The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the FDA's approval of mifepristone, a drug commonly used for pregnancy termination, with even conservative jurists expressing skepticism about reversing the approval. The potential impact of this case on Republicans, particularly in light of recent political setbacks related to abortion issues, is significant. Allowing mifepristone to stay on the market could help Republicans avoid uncomfortable questions and improve their chances in the 2024 elections, despite potential backlash from anti-abortion activists.
The federal judiciary has approved a new policy to prevent "judge-shopping" by ensuring that cases seeking to block state or federal policies in federal district courts will be randomly assigned from a larger pool of judges. This change comes in response to concerns about lawyers taking advantage of anomalies in judge assignments to secure favorable rulings. The policy aims to address the issue of nationwide injunctions being issued by individual district court judges and will provide guidance on how cases should be assigned, while still allowing lawsuits to be filed in districts with a particular judicial approach.
Republican US House speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana defended his anti-LGBTQ+ views by telling critics to "go pick up a Bible." Johnson, a Bible-believing Christian, stated that his personal worldview is based on his faith and he makes no apologies for it. Before entering Congress, Johnson worked as an attorney for right-wing Christian groups and held extreme views against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. His association with the Alliance Defending Freedom, labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has drawn attention. Johnson's controversial remarks and advocacy against homosexuality have resurfaced, including claims that it is "inherently unnatural" and could lead to legalizing pedophilia.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing criticism for referring to abortion as "a holocaust" in a 2005 op-ed. In the piece, Johnson linked the judicial philosophy that legalized abortion to Hitler and expressed his opposition to the termination of unborn children. Johnson, a lawyer for the conservative Christian advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund at the time, has consistently denounced abortion rights and celebrated the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Democrats and advocacy groups have condemned his language and analogies, calling them extreme and out of touch.
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily paused his ruling that required lawyers at Southwest Airlines to attend "religious liberty training" conducted by a conservative Christian group. The judge will decide whether to stay the order pending Southwest's appeal. The ruling came after the lawyers allegedly undermined the judge's earlier decision in a religious bias case. The judge awarded damages to a flight attendant who claimed she was fired for objecting to her union's participation in a protest sponsored by Planned Parenthood. Southwest argues that the ruling violates its free-speech rights.
A Colorado woman, Lorie Smith, who claimed that her opposition to same-sex marriage prevented her from designing wedding websites, leading to a recent US Supreme Court ruling against LGBTQ+ rights, appears to have designed at least one wedding website before it was removed from her portfolio. The discovery by the New Republic raises questions about the authenticity of the case, which was represented by the right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The ADF accused the New Republic of manufacturing attacks on Smith, while Smith's attorneys argued that her free speech rights were violated by a Colorado anti-discrimination law. LGBTQ+ groups and advocates of equal treatment under the law have expressed concern over the potential fabrication of the case.
The legitimacy of a customer named "Stewart" in a Supreme Court gay rights case has raised ethical and legal concerns. The Christian graphic artist, Lorie Smith, who was allowed by the Supreme Court to refuse making wedding websites for gay couples, cited a request from Stewart and his husband-to-be as evidence. However, Stewart denies ever making such a request, leading to questions about the misrepresentation and potential legal recourse for the state of Colorado. While the revelation is unlikely to impact the case's outcome, it raises doubts about the credibility of Smith's legal team and may result in sanctions if they knew the request was false. Such an error at the Supreme Court level is highly unusual.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a well-funded right-wing legal organization, has been at the forefront of a nationwide effort to limit the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in the US, all in the name of Christianity. ADF aims to overturn same-sex marriage, enact a total ban on abortion, and strip away the already minimal rights that trans people are afforded in the US. The organization is engaged in “a very strong campaign to put a certain type of religious view at the center of American life”.
A federal judge in Texas has stayed the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, but delayed the ruling taking effect for a week, giving the Biden administration time to appeal. The anti-abortion group Alliance Defending Freedom sued the FDA in November over its approval of mifepristone, arguing that the FDA abused its authority by approving mifepristone through an accelerated process for new drugs. Mifepristone has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over access to abortion since the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.
