ICC orders Uganda commander to pay $56 million in reparations to war crime victims
The International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), to pay $56 million in reparations Wednesday to several thousand victims of crimes against humanity. Ongwen was charged with committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005 as a commander [...]
Texas federal judge finds 2022 spending bill passed unconstitutionally
A Texas federal judge ruled Tuesday that the US Congress passed a 2022 $1.7 trillion government spending bill unconstitutionally. Federal District Judge James Wesley Hendrix blocked the enforcement of a portion of the bill, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PFWA), based on a violation of the US Constitution’s “quorum clause.” The 2022 spending bill passed [...]
The Missouri Senate voted in favor of legislation Thursday that would make it more challenging to amend the state’s constitution. Essentially, the legislation imposes a higher threshold for ballot initiatives submitted to Missouri voters to succeed in passing constitutional amendments. The legislation, Senate Substitution (SS) No. 4, is a substitute for Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs) [...]
In the evolving landscape of reproductive rights, the intersectionality of gender identities and abortion rights in India demands critical examination. Recognising the multifaceted challenges faced by transgender individuals in accessing healthcare, this essay explores the imperative for specific legal provisions safeguarding their reproductive autonomy. In a country where societal norms often marginalise transgender communities, the [...]
US District Judge Colin S. Bruce sentenced Philip Buyno to five years in prison in the Central District of Illinois on Monday after he attempted to commit arson against a future reproductive healthcare center. Bruce also ordered Buyno to pay $327,547 in restitution for the damages he caused. Buyno pled guilty to attempting to use [...]
A South Carolina woman, Taylor Shelton, sued the state on Monday after she was denied an abortion at around six weeks of pregnancy. She brings this suit along with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT) against the state because of its alleged ambiguous language in Senate Bill 474 (SB 474), also known as the Fetal Heartbeat [...]
France National Assembly votes for including right to abortion in constitution
The National Assembly of France passed a constitutional bill on Tuesday to incorporate the right to abortion into the French Constitution. The bill for “the freedom to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy” was debated in the National Assembly and then passed 493-30. The passage of this bill comes just under a year after the [...]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court orders reconsideration of Medicaid abortion coverage limits
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider whether a state law limiting Medicaid funds for abortion violates the equal protection rights of low-income individuals. Under the 1982 Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, abortion care can only be covered by Medicaid — a government-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals and families — [...]
The Republican-majority Wisconsin State Assembly passed AB 975 by a 53-46 vote on Thursday, which would add a referendum to the April 2024 election to ban most abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Under current Wisconsin law, most abortions are prohibited after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Under the proposed bill, abortions would be prohibited in [...]
Explainer: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Criminal Court
The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II). With both courts located in [...]
