Kansas can't enforce new law on abortion pills or make patients wait 24 hours, judge rules
Topeka (AP): A Kansas judge has put a new state law on medication abortions on hold and blocked older restrictions that for years have spelled out what providers must tell patients and forced patients to wait 24 hours to end their pregnancies.
The ruling was another big victory for abortion rights advocates in Kansas, where a statewide vote in August 2022 decisively confirmed protections for abortion access under the state constitution. District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram's order suspends some restrictions that have been in effect for years. The waiting period had been in place since 1997.
"The Court has great respect for the deeply held beliefs on either side of this contentious issue," Jayaram wrote in his 92-page order. "Nevertheless, the State's capacity to legislate pursuant to its own moral scruples is necessarily curbed by the Kansas Constitution and its Bill of Rights."
Jayaram's order is set to remain in effect through the trial set for the end of June 2024 for a lawsuit filed by abortion providers, against state officials who would enforce abortion restrictions. The providers filed their case in Johnson County in the Kansas City area, home to two clinics that provide abortions.
The legal battle highlights the importance of state courts in attempts to preserve access a little more than a year after the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson ended protections under the US Constitution and allowed states to ban abortion. In August, a judge in Texas ruled that the state's ban was too restrictive, and the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments on whether it should lift a hold on a state law there banning most abortions.
Kansas has been an outlier on abortion among states with Republican-controlled legislatures. The state Supreme Court declared in 2019 that the Kansas Constitution protects a right to bodily autonomy and therefore access to abortion as a "fundamental" right. GOP lawmakers proposed an amendment to the state constitution to declare that it doesn't grant a right to abortion and in the August 2022 vote, that ballot initiative lost by a wide margin, upholding abortion rights.
Republican lawmakers nevertheless argued this year that "reasonable restrictions" are still fair game. A law that took effect July 1 required abortion providers to tell their patients that a medication abortion can be stopped using a regimen touted by anti-abortion groups. The state agreed not to enforce it until another ruling from Jayaram.
In an August hearing, Jayaram said his reading of medical literature showed that the regimen's effectiveness is not confirmed by any valid studies. Major medical groups consider the regimen ineffective and potentially unsafe.
Providers also attacked existing laws enacted by GOP lawmakers as a way to ensure patients are properly informed before undergoing an abortion. Patients not only must receive medical information 24 hours before the procedure, but that information must also be in writing and in a specific size and style of type. It must include statements drafted by abortion opponents about fetal development and purported abortion risks that major medical groups consider debunked, false or misleading.
"I'm struggling to see why we're singling out one specific provider type and one specific service," Jayaram told the state's attorneys from the bench during the recent hearing.
Attorneys for the providers have argued that the growing layers of restrictions created a biased counseling scheme designed to discourage abortion. Kansas doesn't ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy.
The providers also said challenging older restrictions became more compelling as other states banned abortion and out-of-state residents flooded them with requests for appointments. Kansas saw a 57 per cent increase in abortions in 2022, according to state health department data.
"We feel compelled to get patients who are going to get back in the car for 15 hours medically accurate information because we know they're scared to talk to providers at home," Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, told reporters after a recent court hearing.
Abortion opponents argued repeatedly before the August 2022 vote that without a change in the state constitution, all existing abortion restrictions could be at risk. The state Supreme Court is reviewing a 2015 law banning the most common second-trimester procedure and a 2011 law imposing tougher health and safety requirements only for abortion providers. Neither has been enforced because of the litigation.
Attorneys for the state and the anti-abortion Alliance for Defending Freedom argue that in suing the state this year, providers are working against their patients' interest in having as much information as possible.
"Simply giving a woman information just like these abortion providers have done for 26 years that's not impairing a woman's right to choose to have an abortion one way or the other," Denise Harle, an alliance attorney, said following the court hearing earlier this month.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
