A growing number of states led by Democratic governors are stockpiling doses of drugs used in medication abortions, amid fears that a court ruling last week could restrict access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the US The moves are more generally a reflection of the shifts at state level that are resulting after last year’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling overturned the epochal 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established the right to abortion. The shifts often illustrate how Democratic- and Republican-led states are moving further apart with respect to reproductive health. Massachusetts said Monday it has purchased enough doses of the drug mifepristone — one of two drugs used in combination to end pregnancies — to last for more than a year.…
Tag: national law review
‘Nothing was done:’ Reports of Texas sheriff’s corruption went unanswered | News, Sports, Jobs
FILE- San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers answers a question after a news conference, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. Capers, who have faced years of complaints about dysfunction and corruption, were repeatedly reported to state and federal law enforcement by their own deputies, but an outside investigation never gained momentum, according to interviews and reviewed records by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) DALLAS (AP) — A Texas sheriff who’s been the subject of years of complaints about dysfunction and corruption was repeatedly reported to state and federal law enforcement by his own deputies — yet an outside investigation never gained momentum, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Associated Press.…
US restricts Ugandan officials travel in wake of anti-LGBTQ law | LGBTQ News
US President Biden had previously said said cuts and sanctions were possible in response to the law. The United States has imposed travel restrictions on Ugandan officials in the wake of an anti-LGBTQ law signed by President Yoweri Museveni last month. The law has been condemned as one of the harshest in the world. Among other provisions, it is stated the death penalty for someone convicted of “aggravated homosexuality”, an offense that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. It also carried a life sentence for same-sex intercourse and a 20-year sentence for promoting homosexuality. In a brief release on Friday, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said the measures were in response to human rights abuses – “including those of LGBTQI+ persons” – and corruption.…
Foreign lawyers are restricted from working on national security cases in Hong Kong – National
Hong Kong’s legislature passed a legal amendment on Wednesday to prevent foreign lawyers working on national security cases, a restriction critics say will undermine fair trials and the right of defendants to choose their lawyers. The amendment enshrines in law a ruling from China’s top lawmaking body last December that Hong Kong courts must get the approval of the city’s leader before admitting a foreign lawyer without Hong Kong qualifications for national security cases. The use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and defense has long been part of the rule of law traditions in the former British colony and in recent years some have become involved in defending critics of the Beijing-backed city government.…
Bill 23: English school boards consider legal action
The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) is considering legal action against Bill 23, a proposed education reform that would give the provincial government more control over school boards. The bill, tabled last week, would authorize the education minister to appoint and dismiss school service center directors general and override decisions that don’t align with given objectives, among other changes. Education Minister Bernard Drainville confirmed that the bill would apply to both French school service centers and the province’s nine English school boards, sparking an immediate backlash. The QESBA argues that certain aspects of the bill, if passed, would infringe on the rights of the English-speaking community in managing its own school system.…
‘Keira’s Law’ passes the Senate, signaling a change to the way courts approach domestic violence
A private member’s bill requiring that judges consider domestic violence and coercive control when issuing decisions passed the Senate on Tuesday evening. Bill C-233, which was sponsored by Liberal MP Anju Dhillon, was introduced in February 2022. It was dubbed “Keira’s Law” after four-year-old Keira Kagan, who was found dead with her father at the bottom of a cliff outside of Toronto in 2020. Keira’s mother, Jennifer Kagan-Viater, said at a press conference on Wednesday morning that she tried to call attention to the danger her daughter’s father presented to their child well before their death. She said she went to court to seek protection for Keira from the violent and coercive behavior of her ex-husband Robin Brown.…
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug celebrates First Nation-led family law, one of the few in Canada
Standing on a stage in a room filled with community members, band councillors and government ministers, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Chief Donny Morris called this an emotional day for his community. “We are taking back how we are raising our children,” Morris said Tuesday. The First Nation, with roughly 960 people living in the fly-in community 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay, Ont., is taking back jurisdiction over child and family services with the passage of it’s own law and creation of its own family welfare agency, called Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Dibenjikewin Onnakonikewin (KIDO). In the local Anishinini imowin language, KIDO means Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Family Law.…