Here are all of the abortion debates happening this week in US courts and statehouses
May 24, 2023 GMTLawmakers in South Carolina passed an abortion ban while a judge in Montana was weighing restrictions there in the latest developments in the shifting landscape of law since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v.
Meet the influential new player on transgender health bills
May 20, 2023 GMTDo No Harm, a nonprofit that launched last year to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine, has evolved into a significant leader in statehouses seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, producing model legislation that an Associated Press analysis found has been used in at least three states.
Montana Supreme Court decides registered nurses and midwives can continue providing abortion care
May 12, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday that advanced-practice registered nurses can continue to provide abortion care in the state, likely setting up legal clashes with the 2023 Legislature, which passed restrictive laws saying only physicians can perform abortions.
Transgender youth sue over Montana gender-affirming care ban
May 9, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two transgender children, their parents and two health care providers filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that a Montana law that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth is unconstitutional.
Texas panel says lawmaker should be expelled for misconduct
May 6, 2023 GMTAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas legislative committee recommended Saturday that GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton be expelled for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern. Slaton, from Royse City, could face an expulsion vote by the full House as early as Tuesday.
In latest abortion law chapter: Bill signings, court rulings
May 4, 2023 GMTCourts this week blocked abortion restrictions from taking effect in two states, while lawmakers in a third are forging ahead with a plan for a new ban that's less stringent than most.
Those are some of the latest developments in an abortion landscape that is being crafted by lawmakers, governors and courts across the country in the aftermath of last year's U.S.
Judge rejects Zooey Zephyr bid to return to Montana House
May 3, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender state lawmaker silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, was barred from returning to the Montana House floor in a Tuesday court ruling that came just hours before the Legislature wrapped up its biennial session.
Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr sues over removal from House floor
May 2, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr asked a court Monday to allow for her return to the House floor after she was silenced and barred for chiding her Republican colleagues over legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and for encouraging protesters.
Zooey Zephyr row spotlights rise of GOP far-right caucuses
April 29, 2023 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The banishment of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from Montana's House floor has showcased the rising power of hard-line conservatives — organized under the banner of the State Freedom Caucus Network — who are currently leveraging divisive social issues to gain influence in 11 statehouses.
‘Blood on your hands’: Montana lawmaker’s words not unusual
April 27, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — The swift punishment brought down on Zooey Zephyr, a transgender lawmaker in Montana, began over words that others in American politics have used without hesitation or consequence: saying opponents have “blood” on their hands.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr’s town feels divide from rest of Montana
April 27, 2023 GMTMISSOULA, Montana (AP) — In the college town of Missoula, pride flags are as common a sight as the peaks of Montana’s Rattlesnake Mountains. Even a downtown crosswalk is rainbow-colored.
Often described as a blue island in a vast red state, Missoula sent the first openly transgender female legislator in Montana history to the state capital.
Montana transgender lawmaker barred by GOP from House floor
April 27, 2023 GMTMontana gov seeks to expand TikTok ban to other social apps
April 26, 2023 GMTMontana’s governor is asking lawmakers to expand the state’s proposed TikTok ban to more social media companies that provide certain data to foreign adversaries.
Earlier this month, state lawmakers passed a bill that would make Montana the first state in the U.S.
Montana transgender lawmaker faces censure or expulsion
April 26, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican leaders will vote Wednesday on censuring or expelling lawmaker Zooey Zephyr, a transgender state representative who has been silenced in the House since last week after telling colleagues that if they voted for a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender children they would “have blood on their hands.”
TikTok ban gets final approval by Montana’s GOP legislature
April 15, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision due to concerns over potential Chinese spying.
Montana close to becoming 1st state to completely ban TikTok
April 14, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers moved one step closer Thursday to passing a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned.
Scientists challenge US wildlife director’s qualifications
April 12, 2023 GMTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups are pushing for the removal of the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacks the educational background required to run the agency despite securing Senate confirmation last year.
Republicans seek to change Montana primary to thwart Tester
April 5, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers in Montana are advancing legislation that would alter next year’s U.S. Senate primary in an apparent bid to thwart the reelection of Sen.
Transgender Day of Visibility rallies held amid backlash
April 1, 2023 GMTMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment.
Visa, Mastercard pause decision to track gun shop purchases
March 9, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases.
US to focus bison restoration on expanding tribal herds
March 3, 2023 GMTDENVER (AP) — U.S. officials will work to restore more large bison herds to Native American lands under a Friday order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that calls for the government to tap into Indigenous knowledge in its efforts to conserve the burly animals that are an icon of the American West.
Anti-abortion allies change tactics after post-Roe defeats
March 1, 2023 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans and their anti-abortion allies, who suffered a series of defeats in ballot questions in states across the political spectrum last year, are changing tactics as new legislative sessions and the new election season start.
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to run for 4th term in Montana
February 22, 2023 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said Wednesday he will seek reelection to a fourth term in 2024, a boost to Democrats' hopes of maintaining a seat in the Republican-leaning state as they try to hang on to their narrow Senate majority.
Montana lawmaker: There’s a religious right to abortion
February 18, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Abortion rights groups are challenging abortion bans in some states by arguing the bans — supported by certain religious principles — violate the religious rights of people with different beliefs.
US, states weigh farmland restrictions after Chinese balloon
February 8, 2023 GMTHARLOWTON, Mont. (AP) — Near the banks of Montana's Musselshell River, cattle rancher Michael Miller saw a large, white orb above the town of Harlowton last week, a day before U.S. officials revealed they were tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the state.
States push to enshrine protections for tribal children
February 7, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Leo Thompson received plenty of love, food and shelter from the non-Native American family who raised them, but missed out on any exposure to their Indigenous culture, heritage, ancestors and community.
Chinese balloon high over US stirs unease down below
February 4, 2023 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Chinese balloon drifting high above the U.S. and first revealed over Montana has created a buzz down below among residents who initially wondered what it was — and now wonder what its arrival means amid a chorus of alarm raised by elected officials.
Montana lawmaker seeks to overturn abortion ruling
January 18, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana legislature is considering a proposal that would interpret the state’s constitutional right to privacy to mean that it does not protect the right to an abortion, a move that would echo others in several states to severely restrict or ban abortion.
Stricter Medicaid abortion process up for debate in Montana
January 13, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Officials in Republican-controlled Montana on Thursday heard comments against a health department proposal to require prior authorization to pay for abortions for Medicaid patients.
States target transgender health care in first bills of 2023
January 7, 2023 GMTAfter a midterm election and record flow of anti-transgender legislation last year, Republican state lawmakers this year are zeroing in on questions of bodily autonomy with new proposals to limit gender-affirming health care and abortion access.
Montana lawmaker wants to revisit idea of reservations
January 7, 2023 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — A white state lawmaker in Montana is questioning whether land set aside long ago for Native Americans should exist anymore.
Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations.
Judge rejects vaccine choice law in health care settings
December 12, 2022 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — A person's choice to decline vaccinations does not outweigh public health and safety requirements in medical settings, a federal judge ruled in a Montana case.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy last week permanently blocked a section of law the state said was meant to prevent employers — including many health care facilities — from discriminating against workers by requiring them to be vaccinated against communicable diseases, including COVID-19.