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Circuit Court of Appeals said. Kluge said his Christian religious beliefs barred him from complying with a school policy requiring faculty to use students' preferred names and pronouns. Federal law only requires employers to accommodate workers' religious beliefs if it would not cause them an undue hardship. The 7th Circuit on Friday disagreed, upholding an Indiana federal judge's ruling that dismissed the case. "Kluge's last-names-only practice stigmatized the transgender students and caused them demonstrable emotional harm," Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner wrote for the court.

Adding to the volatile legal landscape around abortion, a federal judge in Washington state on Friday issued a seemingly conflicting injunction that prevented federal regulators from altering access to the same abortion drug. Kacsmaryk's ruling is a preliminary injunction that would essentially ban sales of mifepristone while the case by anti-abortion groups before him continues. By choosing to sue in Amarillo, the plaintiffs ensured that the case would go before Kacsmaryk, a conservative former Christian activist. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a conservative reputation, with more than two-thirds of its judges appointed by Republican presidents. The FDA in January said that the government for the first time will allow mifepristone to be dispensed at retail pharmacies.

☆ Abortion pill fight: Read the transcript of Texas court hearing on fate of mifepristone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Abortion rights advocates gather in front of the J Marvin Jones Federal Building and Courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, on March 15, 2023. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. Northern District of Texas in Amarillo heard four hours of arguments. The anti-abortion group that filed the lawsuit, the Alliance Defending Freedom, presented their case against the FDA first. They were followed by Justice Department attorneys defending the FDA and then the abortion pill maker Danco Laboratories. The Alliance Defending Freedom argued that mifepristone is unsafe and the FDA did not properly follow its approval process when it cleared mifepristone for use in 2000.

☆ U.S. judge in Texas will soon rule on the abortion pill mifepristone. Here's what could happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine wants Judge Kacsmaryk to nullify the FDA's medical approval of mifepristone, which would effectively ban the abortion pill across the US. Senate Judiciary Committee | YouTubeA Texas judge will soon issue a pivotal ruling in a closely watched case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. It's also possible that Kacsmaryk could order the agency to impose tighter restrictions on access to mifepristone but stop short of completely halting sales. Abortion rights groups and legal experts expect the judge will rule against the FDA in some form. Possible injunctionIf Kacsmaryk issues an order to withdraw mifepristone from the market, there are several ways such a ruling could be drafted.

☆ Texas abortion pill case: Lawyers requesting mifepristone’s removal from market concede there’s no precedent
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Texas lawsuit has demanded that the judge revoke the FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The group alleged in their lawsuit that the FDA approved an "unsafe" drug back in 2000. During Wednesday's hearing, The Washington Post and Associated Press reported that all parties acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the Alliance Defending Freedom's demand. The attorney representing the Alliance Defending Freedom, Erik Baptist, responded, "No, I can't." Drugs like mifepristone and misoprostol have been thrown into the spotlight ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.

☆ Citing 'death threats,' Texas judge asked attorneys to keep news of hearing on legality of abortion pill quiet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine wants Judge Kacsmaryk to nullify the FDA's medical approval of mifepristone, which would effectively ban the abortion pill across the US. But Kacsmaryk asked the attorneys to not to publicize the hearing, citing security concerns. Those present at the Friday conference call included lawyers from the Justice Department, the abortion pill maker Danco Laboratories, and a group that opposes abortion called the Alliance Defending Freedom. A group of physicians who oppose abortion called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine asked Kacsmaryk in November to order the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The abortion pill has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade last June.

☆ Where Restrictions on Abortion Pills Could Matter Most
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Allison Mccann | Amy Schoenfeld Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

Abortion providers in the United States A United States map shows the location of abortion providers in states without abortion bans. total abortions Medication abortions 71,700 61,500 58% 37,500 32,100 28,800 29,500 41% 61% 60% 51% 52% Florida New York Georgia Pa. Mich. N.C. N.J. Ohio Wash. Mass. Some ways the ruling could affect the availability of abortion pills A flowchart shows possible outcomes from a judge’s ruling and highlights how abortion pills could remain available under some scenarios. Even if the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, abortion pills could remain available. The foundation’s Wichita, Kansas, clinic sees more than 500 patients a month, many from Texas, and 60 percent choose abortion pills.

Feb 13 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Monday agreed to reconsider a lawsuit challenging a Connecticut policy allowing transgender students to compete in girls' high school sports. Circuit Court of Appeals will now hear arguments in the case, which had been heard by a panel of three judges last September. The panel in December rejected claims by four cisgender female students that the policy deprived them of wins and athletic opportunities by requiring them to compete with two transgender sprinters. The 2020 lawsuit came amid a push by Republican-led states to bar transgender athletes from competing on teams or sports that align with their gender identities. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Lincoln Feast and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, directed federal agencies to expand access to medication abortion in response to the decision. Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, for medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions. They said ending access to the drug would force patients to have unnecessary surgical abortions or prevent them from accessing abortion altogether. The Texas lawsuit could move quickly, as the plaintiffs in a filing on Friday asked Kacsmaryk to skip a hearing on a preliminary order and instead go straight to trial.

"It's judge shopping on steroids," said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, executive director of the progressive legal advocacy group Take Back the Court. The Biden administration has called the lawsuit "unprecedented" and urged Kacsmaryk to not deprive women of a long-approved safe and effective drug. At least eight have led to rulings blocking Biden policies, with several more pending. The chief judges of Texas federal courts have the authority to reallocate cases to other judges, but have largely not done so, he said. Absent a change, litigants have every right to take advantage of that structure to seek a favorable judge, he said.

☆ Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that that the cake Autumn Scardina requested from Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop, which was to be pink with blue frosting, is not a form of speech. Scardina, an attorney, attempted to order her cake on the same day in 2017 that the Supreme Court announced it would hear Phillips’ appeal in the wedding cake case. Phillips then filed a federal lawsuit against Colorado, accusing it of a “crusade to crush” him by pursuing the complaint. In March 2019, lawyers for the state and Phillips agreed to drop both cases under a settlement Scardina was not involved in.

☆ The FDA's power to approve drugs faces sweeping challenge in lawsuit seeking to pull abortion pill from U.S. market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine asked a federal district court in Dallas late last year to declare the FDA approval unlawful and completely remove the abortion pill from the U.S. market. If the lawsuit prevails, women across the U.S. would lose access, at least temporarily, to the most commonly used abortion method. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is hearing the challenge to the FDA's approval of the abortion pill. Lawrence Gostin, an expert on public health law at Georgetown Law, said it would be "highly irresponsible" and "reckless" for a judge to overturn the FDA approval of mifepristone. Under federal law, lawsuits against the U.S. government must be filed within six years of an agency action.

Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last June overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide. Nearly all abortions, including medication abortions, are now banned in 12 states, and 16 states that permit some abortions also had laws restricting medication abortion as of November, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. "The FDA, by approving chemical abortion drugs for home use, puts a woman or girl's life at risk." In its court filing, the FDA said there was no basis for second-guessing the FDA's judgment. The FDA said that pulling the drug would force patients seeking abortions in many cases to undergo unnecessary and more invasive surgical abortion.

A federal judge dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ students who allege the Department of Education doesn't protect them against discrimination from more than two dozen religiously affiliated universities that receive federal funding. Last year, the group of current and former college students filed the suit in an attempt to challenge the religious exemptions granted under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs or activities that receive federal funds. The plaintiffs alleged that, by design, the exemptions permit religiously affiliated institutions to discriminate against students on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. The legal group representing the students, the Religious Exemptions Accountability Project, slammed the judge's ruling and said it was considering whether to appeal. Some of the plaintiffs alleged they were denied admission to or expelled from the religiously affiliated universities because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

☆ Demonstrators protest NCAA's transgender athlete inclusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and about two dozen demonstrators outside the NCAA convention Thursday protested the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports and threatened the association with legal action if it doesn’t change its policies. The topic has divided the U.S. for the past several years, with critics saying transgender athletes have an advantage over cisgender women in competition. Eighteen states have passed laws banning transgender athletes from participating in female school sports; a federal judge earlier this month ruled West Virginia’s ban is constitutional and can remain in place. The NCAA has permitted transgender athletes to compete since 2010. Harris said the transgender athletes policy is no different from other eligibility requirements.

The rule will make medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions, more accessible in states where abortion remains legal, but its impact in states that have banned abortion will be limited. Most significantly, the FDA's new regulation will not help patients get abortion pills in states that have banned abortion, said Amanda Allen of the Lawyering Project, a legal group that defends abortion rights. Nonetheless, Allen said, the rule could make it easier to travel out of state for a medication abortion. Currently, a patient seeking a medication abortion in another state must both obtain the prescription and the pill in that state. Some conservative policy groups and lawmakers have proposed laws that would make it a crime to help someone travel to another state for abortion or mail them abortion pills.

☆ Ohio teacher told principal using students' preferred pronouns violated her religion. She was forced to resign, lawsuit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A former Ohio middle school teacher said she was forced to resign after she told her boss that she would not address students by their preferred pronouns because it violates her religious beliefs. The teacher, Vivian Geraghty, is now suing Jackson Memorial Middle School's principal, the Board of Education, and two district employees. The lawsuit notes that the school had adopted a policy that required teachers to use the preferred pronouns of students. Geraghty told Carter that she would not use the students' preferred pronouns, the suit says she was later called into a separate meeting with Carter and Monica Myers, a district employee. Geraghty again said she would not use the students' preferred pronouns and was sent back to her classroom.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday hears the latest clash between religious conservatives and LGBTQ rights as it weighs a conservative evangelical Christian web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings. Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020 — to the surprise of many court-watchers — ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

☆ Supreme Court's conservative majority appears sympathetic to Christian graphic designer who refuses to create websites for same-sex weddings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Supreme Court heard a free-speech challenge from a Christian graphic designer based in Colorado. Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, refuses to create websites for same-sex weddings. At the heart of the case is a Colorado law that forbids businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation. "As a Christian, I can't separate my faith from who I am," Smith told Insider in a recent interview. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, by June.

[1/2] Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. The court in that case stopped short of carving out a free speech exemption to anti-discrimination laws. Like Phillips, Smith is represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious rights group. The Supreme Court did not take up one aspect of her challenge to Colorado law based on religious rights also protected by the First Amendment, focusing on free speech instead. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has become increasingly supportive of religious rights and related free speech claims in recent years even as it has backed LGBT rights in other cases.

Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Alliance Defending Freedom, which also represented Phillips, has had success arguing religious rights cases at the Supreme Court in recent years. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020, to the surprise of many court-watchers, ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

☆ Web designer opposed to gay marriage at center of U.S. Supreme Court clash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/4] Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. She argues that Colorado anti-discrimination law violates free speech rights by forcing artists - including web designers - to express messages through their work that they oppose. The Supreme Court did not take up one aspect of her challenge to Colorado law based on religious rights also protected by the First Amendment. His legal battle with Colorado also reached the Supreme Court, which ruled narrowly in his favor in 2018. The state warned against endorsing Smith's view of free speech protections.

☆ Supreme Court’s Sotomayor rejects challenge to N.Y. Covid vaccine mandate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday rejected a bid to prevent New York City from enforcing its Covid vaccine mandate for municipal workers against a group teachers, firefighters and others who challenged the policy. The plaintiffs — firefighters, building inspectors, police officers, emergency medical technicians, teachers, sanitation workers and others — are represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom conservative religious liberty group. The court as a whole in June refused to take up a religious challenge to New York state’s vaccine mandate for health care workers. New York City in August 2021 ordered employees in the largest U.S. public school system to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Among the plaintiffs’ claims is opposition to any Covid vaccine whose testing or development relied on cell lines from aborted fetuses.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoNov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday rejected a bid to prevent New York City from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers against a group teachers, firefighters and others who challenged the policy. The court as a whole in June refused to take up a religious challenge to New York state's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. New York City in August 2021 ordered employees in the largest U.S. public school system to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Among the plaintiffs' claims is opposition to any COVID-19 vaccine whose testing or development relied on cell lines from aborted fetuses. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former CVS nurse sues chain, saying it fired her over abortion stance
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A nurse practitioner from northern Virginia sued CVS Health on Wednesday, saying she was fired for refusing to provide abortion-inducing drugs at its MinuteClinic medical facilities. In the lawsuit, Paige Casey said CVS had for years granted her a religious accommodation that allowed her to opt out of prescribing or providing the drugs and certain contraceptives without incident. She says she was fired in late March, the same day she emailed company officials to reiterate her objections. Patients who wanted birth control or abortion medications not provided by Casey could simply schedule or be served by other practitioners in the MinuteClinic network, Theriot said. And that worked seamlessly until CVS changed its policy, Theriot said.

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