Although most of the general public, as well as some in the medical profession, are unaware of the dangers of a CMV infection to the fetus of a pregnant woman, CMV causes more birth defects and congenital disabilities in children than all other well-known diseases.
The decision sets a dangerous precedent for states seeking to evade judicial review of laws that violate federal constitutional rights and a new front in the right's drive to bankrupt reproductive health-care providers.
Good news from the preliminary birthrate data for 2012: Teen births are down to yet another historic low, births to women in their early 20s also fell to an all-time low, the rate of cesarean sections is stabilizing after years of increasing, and fewer babies were born preterm or at low birth weight.
Three hundred or so rapt but sweating abortion rights opponents gathered beneath a revival-style tent in Central Texas on Saturday to celebrate the closure of a small-town abortion clinic, the only one in its rural county.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ordered a hearing to resolve whether or not county clerks can move forward with issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"Don't be scared. Just go for it," said new mother Raquel Batista, who is running to represent the Bronx in the New York City Council. "There is nothing to lose. There is nothing to lose in running for office and starting your family."
A Texas abortion provider maps 108 crisis pregnancy centers, a sobering illustration of what the Texas reproductive health landscape could look like in light of the state's omnibus anti-abortion law, which is expected to shutter all but six of Texas' existing abortion facilities.
Barry Smitherman, an anti-choice candidate for attorney general in Texas, airs his chilling, ruthless fantasy: make abortion illegal, so babies grow up to be Republicans and vote for guys like him.
In the wake of a disastrous Roberts Court decision undermining the Indian Child Welfare Act, a flurry of court rulings show the pitfalls of a patchwork array of state child custody laws.
Planned Parenthood closed two West Texas clinics within a few days of each other last week, citing its inability to sustain the rural clinics in Texas' anti-choice climate. Meanwhile, the state Planned Parenthood affiliate received a gift from the foundation of conservative former presidential candidate Ross Perot.
