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On Wednesday, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the state’s fetal heartbeat law, which bans abortion after a medical provider can detect a baby’s heartbeat.“In a one-page order, the high court put a lower court ruling overturning the ban on hold while it considers an appeal,” reports the Associated Press. “Abortion providers who had resumed performing the procedure past six weeks after the lower court ruling will again have to stop.”The order said seven of the nine justices had agreed to the decision. It said one was disqualified and another did not participate.The ruling is a temporary reinstatement of the provision,...

A conservative member of Parliament hailed the rule as 'the first pro-life move' since Hungary legalized abortion in 1956.BUDAPEST (LifeSiteNews) – Hungary’s government has issued a decree that requires doctors to show women seeking an abortion “the factors indicating the presence of the vital functions of the embryo.” According to reports, this means that women would have to listen to the sound of the heartbeat of the unborn baby. In a statement on Monday, September 12, the Ministry of Interior said that “nearly two-thirds of Hungarians associate the beginning of a child’s life with the first heartbeat,” and that modern...

As previously reported, earlier this week (Feb. 18), South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law the Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act, prohibiting an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. One day later, in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. Wilson, (D SC, Feb. 19, 2021), a South Carolina federal district court issued a temporary restraining order barring enforcement of the Act, saying in part: Because the Act bans abortion months before any fetus could be viable, ... Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that the Act is unconstitutional. Indeed, courts have “universally” invalidated laws that ban...

FULL TITLE: Lawmakers send 'fetal heartbeat' bill to governor, rejecting exemption for rape, incest victims Louisiana lawmakers have approved a bill that would ban abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy, if upheld by the courts, sending it to the governor's desk without exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Gov. John Bel Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, said he will sign the bill into law.

John Bel Edwards announced today that he would never seek the Democratic presidential nomination. The governor of Louisiana also announced that he would face a primary fight in his next election from progressive activists.Well, okay, Bel Edwards actually told a reporter that he would sign a bill restricting abortion on the basis of a fetal heartbeat, assuming it gets to his desk. Everyone — especially Bel Edwards — knows what that really means: The governor of Louisiana – a Catholic Democrat – says he will sign a bill banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, if the...

In the latest abortion-related legal battle to hit the state, a federal judge has temporarily blocked Kentucky officials from implementing their newly-enacted law banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Signed Friday by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, the law requires abortionists to check for a fetal heartbeat before aborting. If a heartbeat is found, committing the abortion would be a Class D felony (punishable by up to five years in prison) except in cases of medical emergencies, which would also have to be documented. The same day Bevin signed the law, Judge David J. Hale of the Western...

Planned Parenthood has issued a statement on Kentucky’s controversial new law that bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Senate Bill 9, called the fetal heartbeat bill by supporters and the six-week abortion law by detractors, effectively bans abortions approximately six weeks into pregnancy. Planned Parenthood advocates said may be too early for many women to even know they are pregnant. The ACLU estimates that SB 9 would prohibit 90% of the abortions in Kentucky... After the laws were passed Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it would sue the state of Kentucky once Gov. Bevin signed...

(Reuters) - Iowa’s Republican-controlled legislature passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the United States on Wednesday, outlawing the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected, often at six weeks and before a woman realizes she is pregnant. The Senate voted 29-17 to pass the House of Representatives-approved bill, according to the legislature’s online voting tallies. The bill now goes to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, an abortion opponent, who has not said publicly whether she will sign it into law. The legislation is aimed at triggering a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 landmark decision which...

Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are backing newly filed legislation that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which would be the strictest ban in the country if enacted. A GOP-led House committee had been set to vote on the provision Tuesday night but lawmakers later adjourned without a decision. It’s expected to be taken up again Wednesday. The measure was added to a separate bill that would ban most abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy. The new version would include several abortion restrictions. Democrats criticized the legislation in an afternoon press conference, though they don’t have the...

When the annual legislative session opens Jan. 12, Kansas is poised to expand its pro-life laws. At the top of the list is a fetal heartbeat bill. Kansas recently re-elected its pro-life governor, Sam Brownback, as well as many new pro-life legislators. Rep. Steve Brunk (R-Wichita), chairman of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, told the Wichita Eagle that the committee will have at least informational hearings on heartbeat legislation: “As a general topic, heartbeat legislation is on the table.” The Kansas Coalition for Life has been petitioning for a heartbeat bill as well. Abortion supporting groups are opposed as...