Supreme Court (US)

Pitching G.O.P. on Gay Marriage Bill, Tammy Baldwin Leaves Nothing to Chance

WASHINGTON — Senator Tammy Baldwin, the soft-spoken liberal Democrat of Wisconsin, was on a plane home from Washington last month when she got word that Senator Ron Johnson, her home-state colleague and a stridently hard-right Republican, had said publicly that he would not oppose a bill protecting same-sex marriage rights. Seizing a rare moment in […]

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The Abortion Decision, Haunted by Brown v. Board of Education

WASHINGTON — In the Supreme Court decision that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, the justices engaged in an extended debate over the meaning and legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision that said the Constitution does not permit racial segregation in public schools. The connection between abortion and education may seem […]

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Supreme Court Refuses for Now to Restore Biden Plan on Immigration Enforcement

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court handed Texas and Louisiana a temporary victory on Thursday, allowing a federal judge to block immigration enforcement guidelines issued by the Biden administration that he said allowed the release of undocumented immigrants with criminal records. In a brief order, the court gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices […]

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House Moves to Protect Same-Sex Marriage From Supreme Court Reversal

WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would recognize same-sex marriages at the federal level, with a bipartisan coalition supporting a measure that addresses growing concerns that a conservative Supreme Court could nullify marriage equality. Forty-seven Republicans joined Democrats in backing the bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the […]

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Democrats Navigate Nuanced Views on Abortion Among Black Voters

As she and other faith leaders sat last month with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard, a pastor at a Black church in Los Angeles, reflected on the complex feelings in her community about abortion. While Black voters remain overwhelmingly allied […]

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Justice Jackson, a Former Law Clerk, Returns to a Transformed Supreme Court

Less than two hours after the Supreme Court ended a wrenching term last month, it welcomed a new member. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who had been waiting in the wings since she was confirmed by the Senate in April, took two oaths of office — and joined a court in turmoil. “She’s entering the court […]

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After New Abortion Laws, Some Patients Have Trouble Obtaining Miscarriage Treatment

Last year, a 35-year-old woman named Amanda, who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, had a miscarriage in the first trimester of her pregnancy. At a large hospital, a doctor performed a surgical procedure often used as a safe and quick method to remove tissue from a failed pregnancy. She awoke from anesthesia to find […]

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After Abortion, Republicans Are Targeting the Right to Travel

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it did more than just supercharge the assault on the right to have an abortion. It also opened up a corresponding attack on the right to travel. That attack is a straightforward consequence of giving states the power to ban abortion. An abortion ban in Ohio, for […]

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For a Woman in a Wheelchair, Abortion Access Was One More Challenge

Roxanne Schiebergen, a 30-year-old writer and actress who lives in New York, was in the bathroom of her Midtown apartment when she received a text from a close friend one day in May. The text included a screenshot of a marketing flyer promoting a “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally sponsored in part by Planned Parenthood. […]

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