Author Archives: David S. Cohen

In a political science class I attended as a guest yesterday, another guest brought up the possibility that abortion is no longer a major wedge issue in American politics. She thought that Rudy Giuliani’s ascendancy in the Republican party was … Continue reading →

The story’s here.   This is by no means a new thought, but if she’s not mature enough to have an abortion, as the hearing judge as well as the appeals court found, how is she mature enough to have … Continue reading →

Compare Wednesday’s decision upholding the federal ban on the safest form of late-second-trimester abortion with this passage from Roe v. Wade: The statute makes no distinction between abortions performed early in pregnancy and those performed later, and it limits to … Continue reading →

Not the Supreme Court, that’s for sure. In yesterday’s opinion, the Supreme Court continued its long-standing practice of spitting in the face of poor women who need abortions. It’s already said in Harris v. McRae in 1980 that there’s no … Continue reading →

As I’m prepping to teach the commerce clause in a couple of weeks and re-reading the cases, I’m struck by how virtually impossible it will be for Justice Thomas to remain consistent to his past opinions and uphold the Partial … Continue reading →

In the wake of South Dakota’s near-complete abortion ban being defeated in the polls in November, legislators are back at it with a new improved ban, this time so much more palatable, as is eminently clear from this description from … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Roe! Looking for another way to commemorate the day? Donate to your local abortion fund. The Hyde Amendment is 30 years old, which means for 30 years poor women seeking abortions have had to scrape together whatever funds … Continue reading →

Looking for worthy causes to help during this holiday season? Right up there with the best is your local abortion fund. These funds provide money for low-income women to obtain abortions. In the first few years after Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading →

Today, Nicaragua’s complete abortion ban is expected to be signed into law. Already, women are dying, leaving behind kids and families because of the ban. Think that wouldn’t be the case in the United States if Roe v. Wade were … Continue reading →

I may be in the minority here, but I still am holding out hope that Chief Justice Roberts joins Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer (and maybe Kennedy?) in striking down the federal “partial birth abortion” statute. Ever since he … Continue reading →

Lost in this week’s excitement over all the other good news from the elections, I overlooked some ballot initiative good news as well. From Women’s eNews: “In Oregon and California, voters defeated measures that would have required doctors to notify … Continue reading →

While the new Democratically-controlled Congress isn’t as pro-choice as we might hope, the change in the guard should spell the end for the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. The law, which, among other things, criminalizes anyone other than a parent … Continue reading →

Lyle Denniston has a summary of the oral argument before the Supreme Court here. It appears that Justice Kennedy, who wrote a virulently anti-abortion dissent in Stenberg v. Carhart, may be more amenable to striking down the law this time. … Continue reading →