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The Supreme Court may well be headed for an election-year fight over abortion rights, but it’s not likely to be a blockbuster showdown over Roe v. Wade. Courtwatchers anticipate that the justices will agree to take one or more cases related to abortion restrictions in the coming term, drawing attention to the polarizing issue as the 2020 presidential campaign moves into a critical phase. (Gerstein, 5/22)

The new laws that prohibit abortion as early as the sixth week of pregnancy have been called “heartbeat” legislation by supporters, a reference to the flickering pulse that can be seen on ultrasound images of a developing embryo. But when the American Civil Liberties Union announced a legal challenge last week to one such law in Ohio, there was no mention of the word “heartbeat” in the news release, which referred to the law instead as “a ban on almost all abortions.” In Georgia, Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who narrowly lost the governor’s race last year, called the measure in her state a “forced pregnancy bill.” A sign at a protest against the law in Atlanta this week turned the idea into a slogan: “NO FORCED BIRTHS.” (Harmon, 5/22)

Abortion opponents held a rally Wednesday at the Alabama Capitol, savoring victory after the state's governor signed the nation's most stringent abortion ban into law last week. Elsewhere in the South, abortion-rights supporters occupied much of a city block in New Orleans, chanting 'My body! My choice!" Standing in front of the banner, "Pro-Life Pro-Woman," speakers said the law passed in Alabama — and fetal heartbeat laws in others states — show they are gaining momentum in the fight against abortion. (Chandler, 5/22)

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 presidential candidate, vowed Wednesday to create a White House office solely focused on expanding access to abortion and addressing barriers to reproductive health care. The White House Office of Reproductive Freedom would be charged with “coordinating and affirmatively advancing abortion rights and access to reproductive health care” across the Booker administration. (Hellmann, 5/22)

Do conservative women have abortions? The answer is, obviously, yes. But it's not often we hear from them. Nearly one in four women in the United States will have an abortion by age 45 — and they don't all share the same values and political views. Cultural stigma can make it difficult for any woman to talk about her abortion, but the particular pressures facing conservative women mean that stigma often equals silence.  (Dastagir, 5/22)

A Kansas clinic stopped providing telemedicine abortions months ago and returned to court Wednesday after concluding that the legal climate remains uncertain despite a judge's order late last year saying the state couldn't stop the procedures. The clinic in Wichita operated by the Trust Women Foundation also faces a complaint over its past telemedicine abortions filed with the state's medical board by officials from the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life. The state has enacted three laws in eight years to require physicians to be physically present when giving women pregnancy-ending medications. (5/22)

A Kansas Supreme Court opinion recognizing women have the right to an abortion under the state constitution is now being cited in court in an effort to block restrictions on abortion. Abortion opponents fear it’s the first of many times the sweeping decision will be used against a host of anti-abortion laws in Kansas. (Shorman, 5/22)

Hundreds of abortion rights advocates gathered in New Orleans Wednesday afternoon (May 22) to protest bills being advanced by Louisiana lawmakers that place further restrictions on abortion access. People crowded the corner in front of the Hancock Whitney Center and poured out onto the street, some holding signs with phrases like “Pro-woman, pro-choice,” and “Hands off my means of reproduction.” (Clark, 5/22)

The Arizona Legislature is considering spending $7.5 million over the next three years on a pilot program that seeks to prevent abortion and would provide a potential funding stream for crisis pregnancy centers. House Bill 2759, introduced in the waning days of the legislative session amid budget talks, would direct the money to the state’s Department of Health Services over the next three years for a “family health pilot program.” (Leingang, 5/22)