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Book Excerpt: Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction, by Mary Ziegler
The fetal personhood movement already succeeded in eliminating what many viewed as a fundamental right. Its continued effects could be even further-reaching.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Spells a Win for Abortion Rights
The new justice, who previously represented Planned Parenthood, joins the bench as the court is set to decide two major abortion cases.
Lawsuits Allege Unlawful Surveillance of Pregnant Patients
According to the allegations, hospitals and state agencies in New Jersey and Vermont violated rights to privacy and bodily autonomy by drug testing and monitoring pregnant people.
Moe v. Yost
An Ohio appellate court struck down a state ban on gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, holding that it violated the state constitution's "health care freedom" amendment and the fundamental right of parents to seek appropriate medical care for their children. The court remanded the case to the trial court to impose a permanent injunction as to enforcement of the law's provisions banning the use of puberty blockers and hormones “for the purpose of assisting the minor individual with gender transition.” The state attorney general appealed the appellate decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, which stayed the ruling pending resolution of the appeal.
Fossella v. Adams
Struck down New York City law that allows non-U.S. citizens who are lawful permanent residents or who have work authorizations to vote in municipal elections, finding that the state constitution restricts voting to citizens.
Richard Michael Fay vs David Pedro
Oregon trial court found the corrections department had unconstitutionally inflicted cruel and unusual punishment and unnecessary rigor by failing to provide adequate medical treatment and diagnosis to an inmate for serious injuries sustained in prison, and ordered specific medical care to be provided.
Ellutzi v. Regents of the University of California
Two students and a professor allege university violated their state and federal constitutional rights to due process, speech, and assembly by summarily banning them from campus after they failed to disperse when the university deployed law enforcement to dismantle a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment." The trial court denied plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction, citing "disputed evidence."
Huskey v. Oregon Department of Corrections
Oregon Supreme Court considered whether provisions of the Oregon Constitution that say inmates should work or engage in on-the-job training while in custody but have no “legally enforceable right” to a job, training, or to “compensation for work or labor,” preclude an inmate who does not get such assignments from suing for lost wages. The court held that the provisions are not a barrier to pleading a claim for economic damages based on lost future income and reversed grant of a motion to dismiss.
League of Women Voters of Missouri v. State
Trial court permanently enjoined provisions restricting voter registration and absentee ballot solicitation activities, finding that they burden core political speech, constitute content- and viewpoint-discrimination, and are overbroad, in violation of state constitutional speech protections. The court also held that the provisions violate civic engagement groups' state constitutional right to associate and are unconstitutionally vague. The court determined that because the laws restrict election-related speech, not the mechanics of elections, strict scrutiny review applies.
The Massachusetts Constitution: the Oldest in the United States, and Often Ahead of its Time
A Massachusetts state court was the first to uphold the right to same-sex marriage on constitutional grounds.
