Oklahoma Abortion Survey

December 29, 2009 By 1 Comment

A quick update on the abortion debacle underway in Oklahoma. A judge has delayed a restraining order against the enactment of the legislation until Feb. 19th, where a hearing will take place to determine the validity of a lawsuit to have the legislation dismissed. The Wall Street Journal reports,

An Oklahoma County judge, Daniel Owens, recently extended a restraining order against enactment of the law until Feb. 19, when a hearing is scheduled to see if a law suit involving the new law is dismissed. This AP story says the Center for Reproduction Rights and two women sued on technical grounds, saying the legislation violated a rule in the state constitution that requires a piece of legislation to deal with only one issue–called the “single subject law.” [Read more...]

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