Idaho lawmakers reject Texas-inspired abortion bill
BOISE, Idaho — State lawmakers on Monday shot down legislation modeled after a recent Texas law that allowed people to sue abortion providers for procedures after a fetal heartbeat was detected.
The Idaho proposal would’ve allowed only family members to sue abortion providers for damages if they perform an abortion after five or six weeks of pregnancy — when a fetal heartbeat typically can be detected. A motion to introduce the bill in a legislative committee failed on a tie vote.
Sen. Abby Lee, a Fruitland Republican, said she supports legislation to oppose abortions but believes this proposal would have contradicted laws related to child welfare, custody and probate.
“I think we’re early enough in the session that we need to get this right,” Lee said, “that this is not about just modeling legislation to put something on the books.”
Idaho’s 2021 ”fetal heartbeat” law prohibited abortions after five or six weeks of pregnancy, except in medical emergencies or in cases of rape or incest. The bill has a trigger and becomes law only if a federal appeals court rules in favor of a similar measure.
Last year, Texas passed a law that outlawed abortions after six weeks and granted private parties the ability to sue abortion providers or anyone else they suspect is “aiding and abetting” abortions after the six-week period. So far, the law has survived multiple court challenges.
—Idaho Statesman
Baltimore sees deadliest January in nearly 50 years
BALTIMORE — Baltimore police are investigating an early Monday morning homicide that pushed the city to its deadliest January in about 50 years.
The victim was found shot at around 1:51 a.m. on Morris Road in Southwest Baltimore’s Rosemont neighborhood, near Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, police said. The man, so far unidentified by police, was later pronounced dead.
The victim is the 36th counted this month, marking the deadliest January in nearly 50 years. Thirty-five people were killed in January 1973. The monthly death tolls include those injured by shootings in prior months who later died.
On Sunday, a 66-year-old man was found shot in the 3300 block of Rueckert Avenue, just before 6 p.m., police said. He was taken to area hospital where he later died.
Police and city leadership are coming under additional pressure to curb the unrelenting violence in the city. There were nine people killed last week, including the husband of a police internal affairs lieutenant who was waiting for a refrigerator delivery at home in Northeast Baltimore, and a Little Italy restaurant general manager killed in Fells Point.
—Baltimore Sun
Redistricting isn't free: Georgia might have to pay for postage
ATLANTA — Redistricting in Georgia came with an unexpected cost to taxpayers: $2.6 million to mail new precinct cards.
Each of the state's 7.7 million registered voters will receive notification in the mail this spring showing his or her districts for congressional, state and local offices.
The once-a-decade redistricting in the fall changed district lines across the state, with new political boundaries and representation before the May 24 primary elections and Nov. 8 general election.
State law requires notifications by first-class mail to voters following redistricting. The U.S. Postal Service's bulk rate for this type of presorted mailing is 33.5 cents per parcel.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asked legislators last week to add the postage expense to this year's state budget, enabling his office to reimburse county election officials. If the expense isn't included in the state budget, county governments would be responsible for the cost.
Either way, taxpayers will fund the expense.
Georgia's new districts are being challenged in court, meaning district lines could change again, even as election officials are preparing to mail notifications to voters.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NC law expanding access to birth control to take effect
RALEIGH, N.C. — Beginning Tuesday, North Carolina women will be able to get hormonal birth control without a doctor’s prescription — a change that will give millions of women easier access to some of the most common contraceptives that prevent pregnancy.
Under a new law, passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, North Carolina will join more than a dozen other states in allowing pharmacists to dispense birth control pills and patches without the signature of a patient’s physician.
Effective Tuesday, the new law could help shrink North Carolina’s 44% unplanned pregnancy rate and eliminate some of the barriers — like the cost and time of going to the doctor — that prevent women from seeking health care.
The change — a victory for reproductive rights advocates seeking to leave it up to women to decide if and when they want children — comes as the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a challenge to the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade.
Sen. Jim Burgin, a Republican from Harnett County who championed the legislation, said until that case is decided, the new law could prevent abortions in North Carolina.
—The News & Observer
