The Supreme Court of South Carolina on Thursday abolished common-law marriage, citing an overwhelming national trend. The court came to this conclusion reviewing a case that hinged on the “mutual assent” requirement to prove a common-law marriage. In its review, the court chose to refine the test for legal marriages. Justice Kaye Hearn focused her [...]

The German Federal Ministry of Health on Wednesday approved a broad measure that would require proof of measles vaccination to access to community facilities, including daycares and schools. The bill comes as a reaction to continued measles infections despite an effective vaccine. In 2018 there were 651 cases of measles reported, and within four months [...]

The US House of Representatives on Thursday voted 231-199 to approve a bill that could increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. HR 582 (or the “Raise the Wage Act”) is set-up to gradually increase the minimum wage until 2025, when the $15 minimum would be achieved. Tipped workers, new hires younger than [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday denied emergency motions against its previous decision refusing to block the Title X “gag rule.” Title X funded clinics generally serve low-income men and women, offering contraception and a wide variety of related reproductive health services. Under the Trump administration’s rule, facilities receiving Title [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday reversed and remanded a district court’s decision that had previously instructed discovery for potential Emoluments Clause violations. The attorneys general for Washington, DC, and Maryland had filed a lawsuit to investigate foreign and domestic violations of the Emoluments Clauses related to President Donald Trump’s [...]

After years of back and forth, France’s Court of Cassation ruled on Friday that artificial life support for Vincent Lambert, a person who has been in a vegetative state since a road accident in 2008, can be terminated. The court’s ruling reverses a previous decision by a Paris Court of Appeal last month, which forced [...]

A coalition comprised of organizations including SisterSong Women of Color, Feminist Women’s Health Center, and Planned Parenthood Southeast filed a lawsuit on Friday against Georgia’s government officials. The complaint explains that House Bill 481 “bans practically all abortions,” and “criminalize abortion from the earliest stages of pregnancy.” This is in conflict with Roe v. Wade, [...]

Judge D Brock Hornby of the US District Court for the District of Maine ruled Wednesday that public funds cannot be used for tuition payments to sectarian schools in regions where public schools are not provided by the local government. Communities that do not have a local public or private secondary school to offer students [...]

The European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG) on Wednesday released a second report about artificial intelligence (AI) development and deployment, specifically aimed at “maximising [] benefits whilst minimising and preventing [] risks.” The report includes 33 recommendations for the EU, focusing on four domains: AI helping in general society, in the private [...]

The Moldovan Constitutional Court announced on Wednesday that all six of its judges were stepping down, ending a deadlock around the legitimacy of a new government made up both of a pro-EU and pro-Russian representatives. The resignations were due to trouble caused be the court’s recent rulings. The court was found to have effectively reduced [...]