Supreme Court shuts down Scott Walker: Today’s ultrasound decision is a big defeat for anti-choice
It is worth the time to read the rest of the article--I do wonder how it will affect Walker's WI law.
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/15/supreme_court_shuts_down_scott_walker_todays_ultrasound_decision_is_a_big_defeat_for_anti_choice_warriors/
Monday, Jun 15, 2015 01:26 PM CST
Supreme Court shuts down Scott Walker: Today’s ultrasound decision is a big defeat for anti-choice warriors
The GOP contender thinks forced ultrasounds are "cool," but the justices just dealt the movement a big setback
Katie McDonough
Topics: Abortion, Supreme Court, North Carolina, Reproductive Rights, Scott Walker, Politics News
Supreme Court shuts down Scott Walker: Today's ultrasound decision is a big defeat for anti-choice warriors
Scott Walker (Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas)
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review North Carolina’s forced ultrasound law, rendering it unenforceable and marking a rare bit of good news about reproductive freedom to come out of the high court. (This time last year, I was in the midst of a prolonged Charlie Brown sad walk over Hobby Lobby and buffer zones.)
This is the end of the road for the state’s condescendingly-titled A Woman’s Right to Know Act, which was challenged by a coalition of groups on First Amendment grounds. The law required doctors to give patients seeking abortion care detailed descriptions of their ultrasounds and follow a script that, according to a lower court ruling striking down the law, had an “ideological message in favor of carrying a pregnancy to term.”
A woman could avert her eyes from the ultrasound screen or plug up her ears to avoid hearing the script, but doctors were legally required to keep going or risk losing their license.
It was a particularly draconian bit of compelled speech forced on patients in a particularly vulnerable position (half naked on an exam table, hours before a medical procedure), which is why it was blocked last year by a panel of judges on the Fourth Circuit. That court’s ruling gives some useful context for the severity of the law as it compares to other informed consent laws, so it’s worth including here:.............
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FYI--fairly new poll:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/183434/americans-choose-pro-choice-first-time-seven-years.aspx
Americans Choose "Pro-Choice" for First Time in Seven Years
by Lydia Saad
Story Highlights
Americans divide 50% "pro-choice," 44% "pro-life" on abortion
Majority of women, 54%, now pro-choice, vs. 46% of men
Pro-choice ID among Democrats has swelled since 2001
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Half of Americans consider themselves "pro-choice" on abortion, surpassing the 44% who identify as "pro-life." This is the first time since 2008 that the pro-choice position has had a statistically significant lead in Americans' abortion views.
....Bottom Line
The pro-choice view is not as prevalent among Americans as it was in the mid-1990s, but the momentum for the pro-life position that began when Barack Obama took office has yielded to a pro-choice rebound. That rebound has essentially restored views to where they were in 2008; today's views are also similar to those found in 2001. Some of the variation in public views on abortion over time coincides with political and cultural events that may have helped shape public opinion on the issue, including instances of anti-abortion violence, legislative efforts to ban "partial-birth abortion" or limit abortion funding, and certain Supreme Court cases. While events like these may continue to cause public views on abortion to fluctuate, the broader liberal shift in Americans' ideology of late could mean the recent pro-choice expansion has some staying power.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted May 6-10, 2015, .............
