HAPPY SCOTUS MONTH | SPORTS BETTING OFF TO THE RACES | What Would Really Happen If We Re-Criminalized Abortion
June 1, 208
IF YOU'RE NOT FIRST YOU'RE LAST
|“The First State” just lived up to its name, becoming the first state to offer sports betting following the Supreme Court’s nationwide legalization of the practice. Delaware will allow bets to be made starting Tuesday at 1:30 PM, beating other states like New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia that are also seeking to offer full-scale wagering.
SERVICES NO LONGER PROVIDED
|This week in Arkansas Planned Parenthood had to cancel their patients’ scheduled appointments for abortions after the Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal to a new state law restricting abortion pills. Arkansas is the only state to restrict medication-induced abortion, which involves taking a combination of two pills — one of which can be taken at home after a visit to the doctor. Attorneys for the three abortion clinics in the state have asked a federal district court judge to block the law again, but in the meantime, women in the state won’t have access to the procedure. Their only option will be to drive (sometimes hundreds of miles) to get the surgical procedure.
TOP-ED — IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK
|So what happens when abortion is banned? In The New York Times, Michelle Oberman notes that wihle our country inches closer and closer to recriminalizing abortion, we would do well to study the implications of a ban. She says it’s not the outcome anyone is looking for. “Doctors will find themselves torn between norms protecting confidentiality and the pressure to report their patients; the pressure to treat women themselves as criminals is likely to grow, intensifying an existing pattern of charging poor minority women with crimes arising from miscarriages, stillbirths or perceived risks taken while pregnant.”
WHY SCOTUS SILENCE IS SO LOUD
|For The Atlantic, Garrett Epps considers why the Supreme Court this week refused to hear the challenge to the Arkansas. He suggests, “The denial in the Arkansas case does mean something. It is at least mildly surprising, especially because the denial was not accompanied by any separate opinion from a justice dissenting or concurring in the denial. But the denial most likely does not mean that the Court has done an about-face on abortion rights. That’s because the case, as decided by the courts below, actually did not decide whether the Arkansas statute is constitutional or not. The question presented, as put to the court by Planned Parenthood, was what level of evidence the reviewing court needed to decide the constitutional issue. The Eighth Circuit decided that the court did not yet have the evidence it needed; the case will go on until it does.” And while the case proceeds, women’s rights advocates are playing defense and losing ground slowly but surely.
'TIS THE SEASON
|Well we made it folks. We’re in the final month of the Supreme Court’s October 2017 term, which means we’re in for a mean ride these next couple of weeks. We’re still waiting on decisions from justices on practically every major case they heard this term, including the cake case, not one but two political gerrymandering cases, and the case that will determine the constitutionality of the president’s travel ban. Take the weekend, rest up, and get ready to come back Monday for what we expect to be some seriously big SCOTUS stories.
OTHER NEWS
From Heroin In Rental Car Trunk To Stolen Motorcycle, Supreme Court Defends Privacy Rights
USA Today“The dual decisions represent the latest examples of a trend at the high court — dominated by conservatives — to defend individuals’ right to privacy even when they are violating the law. The justices’ vigorous defense of Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure has been fueled in part by their skepticism of government power, as well as the rapid development of increasingly intrusive technology.”
Union Activity Ramps Up In Advance Of Supreme Court Decision
The Wall Street Journal“As organized labor braces for a Supreme Court ruling that could make it easy for public-sector workers to stop paying some dues, unions across the country are reaching out to hundreds of thousands of members to persuade them to keep paying dues. The Service Employees International Union has sent text messages to 800,000 members as part of a program that includes meeting with workers and sending mailers to homes.”
Battle Begins To Shape Future Of Sports Betting
The Hill“In response to the ruling, more than a dozen states have moved quickly to set up infrastructure for the burgeoning industry, and leagues are moving just as rapidly. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has been working together with Major League Baseball (MLB) and golf’s PGA Tour, meeting with government officials and lawmakers to influence how legislation is crafted.”