(KRUN, Germany) — The Group of Seven nations on Sunday began rolling out a global infrastructure initiative in a bid, as they described it, to promote “stability” and improve conditions in developing and middle-income countries around the globe.
The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment plans on disbursing $600 billion by 2027 in infrastructure investments, with President Joe Biden announcing the U.S. alone would aim to spend $200 billion in public and private partnerships.
Biden and other world leaders, speaking in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, cast the investments as “critical” amid crises on multiple fronts, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, an energy crunch fueled in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and more.
“These strategic investments are in areas critical to sustainable development and to our shared global stability: health and health security, digital connectivity, gender equality and equity, climate and energy security,” Biden said.
“We need a worldwide effort to invest in transformative clean energy projects to ensure that critical infrastructures resilient to changing climate. Critical materials that are necessary for clean energy transition, including production of batteries, need to be developed with high standards for labor and environment,” he added.
The G-7 announcement comes as the alliance looks to lay down markers of tangible investments and accomplishments at a time when China and Russia are looking to make inroads elsewhere.
China has become increasingly involved in Africa and Latin America, investing hefty sums in building roads, bridges and more in an aggressive diplomatic effort on both continents.
In his remarks on Sunday, Biden directly contrasted the new announcement with what China has done, emphasizing that the G-7’s investments will be based on “shared values,” a signal to nations that it’s in their benefit to align with the U.S. and others compared with China.
“What we’re doing is fundamentally different because it’s grounded on our shared values of all those representing the countries and organizations behind me. It’s built using the global best practices: transparency, partnership, protections for labor and the environment,” he said.
He said the infrastructure program was not “aid or charity,” but instead “an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, including the American people and people of all” nations.
“It’ll boost all of our economies, and it’s a chance for us to share our positive vision for the future …. Because when democracies demonstrate what we can do, all that we have to offer, I have no doubt that will win the competition, every time,” he said.
The investments in energy and climate infrastructure have taken on heightened on importance both as nations race to combat climate change’s effects and make themselves less reliant on countries like Russia for oil and natural gas — a dependency that has hindered the response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
There was no question-and-answer session at the end of the G-7 announcement, but when one reporter shouted a question, it was about whether the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade had come up in meetings.
“What decision?” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen could be heard asking as she walked off stage.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Jeffery Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell has been put on suicide watch days before her sentencing on five criminal counts, including sex trafficking, according to her lawyer.
She is awaiting sentencing, ahead of Tuesday morning’s hearing, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
“Yesterday, without having conducted a psychological evaluation and without justification, the MDC placed Ms. Maxwell on suicide watch,” her lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, wrote to a federal court in New York on Saturday. “She is not permitted to possess and review legal documents and is not permitted paper or pen. This has prevented her from preparing for sentencing.”
Nearly three years ago, her accomplice, Jeffery Epstein was found dead by suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. The federal government announced last year that MCC would close due to its poor conditions.
Maxwell’s lawyers told the court she is not suicidal and has been deemed so by outside psychologists.
“Ms. Maxwell was abruptly removed from general population and returned to solitary confinement, this time without any clothing, toothpaste, soap, legal papers, etc,” her lawyer’s letter said on Saturday. “She was provided a ‘suicide smock’ and is given a few sheets of toilet paper on request. This morning, a psychologist evaluated Ms. Maxwell and determined she is not suicidal.”
Her lawyers said she is unable to prepare for sentencing and “is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep-deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel.” They said if this doesn’t change by Monday, they will formally request to have sentencing date delayed.
“I met with Ms. Maxwell today (after a 97-minute delay following my arrival at the facility),” her lawyer said. “She is not suicidal.”
The Department of Justice responded to Maxwell’s legal team Sunday afternoon, saying she was put on suicide watch after she allegedly emailed the Bureau of Prisons Inspector General’s Office claiming she feared for her safety. However, it said Maxwell does have a hard copy of all her legal documents and “is able to confer with defense counsel.”
“Here, the Warden and Chief Psychologist assessed that the defendant is at heightened risk of self-harm, particularly given her upcoming sentencing and sex offender status. As a result, they are not comfortable placing the defendant in the SHU (Special Housing Unit), but they also need to remove the defendant from general population to investigate the threat she reported to the IG,” United States attorney Damian Williams wrote to the court Sunday.
Following Maxwell’s email, and her alleged refusal to answer questions from the prison’s psychology staff, she was removed from the general population and placed on a suicide watch, according to the US Attorneys Office.
“Although the defendant has claimed to psychology staff that she is not suicidal, she has refused to answer psychology staff’s questions regarding the threat she reported to the IG. While she claimed to the IG to be in fear for her safety, she refused to tell psychology staff what that fear is,” Williams wrote.
“Given the defendant’s inconsistent accounts to the IG and to psychology staff, the Chief Psychologist assesses the defendant to be at additional risk of self-harm, as it appears she may be attempting to be transferred to a single cell where she can engage in self-harm. The defendant will remain on suicide watch until the MDC assesses that she is no longer at heightened risk of self-harm,” Williams wrote.
Prosecutors said despite her legal team’s claim, there’s no reason to delay Maxwell’s sentencing on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Prisons said it doesn’t comment on individual inmates.
“The BOP is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public. Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority,” a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told ABC News.
ABC News has previously reported that while she was awaiting trial, Maxwell was given paper clothes as a precaution.
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, said Sunday that criminal charges against the people involved in trying to overturn the 2020 election — including former President Donald Trump — were not his “principal interest” compared to understanding how the violence unfolded to avoid it being repeated.
“Our democracy is on the line here. Our Constitution is at stake. Are we going to have violent assaults against our elections? Are we going to have politicians who, disappointed with the results, try to overthrow the election and just seize power? Is that what American democracy is going to look like in the 21st century?” the Maryland Democrat told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“So, for me, I’m principally interested in telling the American people the truth so we can fortify our institution against coups and insurrections going forward,” Raskin continued.
“But I know that there’s a great public hunger for individual criminal accountability, and I’ve got confidence in the Department of Justice, in Attorney General Merrick Garland, to do the right thing in terms of making all the difficult decisions about particular cases,” he said.
Raskin’s remarks come after the Jan. 6 committee held its latest public hearing, on Thursday, outlining evidence of then-President Trump’s pressure campaign on the Department of Justice to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
The committee says its investigation showed the sprawling campaign involved, among other things, an attempt to replace the acting attorney general with a loyalist more willing to concede to Trump’s demands as well as suggestions of seizing voting machines and talks of pardons for conservative lawmakers who cooperated in the scheme.
On “This Week” on Sunday, Raskin expressed alarm at the effort but also praised local officials who ensured that the 2020 race was not overturned.
“We saw a series of successive shakedowns of the election officials of secretaries of state like Brad Raffensperger, of state legislative officials. And we saw a lot of heroes, people who hung tough, like Shaye Moss, and were not willing to be deterred from doing their public duties,” he told Raddatz, referencing officials in Georgia who faced pressure over the election. “We saw the same thing at the Department of Justice as Trump’s own appointees, who were telling him they could not do what he was asking them to do.”
Raddatz pressed Raskin on what he saw as the “real impact” of the hearings in the public consciousness, citing a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll that 34% of Americans had been following the hearing somewhat or very closely — “as much as some people are very riveted,” Raddatz said.
“People are busy and so we know a lot of people, especially younger people, will learn about the hearings through snippets that go out on TV or online and people now are able to process information in different ways,” Raskin said. “It’s not like the Watergate hearings where everybody had to be watching at the same moment because of the relatively primitive state of technology then. People are going to be able to absorb this over time.”
Raskin also discussed the testimony of Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican who was also pressed to overturn Trump’s loss in the state in 2020. Bowers told the committee it was contrary to his faith to do so but that he would still vote for Trump in 2024 if Trump were to be the GOP nominee against President Joe Biden.
“I was very moved by Rusty Bowers’s testimony and his constitutional faith and patriotism,” Raskin said. “When he said that, I thought to myself, well, if you want to get Donald Trump back in office, and that were actually to materialize, you got to be prepared to do the exact same thing next time because Trump has proven himself to be absolutely disrespectful of the rule of law and completely ungovernable by the Constitution.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has “burned whatever legitimacy they may still have had” with their ruling last week overturning Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on Sunday.
“They just took the last of it and set a torch to it,” Warren, a Democrat, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an exclusive interview. “I believe we need to get some confidence back in our court and that means we need more justices on the United States Supreme Court. We’ve done it before, we need to do it again.” (Warren has previously called for expanding the number of justices, including in an op-ed in The Boston Globe in December.)
In a Friday decision, the high court overturned the landmark holding in Roe, instead ruling that there was no constitutional guarantee to abortion access. Justices voted five to four to reject Roe and six to three in favor of Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, in the underlying case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The reversal was widely celebrated by anti-abortion lawmakers and advocates but sparked protests across the country and drew condemnation by Warren and other leading Democrats.
In the days since the decision, at least eight states have outlawed abortion and in the coming weeks a total of 26 states are expected to ban or severely restrict it, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focusing on sexual and reproductive health.
Raddatz asked Warren on “This Week” why abortion should not just be decided by individual states and their elected officials, rather than ensured as a constitutional right.
“‘Go to the polls,’ you say. President [Joe] Biden says, ‘Go to the polls.’ But look at the states outlawing abortion,” Raddatz pressed. “Those are largely conservative states, Gov. [Kristi] Noem had a point there — people go to the polls. They went to the polls just like your constituents in Massachusetts where abortion is legal, so why not leave it to the states?”
“We have never left individual rights to the states. The whole idea is that women are not second-class citizens and the government is not the one that will decide about the continuation of a pregnancy,” Warren responded. “Access to abortion, like other medical procedures, should be available across the board to all people in this country.”
Warren also called for Biden to use his available tools to “make abortion as available as possible, including medication abortion and using federal lands as a place where abortion can occur.”
She urged people to vote “like a laser on the election in November” and elect lawmakers who will codify Roe, which is a priority among some Democrats but doesn’t have the 60 votes needed to avoid a Senate filibuster.
“We [need to] get two more senators on the Democratic side, two senators who are willing to protect access to abortion and get rid of the filibuster so that we can pass it,” Warren said. “John Fetterman, I’m looking at you in Pennsylvania. Mandela Barnes, I’m looking at you in Wisconsin. We bring them in, then we’ve got the votes, and we can protect every woman no matter where she lives.”
Warren said she was also “deeply concerned” about Justice Clarance Thomas’ opinion last week that agreed with overturning Roe but also called on the high court to go on to reject its past rulings on contraception and gay marriage.
“I understand that the rest of the court said, ‘No, no, we’re not going there,’ but remember how we got to where we are,” Warren said. “When Roe v. Wade first came down, there was a tiny minority that really put a lot of energy in effect for themselves and for Republicans, putting Roe on the ballot over and over.”
Raddatz asked Warren whether the Supreme Court Senate confirmation process should change, given that some justices who joined to overturn Roe had said at their hearings and elsewhere it was settled law or respected precedent.
“Sen. Susan Collins, who voted for Justice Kavanaugh, as well as Joe Manchin, have said they were misled. Do you think the process should change, now, of confirming justices?” Raddatz asked.
“I understand that Justice Kavanaugh — I don’t know what he said to Sen. Collins, I wasn’t in the room,” Warren said, referring to a private meeting between the two. “But I do know this: that the Republicans have been very overt about trying to get people through the court who didn’t have a published record on Roe but who they knew, wink, wink, nod, nod, were going to be extremist on the issue of Roe v. Wade and that is exactly what we have ended up with.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
A Russian controlled oil drilling platform in the Black Sea was targeted by Ukrainian shelling on Sunday, the second attack in a week, Russia’s state-run media outlet TASS reported.
A spokesperson for Crimea’s emergency services reported that no one was injured in the attack on the platform operated by the Chernomorneftegaz oil and gas company.
Russia-backed officials seized Chernomorneftegaz’s oil-drilling platforms from Ukraine’s national gas operator Naftogaz as part of Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014, according to Reuters.
This is the second attack in a week on the same Chernomorneftegaz oil-drilling platform.
On June 20, Ukrainian forces shelled the platform in the Black Sea, injuring three of the 109 people on the drilling rig at the time, according to Crimea officials. Seven people remain missing, the officials said.
More than 90 people were evacuated from the platform after the previous attack and 15 people had stayed behind to guard operations, Sergey Aksyonov, the governor of Russian-controlled Crimea.
Jun 26, 2:43 pm
250 civilians evacuated from Severodonetsk chemical plant
About 250 Ukrainian civilians have been evacuated from a chemical plant where they sought shelter in the besieged city of Severodonetsk in Eastern Ukraine, an official said.
Rodion Miroshnik, the Luhansk People’s Republic ambassador to Russia, said the civilians were evacuated safely from the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk.
“Servicemen of the LPR People’s Militia evacuated another about 250 people, including little children, from the premises of the Severodonetsk Azot plant,” Miroshnik said on social media Sunday.
He added that the evacuation came a day after about 200 civilians were evacuated from the chemical plant.
Following months of heavy fighting, Russian troops took complete control of the Severodonetski over the weekend, according to Oleksandr Striuk, chief of the city’s military administration.
Jun 26, 2:35 pm
1 killed, 6 injured in missile strike on Kyiv
One person was killed and six were injured, including a child, following a Russian missile strike Sunday in Ukraine’s capital city, officials said.
The Russian shelling of Kyiv struck a residential building in the city, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Klitschko said at least six people were injured in the attack, including a 7-year-old girl. He said the girl was undergoing surgery Sunday for non-life-threatening injuries.
Klitschko said the girl’s mother was also injured in the attack.
A missile strike occurred in the Shevchenkivskyi neighborhood, near central Kyiv, officials said.
Jun 26, 7:11 am
More of Russia’s ‘barbarism,’ Biden says of Kyiv strike
President Joe Biden on Sunday said Russia’s early morning missile strikes on Kyiv were an act of “barbarism.”
As Biden stood alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the official G7 welcome ceremony, ABC News’ Karen Travers asked if he had any reaction to the strikes on a residential neighborhood.
“Yes, it’s more of their barbarism,” Biden said.
A missile struck an apartment block in Shevchenkivskyi, near central Kyiv, on Sunday morning, killing at least one and trapping others in the rubble, local officials said.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Jun 26, 5:03 am
US to ban Russian gold imports
The Biden administration and other G7 leaders will announce on Sunday an import ban on Russian gold.
“This is a key export, a key source of revenue alternative for Russia, in terms of their ability to transact in the global financial system,” a senior administration official told reporters on a briefing call about the G7 summit in Germany. “Taking this step cuts off that capacity and again, is an ongoing illustration of the types of steps that the G7 can take collectively to continue to isolate Russia and cut it off from the global economy.”
The Treasury Department is expected to issue an official notice on Tuesday.
Gold is Russia’s second largest export after oil and a source of significant revenue, but much of Russia’s gold exportation has already been cut off in practice by banks, refiners and shippers. The move on Sunday marks an official severance of Russia from the world’s gold market.
The U.S. and U.K. are participating in Sunday’s announcement, but it is unclear whether all G7 countries will participate in the initiative. A Biden administration official tried to downplay concerns about potential disunity among G7 member states, pivoting instead to a talking point about efforts to cut off all financial pathways for Russia.
Pressed on whether Russia could continue to export gold by going through a country that does not participate in the ban, officials insisted the ban will be effective.
“We will continue to identify places where evasion as a risk continue to take steps to block off those pads,” an official said. “And the measuring gold in some ways is in fact, another step forward to block off ways that that Russia might seek to engage with the financial system, by virtue of all the other ways that have now been cut off to them.”
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Jun 26, 3:30 am
Russian strike traps Kyiv woman in rubble
Emergency responders in Kyiv are working to free a woman from the top floor of a residential building that was hit by a Russian strike on Sunday morning.
An advisor to the minister of the interior told ABC News that the woman, who is in her 30s, is alive and trapped in the rubble.
At least one civilian was killed in Sunday’s strike, local officials said. At least one other, a young girl, was rescued from the building in Shevchenkivskyi, a central district a few moments from the historic center of the city.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Jun 26, 2:55 am
Missiles strike central Kyiv residential neighborhood
A series of Russian missiles struck a residential area of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday morning, local officials said.
“Friends! Search and rescue operations are underway in a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district where a missile hit,” Mayo Vitaliy Klychko said on Telegram. “There are people under the rubble. Some residents were evacuated, two victims were hospitalized. Rescuers continue to work, medics are on site.”
At least one residential building appeared to have had sections of its facade sheared off, photos from the scene showed. Emergency responders could be seen working on the upper floors of the building as smoke rose into the morning sky.
“Several explosions in the Shevchenkivskyi district,” Klychko said. “Ambulance crews and rescuers on the spot. Residents are being rescued and evacuated in two houses.”
At least one missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv regional administration, said on Telegram.
“The remains of the missile fell on the outskirts of one of the villages in the area,” Kuleba said.
-ABC News’ Natalia Kushnir
Jun 24, 9:01 am
Ukrainian forces to retreat from Severodonetsk
Ukrainian forces plan to retreat from the city of Severodonetsk, following weeks of fighting.
The local governor said Friday morning “it doesn’t make sense” to hold onto the city and “the number of people killed will increase every day,” in a statement on Telegram.
The city has faced a heavy bombardment of rockets and street-to-street fighting between Ukrainian and Russia troops for weeks.
Ukrainian officials said nearly 90% of buildings in Severodonetsk have been destroyed.
It’s believed 8,000 civilians remain. At one point, hundreds of civilians sheltered in a chemical plant.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Jun 23, 2:58 pm
Ukraine granted candidate status for EU membership
The European Council has granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the announcement on Twitter, calling it a “unique and historical moment,” adding, “Ukraine’s future is within the EU.”
It could take years for Ukraine to become an EU member. Five other countries that have been granted candidate status are currently negotiating their EU membership: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
(NEW YORK) — The Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade has set the stage for a major test of public and private pregnancy support programs that abortion rights opponents have touted for decades.
“This is not the moment to celebrate. I’m not celebrating,” said Archbishop William Lori, the top American Catholic leading the church’s campaign for alternatives to abortion. “This is a moment for steadiness, for staying the course, for increased compassion, for increased services.”
Maternity homes and crisis pregnancy resource centers – offering everything from housing support to free diapers — are expecting a surge of demand in states enacting strict new bans on abortion. The Catholic Church is one of the leading backers of a national pregnancy aid network.
“Our major focus is woman and child. Not only do we provide services, we are robust advocates for the poor, needy and vulnerable,” Lori said.
Critics say the church is dangerously ill-equipped and unprepared. In the 13 states with trigger laws enacted to ban abortions after Roe was overturned, more than 103,000 were performed in 2020 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I don’t think they have reckoned with what the ramifications are going to be in a post-Roe world,” Jamie Manson, president for Catholics for Choice, told ABC News. “The amount of care and social work and life skill training that these women need is massive.”
Since SB8 banned nearly all abortions in Texas beginning in September 2021, 84,000 women have signed up with a state-funded program “Alternatives to Abortion” aimed at supporting women who continue unwanted pregnancies, according to the Texas Health and Human Services.
Texas Catholic aid programs are also seeing an impact.
“We have a wait list now. We’re already trying to gear up and make sure that we can meet the current need in addition to any increase that we might see,” said Kasey Whitley, who oversees the Gabriel Project in Ft. Worth, a church-funded ministry for women in crisis pregnancies.
The diocese helped 175 women last year. Kexsy Villeda, a single mom who found out she was unexpectedly pregnant the day she got divorced, said the program provided her with emotional support and financial stability.
“I looked at my son, and I couldn’t. No,” she said of briefly contemplating abortion five months into her pregnancy.
Kathleen Wilson, director of Mary’s Shelter in Fredericksburg, Va., a Catholic-funded organization helping women with unintended or unwanted pregnancies, told ABC News she’s expanding capacity this summer because of a steady stream of women in need.
The Catholic Church is the nation’s largest single religious institution with 18,000 local parishes. Its leaders have long promised women in crisis pregnancies unconditional emotional and financial aid well into motherhood, if they carry their child to term.
“The church is not just about bans. In fact, that’s not our major focus,” Lori said. A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops could not provide a dollar figure for how much the Church spends on pregnancy support each year nationwide.
Catholic abortion rights advocates say allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy should be a matter of conscience and social justice. And, many argue, efforts to dissuade women from abortion involve misleading claims about long-term support.
“Forced motherhood is never a good thing. And to deny someone what is for them, essential care, is wrong. I think it’s a sin,” Manson said.
The American Public Health Association, in a brief to the Supreme Court last year, said that abortion bans will lead to “elevated risks of maternal mortality….infant mortality…[and] traumas …[that can] trigger inter-generational harm.”
“Look at the big picture. Since Roe v. Wade, it’s been 63 million abortions. That’s a lot. A lot of loss of life,” Lori said when asked about the analysis. “The answer is to provide the best medical care we can.”
Critics of the Church and other faith-based initiatives opposing abortion say they prioritize bans over lobbying for expansion of social programs that support life, like a higher minimum wage, nutrition assistance, and paid family leave.
The 14 states that have had the most restrictive abortion laws, including Texas, invest the least in policies and programs for women and children, according to a 2020 analysis by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, a social policy think tank.
“I don’t think we should underestimate the generosity either of the charities or services we provide, or of God’s people,” Lori said. “The church in Texas is stepping up to the plate. They’ve kind of, again, given us a preview and I think a very helpful preview of what’s to come.”
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — A Kentucky pediatrician was charged in a plot she allegedly conceived to kill her ex-husband and gain sole custody of her children, according to court documents unsealed by the Justice Department.
According to the criminal complaint, Dr. Stephanie Russell, 52, asked an undercover agent posing as a hitman for “Christmas flowers” to be delivered to her ex-husband before Christmas last year, FBI investigators say. The FBI alleges that Christmas flowers is a moniker for carrying out a hit against her ex-husband.
Investigators say Russell allegedly sent text messages to the agent arranging for the murder as well as payment for the plot.
Russell is charged with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. She appeared in federal court in Louisville, Kentucky, last week and pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set for August. An attorney representing Russell did not return ABC News’ request for comment.
FBI investigators say they were first tipped off about Russell in 2019, when a nanny for the family said in a sworn affidavit provided by the attorney of Russell’s husband that Russell had asked the nanny if she knew “some really bad people,” according to the complaint. The nanny said she thought she was joking at first, according to investigators.
Investigators say they did not find enough evidence to charge Russell at that time.
Russell had previously accused her husband, Rick Crabtree, of abusing their children. An investigation by the Louisville Metro Police Department did not find evidence of the abuse and Crabtree was awarded custody of their children while Russell had supervised visits two days a week.
Crabtree did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Nearly three years later, a Louisville private investigator came to the FBI with what he believed was a murder-for-hire plot involving the same pediatrician, court documents say.
A confidential witness, who was employed at Russell’s practice, then told the FBI that between July 2021 and March 2022, Russell approached two nurses at her practices on separate occasions and asked each of them for help in killing Crabtree, investigators allege.
Text messages, investigators allege, prove that Russell wanted to carry out a hit against to her ex-husband.
In the messages, Russell and a second witness agreed to a payment of $4,000 to deliver “Christmas flowers,” the complaint shows. Russell agreed to pay the person another $1,000 if the plan was carried out before Christmas, investigators say.
The witness initially told Russell that the hitman they knew had died and was no longer able to carry out the hit, but months later, according to the FBI, she was still looking for someone to kill her ex-husband.
In May of 2022, Russell informed the witness she was still looking for “flowers,” the court documents say. The witness then gave her the number of an FBI undercover agent, who said they could facilitate the “delivery of flowers” to her ex-husband.
Russell allegedly asked the undercover agent to make it appear as if Crabtree committed suicide, investigators say. She gave the agent information on how to unlock the biometric lock code on her ex-husband’s phone so that the agent could text a fake suicide note after his death, according to the complaint.
The doctor also expressed concern that she would look “guilty” because she had expressed distain for her ex-husband publicly before, according to the complaint.
Russell left $3,500 outside of her office as “payment” for the undercover agent, investigators say.
Russell is in custody pending her trial. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, the DOJ says.
(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) — Jennifer Rourke, a candidate for Rhode Island State Senate, claimed on Twitter that she was attacked at an abortion rally in Providence by her opponent in the race, police officer Jeann Lugo. The rally took place hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that provided federal protection of abortion rights, now instead leaving it to states to pass their own laws.
Providence police said they are criminally investigating an off-duty officer after “a female subject was assaulted” at a protest outside the Rhode Island State House Friday night. Lugo was identified by police as the subject of the investigation, according to ABC affiliate WLNE.
“The officer has served on the department for three years and was placed on administrative leave with pay this morning, pending a criminal investigation and administrative review,” Rhode Island police said in a statement.
In an interview with the Providence Journal, Lugo did not deny punching his opponent, but also claimed Rourke became physical with him. The Journal said Rourke denied that accusation.
“I’m not going to deny,” Lugo told The Journal of the punching allegation. “It was very chaotic, so I can’t really tell you right now. Everything happened very fast.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden remains unmoved on the issue of court expansion, the White House said, despite his criticism of the Supreme Court rulings handed down this week on gun rights and abortion.
“That is something that the president does not agree with,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday when asked about such a reform. “That is not something that he wants to do.”
Democrats and activists are floating the idea after the high court expanded gun rights and did away with 50 years of precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and others expressly called for expanding the court in the wake of the decision on abortion access.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said court expansion is “critical.”
“We need to balance out this court before they do more harm than what they’ve done thus far,” Adams said at a press conference on Friday, where he said he wouldn’t have become the city’s leader if his former partner didn’t get an abortion when they were in their teens.
Biden has never expressed great interest in expanding the high court, even when many of his opponents in the 2020 Democratic primary for president were supportive of the reform.
After he was elected, Biden appointed a 36-member bipartisan commission to study potential changes to the Supreme Court — including the addition of more seats, as well as term limits and a code of ethics for justices.
The commission unanimously adopted a report late last year, in which they warned that excessive change to the institution could cause democracy to regress in the future.
The panel found “considerable” support for 18-year term limits for justices, but the issue of expanding the court beyond nine seats was met with “profound disagreement.”
“There was a commission that was put together about how to potentially move forward with the court, reform the court,” Jean-Pierre said Saturday. “I don’t have anything more to share from any final decision that the president has made.”
Biden has issued forceful condemnations of both Supreme Court decisions.
He described being “deeply disappointed” in the June 23 ruling striking down a century-old New York law limiting concealed handguns in public, stating it “contradicts common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all.”
The Roe repeal, he said, was a “sad day” for the Supreme Court and the nation.
“Make no mistake: This decision is the culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law,” he said Friday in remarks delivered from the Cross Hall of the White House. “It’s a realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court, in my view.”
In response, Biden said he was instructing federal agencies to protect nationwide access to federally approved medication like contraception, and employed the Department of Justice to ensure women can travel out-of-state for abortion services where the procedure is legal.
The president continued his criticism on Saturday, telling reporters that the Supreme Court “has made some terrible decisions.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in a much-anticipated ruling Friday in one of its biggest decisions this term.
The court voted 5-4, largely along party lines, to overturn Roe and 6-3, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involved Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
It appeared that the panel’s conservative majority of justices was ready to overturn nearly 50 years of established abortion rights after last month’s leaked draft decision indicated as much.
Jun 25, 1:01 pm
White House warns of ‘nightmare scenarios’ after Roe repeal
The White House on Saturday continued to criticize the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters the Supreme Court’s ruling is “out of step” with what a majority of Americans want.
“We are going to see some nightmare scenarios, sadly, because of this decision,” Jean-Pierre said on Air Force One on the way to the G7 summit in Germany.
Jean-Pierre touted the steps announced by the administration yesterday to protect access to federally approved medication like contraception and medication abortion and to ensure women can travel across state lines for reproductive health care.
But it’s ultimately up to Congress to fully restore Roe, she said.
“If that can’t happen, the American public has to use their voice,” Jean-Pierre said. “In light of this decision, they have to use their voice at the ballot box.”
Not on the table, she said, is court expansion: “That is something that the President does not agree with.”
Jun 25, 9:50 am
Advocacy group calls on DOD to support servicewomen, families as abortion bans begin to take effect
Advocacy group “Not in My Marine Corps,” started by former marine and Department of Defense civil servant Erin Kirk Cuomo, called on leaders to support servicewomen and families in areas where abortion bans have begun to take effect. The group has worked to raise awareness around sexual assault in the military.
The group is calling on leaders in the department and Virginia to:
Push for “compassionate reassignment” policies to let active duty women (and families) currently stationed in states with trigger laws appeal for reassignment
Guarantee service members in need of abortion will be able to cross state lines
Put an end to the Hyde Amendment so military bases can provide more abortion care.
“It’ll be interesting to see what DoD comes out within the next several days. We’ve known that this is going to be happening for months now. So they should have they should have been working on these policies,” Cuomo added.
Because of the Hyde Amendment, the department’s military medical program doesn’t regularly perform abortions, so service members would rely on providers in the state.
Earlier this month, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, introduced legislation that did not call for a full repeal of Hyde, but for a more tailored change in policy to allow military doctors on military bases provide abortion access for service members. There is a companion bill in the House.
“While states like New York will remain a safe haven for reproductive freedom, the reproductive rights of women serving at Fort Hood in Texas or other conservative states could be in jeopardy,” Gillibrand wrote, introducing the bill.
Jun 25, 9:27 am
Biden says administration will examine implementation of state abortion laws
President Joe Biden commented on states implementing abortion bans, vowing to act, the morning after the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights.
“The decision is implemented by states. My administration is going to focus on how they administer it, and whether or not they violate other laws, like deciding who is not allowed across state lines to get public health services. And we’re gonna take actions to protect women’s rights and reproductive health,” Biden vowed.
Asked if he thought the court is broken, Biden said, “I think the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions.”
Jun 25, 8:51 am
Blinken vows to ensure reproductive care access to State Department employees
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department will do everything in its power to ensure its employees have access to reproductive health services no matter where they live, vowing not to waver from this commitment.
Adding, “Under this Administration, the State Department will remain fully committed to helping provide access to reproductive health services and advancing reproductive rights around the world,” Blinken said in a statement.
Jun 25, 12:19 am
Truck runs over woman’s foot
A man in a truck hit two women Friday during a pro-abortion protest outside the U.S. District Court Federal Court House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and injured one.
Video on social media showed a man in a truck striking protestors, ripping signs as he drove and then hit two women who were crossing the street and ran over the feet of one woman.
There have been nationwide protests in the fallout of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion.
The Cedar Rapids police department is conducting an investigation.
Jun 24, 9:10 pm
US Marshals declare federal judges, government officials ‘most at risk’
The U.S. Marshals Service told ABC News that federal judges and state government officials are “most at risk” following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“In light of the increased security concerns stemming from the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, the U.S. Marshals Service continues to assist the Marshal of the Supreme Court with the responsibility of protecting the United State Supreme Court and its facilities,” the statement read.
“While we do not comment on specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted.”
Congress recently passed legislation that would increase security for the Supreme Court justices and their families.
Jun 24, 8:13 pm
Protesters gather nationwide
People in support of abortion rights gathered Friday after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed a constitutional right for an abortion.
Protests occurred Friday at Federal Plaza in Chicago, Philadelphia’s City Hall, Washington Square Park in New York and downtown Boston. More rallies were being planned for Saturday in response to the ruling.
About two dozen protesters also gathered outside the private community residence where Justice Clarence Thomas lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with some carrying signs that read “you will never control my body.”
Jun 24, 7:07 pm
Planned Parenthood doctor describes moments after ruling
Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis region, oversees a clinic in Missouri, which has been immediately shut down by a trigger law, and a clinic in Illinois, which will stay open for the foreseeable future.
Already, she has seen the impacts of a clinic that gets shut down — and the massive demand for one that’s still open.
“Within minutes of the decision, our attorney general invoked that trigger ban, and we had to stop providing abortion care,” she said of the Missouri clinic.
And in Illinois, she said, “Within minutes, again, we were receiving calls from clinics and other trigger-banned states to say, ‘I have patients on the schedule tomorrow. How many can you accommodate in the coming days?'”
Jun 24, 6:55 pm
Sports figures speak out against ruling
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe took several minutes during a media appearance ahead of Saturday’s match between the U.S. and Colombia to talk about the Supreme Court ruling on Friday.
“Obviously you can understand from an individual perspective how difficult it is to live in a country where you have a constant, unrelenting, violent tide against you and onslaught as a woman,” she said. “And it would be as a gay person and as a non-binary person, as a trans person — whoever this is going to affect, because it affects a lot more than just women or cis-women. It really does affect us all.”
She went on to say the ruling will “disproportionately affect poor women, Black women, brown women, immigrants, women in abusive relationships, women who have been raped, women and girls who have been raped by family members,” as well as those who “maybe just didn’t make the best choice.”
Rapinoe additionally called on men to speak up about the ruling, saying that is “what, frankly, doing the right thing looks like.”
Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke out in support of abortion rights.
“The NBA and WNBA believe that women should be able to make their own decisions concerning their health and future, and we believe that freedom should be protected,” they said in a joint statement. “We will continue to advocate for gender and health equity, including ensuring our employees have access to reproductive health care, regardless of their location.”
Jun 24, 6:03 pm
US surgeon general says ‘health of women and pregnant people is put at risk’
“Today’s decision is a major step backward for public health,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a statement Friday. “Reproductive health decisions – like all health decisions – should be made by patients and their health care providers.”
Murthy said that with restricted access to reproductive health care, there will be more unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
“Ultimately, the health of women and pregnant people is put at risk – an effect that will be felt disproportionately in historically marginalized populations, including communities of color, low-income Americans, and rural residents,” he continued.
Murthy said health care providers will be further strained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and “forced into an impossible choice between doing what’s right for their patients and complying with laws that are at odds with their patient’s health interests.”
The surgeon general said he will continue to support “women’s right to make their own decisions about their health.”
Jun 24, 5:04 pm
House Democrats look for abortion ruling to galvanize support in midterms
Following Friday’s Supreme Court decision, Democratic lawmakers have their eyes set on November, hoping the issue of abortion will galvanize widespread support.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., said reproductive rights will be on the ballot in November, but also acknowledged Democrats are going to have to focus on issues like the economy to win support.
“It’s not an either-or. We should be talking about the economy. We should be talking about our plan to lower costs for families,” Maloney said. “We have a plan, but [Republican] priority is going to be to ban abortion in all 50 states and and that’s the choice voters going to get to make.”
Maloney also said Republicans are fixated on banning abortion nationwide, and come election season, they will have to answer to voters.
“Every Republican should answer whether they will criminalize abortion in all 50 states because the Supreme Court said the Constitution doesn’t stand in their way. And we know that that is their priority. And those are the wrong priorities,” he added.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who is currently in a hotly contested Senate battle against JD Vance, said he didn’t know if abortion would be a top issue for voters but said the Supreme Court decision could galvanize a movement.
“Largest governmental overreach in the history of our lifetime right here,” Ryan said. “And I think Americans are gonna wholly reject that. And while it may not be the top issue, it will be for a lot. And I think it will be a secondary issue for a lot of other people.”
Jun 24, 4:08 pm
Kamala Harris condemns court, says ‘this is not over’
Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling it the first time in history that a constitutional right was taken away from Americans. Harris said the decision takes away the right to privacy.
“For nearly 50 years we have talked about what Roe v. Wade protects. Today, as of right now, as of this minute, we can only talk about what Roe v. Wade protected. Past tense. This is a health care crisis,” Harris said while delivering remarks in Plainfield, Illinois.
Harris said the expansion of freedom is not inevitable, encouraging Americans to vote in this year’s midterm elections, saying “this is not over.”
“Millions of women in America will go to bed tonight without access to the health care and reproductive care that they had this morning — without access to the same health care or reproductive health care that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years,” Harris said.
Jun 24, 3:44 pm
White House holds call to rally advocates after ruling
Senior White House officials held a Zoom meeting Friday afternoon seeking to rally abortion rights organizers, advocates and other leaders regarding what one official called the Supreme Court’s “devastating” decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
While the officials didn’t announce anything new in terms of actions the Biden administration may take, they pledged to work with the advocates to ensure women’s reproductive rights across the country.
“Although we’re here on a devastating day, I think, you know, I think we will all meet the moment,” Emmy Ruiz, the White House’s director of political strategy and outreach, said.
The officials drew attention to Attorney General Merrick Garland vowing to protect women’s ability to travel to other states for reproductive health care and to President Joe Biden directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure access to abortion medications.
“We are in this together,” White House counsel Dana Remus said. “We have a long road ahead. Lots of work to do, but I am optimistic that together we can make progress.”
Jun 24, 3:03 pm
Leading health care providers expect ripple effects from SCOTUS decision
Leading health care providers in reproductive and women’s health condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, warning that it affects patient safety and infringes on patient privacy.
The American Society for Training and Development released a statement that the decision “removes an essential civil liberty.”
“Decisions about healthcare, particularly reproductive healthcare, should be made by patients and physicians, not by interest groups, religious organizations, politicians, pundits, or Supreme Court Justices,” said Dr. Marcelle Cedars, the president of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, a leader in reproductive medicine research.
The American Academy of Family Physicians said that the decision endangers the patient-physician relationship and potentially “criminalizes evidence-based medical care.”
“Allowing each state to pass their own laws regarding access to reproductive health care, including abortion services and contraception, exacerbates inequities in the health care system,” said Dr. Sterling Ransone, the president of the AAFP.
Also, the nation’s largest union of nurses spoke out and called the policy “immoral, discriminatory, misogynist, violent [and] unacceptable,” according to the statement released by National Nurses United.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said the consequences of the decision are “grave” for adolescent patients.
In addition, the largest medical speciality organization in the United States, the American College of Physicians, called the decision a “major setback” that erodes “the constitutional right to privacy.”
“We strongly oppose medically unnecessary government restrictions on any health care services,” said Dr. Ryan Mire, the president of ACP.
-Eric M. Strauss
Jun 24, 2:44 pm
West Virginia’s only abortion clinic says it’s stopping procedures immediately
The only abortion clinic in West Virginia announced it is no longer performing abortions as of Friday after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade.
In a statement on Facebook, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia said it is not performing the procedure anymore due to “criminal code from 1882 that criminalizes abortion for both the provider and patient with a felony prison sentence up [to] 10 years.”
Abortion is still legal in West Virginia but a state constitutional amendment bars the protection of the right to an abortion. It’s unclear if the 1882 law immediately goes into effect now that Roe has been overturned.
However, the clinic vowed that it “will not stop fighting for the abortion rights of every West Virginian.”
It comes after Gov. Jim Justice praised the court’s decision and said he would call a special session if a consultation with the Legislature determined clarification in the state’s laws is needed.
Jun 24, 1:40 pm
McCarthy says Republicans to propose anti-abortion legislation if they retake the House
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Republicans would put anti-abortion legislation on the House floor next year if they retake the chamber in this year’s midterm elections.
“We now have a voice for all life,” McCarthy said during a press conference with House Republicans Friday.
Asked what he would say to Attorney General Merrick Garland if he didn’t prosecute people who do not follow their state’s abortion laws, McCarthy said, “In less than 140 days things are gonna change here.”
“He will have now a Congress that will call him up. He will now have the ability of the Congress to have oversight. He will now have a Congress that will hold him accountable,” McCarthy said.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., also plans to introduce a 15-week abortion ban in the coming weeks.
Jun 24, 1:28 pm
Trump applauds Supreme Court decision
Former President Donald Trump applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling in a statement, calling it “the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation.”
Additionally, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, the former president praised “giving everything back to the states, where it has always belonged.”
“This is following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago,” Trump told Fox News.
In response to any of his supporters who advocate for abortion rights, Trump told Fox News that “this is something that will work out for everybody.”
During his presidency, Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court. He noted in his statement the ruling was “only made possible because I delivered everything as promised.”
When asked by Fox News whether he feels like he made a difference in the decision to overturn Roe, he said, “God made the decision.”
Jun 24, 1:25 pm
President Biden says court decision is ‘sad day’ for the US
President Joe Biden criticized the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade Friday.
“It’s a sad day for the court and the country. Today the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away a constitutional right from the American people that it had already recognized,” Biden said in delivered remarks from the White House.
He added, “They didn’t limit it, they simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans but they did it.”
-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler
Jun 24, 1:12 pm
Sen. Susan Collins says court decision is inconsistent with justices’ testimony
Republican Sen. Susan Collins condemned the court decision, saying Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch’s votes did not align with their testimony during their confirmation hearings.
“This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon,” Collins said.
Collins voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch to serve on the court, for which she faced criticism because of concerns about how their appointments might impact a women’s right to choose.
Collins is one of two GOP Senators who is on the records supporting efforts to codify a woman’s right to choose.
“The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability. This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint,” Collins said.
Adding, “Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government.”
Jun 24, 1:11 pm
Governors respond to SCOTUS decision
Democratic and Republican governors across the U.S. responded to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, railed against the ruling but vowed that abortion access is still protected in the state.
“Today, the Supreme Court took away the right of millions of Americans to make decisions about their own bodies,” she said in a statement. “This decision is a grave injustice. I want everyone to know that abortion remains safe, accessible, and legal in New York.”
In neighboring New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy referred to the decision as “backwards” and “appalling.”
“In New Jersey, women will always have full autonomy over their own bodies and the right to make their own medical decisions,” he said in a statement.
Michigan Gov, Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, reflected those sentiments,
adding, “I want every Michigander to know that I am more determined than ever to protect access to safe, legal abortion. I’ll never stop fighting.”
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said the Supreme Court made the correct decision in overruling the 1973 decision.
“The Supreme Court correctly overturns Roe v. Wade & reinstates the right of states to protect innocent, unborn children,” he said in a statement. “Texas is a pro-life state. We will ALWAYS fight to save every child from the ravages of abortion.”
Similarly, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also a Republican, said in a statement, “The Supreme Court of the United States has rightfully returned power to the people and their elected representatives in the states. I’m proud to be a pro-life Governor and plan to take every action I can to protect life.”
Jun 24, 1:02 pm
Tensions run high outside Mississippi abortion clinic at center of court case after ruling
Clinic workers and anti-abortion rights activists shouted at each other and grew more angry outside the Mississippi abortion clinic at the center of the Supreme Court case.
One clinic worker was seen going inside because she was so emotional. The worker was in tears as she tried to hold up a sign that said they were open. Hand-drawn signs were brought out of the clinic because anti-abortion rights activists were turning women away, telling them abortions were now illegal in the state.
Women and couples stopped their cars at the intersection because they were confused as clinic workers hastily tried to tell them they were open, but likely not for long.
A pro-abortion protester outside the clinic told ABC News the decision means they are looking at suffering and death.
“We see what’s coming. We know exactly what’s going on here. Welcome to the vulture pit. Women without needs will suffer. We’ve been answering these for years but here we are. America’s not ready for what’s about to happen with the fall of Rome,” one unnamed protestor said.
An anti-abortion protester celebrated the decision, calling it “bittersweet.”
“Certainly we’re thankful that Roe has been overturned, but our hearts still break over the millions of unborn children … aborted in this country and it’s just gonna be a struggle going to states that still allow abortion and hopefully they’ll close this clinic down as quickly as possible and we’ll move on and help other places.”
-ABC News’ Cherise Rudy and Stephanie Ramos
Jun 24, 12:49 pm
Abortion provider says it’s deploying a fleet of mobile clinics along border states
Just The Pill, a nonprofit abortion group, announced a program called Abortion Delivered and vowed to deploy a fleet of mobile clinics to offer “mobile procedural abortions” along the border of states that impose restrictions.
“By operating on state borders, we will reduce travel burdens for patients in states with bans or severe limits,” said Dr. Julie Amaon, the medical director of Just The Pill and Abortion Delivered, in a statement.
Abortion law and restrictions vary by state. Some states have trigger laws in place that immediately ban abortion once the federal protection of Roe was overturned.
While state rules can differ, FDA regulations say women can be prescribed medical abortion pills by a certified provider at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and take them at home.
“We are undaunted. We will bring care to the people who most need it, and we will defy reproductive repression by providing more affordable and accessible care,” said Amaon.
Jun 24, 12:46 pm
JPMorgan Chase to cover employee travel for abortion
JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation’s largest banks, has informed U.S. employees that it will cover the costs of travel for those seeking an abortion who cannot access the procedure legally in their home state, according to a memo sent to employees on June 1 and obtained by ABC News.
The company will begin covering the travel next month, according to a company web page that details the policy.
Several corporations in recent weeks, including Amazon and Starbucks, have announced expanded health benefits to pay for travel fees incurred by workers seeking an abortion if the procedure is unavailable near where they live.
Yelp, Tesla, Citigroup, Apple and Salesforce have also expanded abortion coverage in recent weeks for employees to include costs for travel when necessary.
The JPMorgan Chase memo was first reported by CNBC.
Jun 24, 12:39 pm
AG Merrick Garland says DOJ ‘strongly disagrees’ with ruling, will protect rights
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice “strong disagrees” with the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, and added his department “will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom.”
He outlined several steps the department will take in furthering that goal, including protecting access to health care in states where abortion remains legal, supporting Congress’ efforts “to codify Americans’ reproductive rights” and work to protect access to mifepristone, the so-called abortion pill.
“The Supreme Court has eliminated an established right that has been an essential component of women’s liberty for half a century — a right that has safeguarded women’s ability to participate fully and equally in society,” Garland wrote in a statement.
Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama in 2016 to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat but never received a vote because Republicans refused to take it up.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin
Jun 24, 12:18 pm
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists condemns ruling
Dr. Iffath A. Hoskins, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Supreme Court decision is “a direct blow to bodily autonomy, reproductive health, patient safety and health equity in the United States.”
“The restrictions put forth are not based on science nor medicine; they allow unrelated third parties to make decisions that rightfully and ethically should be made only by individuals and their physicians,” Hoskins said.
She said the decision will disproportionately impact people already facing barriers to health care and that laws will make people face possible risks of pregnancy, including “the morbidity and mortality associated with childbirth.”
“The principle of shared decision-making is founded on respect for peoples’ expertise in their own bodies and lives and clinicians’ expertise in science and medicine,” Hoskins said. “There is no room within the sanctuary of the patient-physician relationship for individual lawmakers who wish to impose their personal religious or ideological views on others.”
Jun 24, 12:16 pm
NAACP says SCOTUS decision will ‘disproportionately impact Black women and lower-income communities of color’
Following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaders from racial justice groups are expressing outrage.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision marks a significant regression of our country. As a legal professional, I am astounded by this decision. As a Black woman, I am outraged,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel for the NAACP, in part of a statement.
“There is no denying the fact that this is a direct attack on all women and Black women stand to be disproportionately impacted by the court’s egregious assault on basic human rights,” she said.
Portia White, the policy and legislative affairs vice president for the NAACP, encouraged Americans to “fight back” by voting.
“If you’re not registered to vote, or know someone who isn’t, now is the moment. This is no time for anyone to sit on the sidelines,” White wrote in part of a statement.
Jun 24, 12:04 pm
NARAL Pro-Choice America condemns court decision, calling it ‘worst-case scenario’
Mini Timmaraju, president of pro-abortion group NARAL, called the court’s decision “the worst-case scenario” and warned the anti-abortion movement and its political allies want to enact a nationwide ban on abortion.
“The impact on the real lives of real people will be devastating. The Supreme Court has given the green light to extremist state lawmakers who will waste no time springing into action to put in place total bans on abortion,” Timmaraju said in a statement.
“But it is not the end of this fight. The 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion will not let this stand. There is an election in November, and extremist politicians will learn: when you come for our rights, we come for your seats,” Timmaraju said.
Jun 24, 12:04 pm
Capitol Police says demonstrators can protest near SCOTUS
Capitol Police said in a tweet Friday that demonstrators can protest near the Supreme Court but must listen to police instruction.
“Demonstrators are gathering on Capitol Grounds, near the U.S. Supreme Court.” the tweet read.
“Protesters are allowed to peacefully demonstrate, however they must follow the officer’s instructions so that everyone stays safe.”
Jun 24, 11:45 am
Mississippi’s only abortion clinic will be forced to close after court overturns Roe
Now that the Supreme Court has overruled Roe v. Wade, Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, the clinic at the center of the court decision, will be forced to close.
The court’s decision will uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks, but the clinic will be forced to close in coming weeks when Mississippi’s trigger law takes effect, banning abortions entirely.
Women in nearby states, especially in Texas, had traveled to Jackson seeking care, with 30 to 40% of patients being from out of state.
Shannon Brewer, director of that state’s only abortion clinic still open, told ABC News ahead of the ruling that she sees a potentially more dangerous time for women, especially lower-income, minority women, grappling with unwanted or unintended pregnancies.
“No law, no court decision will stop abortion in Mississipi or anywhere. A woman who is desperate enough will try anything,” she said.
The clinic performs about 2,500 abortions a year, only up to 16 weeks into pregnancy.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Jun 24, 11:33 am
President Biden to speak at 12:30 p.m.
President Joe Biden will speak on the abortion ruling at 12:30 p.m., according to the White House.
Following the release of the draft opinion in May, Biden called abortion a “fundamental” right.
“Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” Biden said in a statement at the time.
Jun 24, 11:14 am
Planned Parenthood warns all ‘freedoms are on the line’
Planned Parenthood warned Friday that the Supreme Court overturning the right to abortion is just the beginning, warning there is a threat to Americans’ rights.
“Make no mistake – if they can take away the right to abortion, a right we’ve held for nearly 50 years, they won’t stop here: All of our freedoms are on the line,” Planned Parenthood said.
The group said the court’s decision to overturn abortion rights will impact women in marginalized communities.
“Due to centuries of racism and systemic discrimination, we already know who will feel the consequences of this horrific decision most acutely: Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, those living in rural areas, young people, immigrants, and those having difficulties making ends meet,” Planned Parenthood said.
Jun 24, 11:13 am
Abortion rights groups blast ‘infuriating’ court decision
Abortion rights groups responded to the Supreme Court decision Friday overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Today, the Supreme Court eviscerated the last shreds of our national right to abortion and blatantly turned its back on our dignity,” said Morgan Hopkins, interim executive director for campaigns and strategies at All* Above All, in a statement.
She added, “The ripple effects will be felt far and wide, in every state across the country. And to be clear — today’s decision is the result of a decades-long scheme to dismantle access to abortion care.”
Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, associate professor of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, said the decision “will fall hardest on women of color and low-income people, who already experience extreme health disparities under a racist health care system.”
Debasri Ghosh, the managing Director at the National Network of Abortion Funds, said the decision was expected but nonetheless “infuriating.”
“The harm of abortion restrictions will now fall even harder on Black, Indigenous and people of color, people already excluded from our health care by systemic racism and economic injustice,” she added.
Jun 24, 11:10 am
Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton react to decision
Former first ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton reacted to the Supreme Court decision, both condemning it.
Obama, in her statement, said repeatedly that she is “heartbroken,” including “for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies.”
Clinton, who also served as secretary of state, said, “Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women’s rights and human rights.”
“This horrifying decision will have devastating consequences,” Obama wrote in her full statement.
Jun 24, 11:02 am
March for Life says court decision is just the beginning of work to ‘protect life’
Anti-abortion group March for Life praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, overturning federal protections for abortion.
“Today, the ability to determine whether and when to limit abortion was returned to the American people who have every right to enact laws like Mississippi’s which protect mothers and unborn babies after 15 weeks,” March for Life said in a statement.
The group called Roe v. Wade an “unpopular and extreme” abortion policy that had been imposed on the U.S. Polling shows 58% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
“We are so grateful to the countless pro-life people of goodwill who contributed and sacrificed to make today possible – including the millions of those who have marched for life over the years – and we recognize that this is just the beginning of our work to advance policies that protect life. We will continue to march until abortion is unthinkable because equality begins in the womb,” March for Life said.
Jun 24, 10:55 am
Pelosi condemns Trump, Republicans in response
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Republicans in response to the Supreme Court decision, saying in a statement, “Because of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party and their supermajority on the Supreme Court, American women today have less freedom than their mothers.”
Pelosi further said there would be more restrictions on reproductive health care, claiming, “Republicans want to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care and women for terminating a pregnancy. GOP extremists are even threatening to criminalize contraception, as well as in-vitro fertilization and post-miscarriage care.”
She called the ruling “outrageous and heart-wrenching.”
Jun 24, 10:54 am
Schumer calls today ‘one of darkest days our country has ever seen’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a statement following the Dobbs decision, called Friday one of the “darkest days our country has ever seen” and directly blamed “MAGA Republicans” for the decision.
“These justices were intentionally appointed by Republicans to overturn Roe v. Wade and every Republican Senator knew this would happen if they voted to confirm these radical justices,” Schumer said in a statement. “These MAGA Republicans are all complicit in today’s decision and all of its consequences for women and families in this country.”
He pointed to the upcoming midterm elections and called on voters to support Democratic causes.
“Today’s decision makes crystal clear the contrast as we approach the November elections: elect more MAGA Republicans if you want nationwide abortion bans, the jailing of women and doctors and no exemptions for rape or incest. Or, elect more pro-choice Democrats to save Roe and protect a woman’s right to make their own decisions about their body, not politicians.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Jun 24, 10:46 am
Former VP Pence praises SCOTUS decision
Former Vice President Mike Pence praised the SCOTUS decision Friday overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Today, Life Won,” Pence said in a statement. “By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States has given the American people a new beginning for life, and I commend the justices in the majority for having the courage of their convictions.”
Pence said the 6-3 decision, which overturned 50 years of precedent, “righted a historic wrong.”
He continued, “Having been given this second chance for Life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.”
The former vice president has been a proponent of anti-abortion laws for years and has called numerous times on the court to overturn the decision.
Anti-abortion group March for Life praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, overturning federal protections for abortion.
“Today, the ability to determine whether and when to limit abortion was returned to the American people who have every right to enact laws like Mississippi’s which protect mothers and unborn babies after 15 weeks,” March for Life said in a statement.
The group called Roe v. Wade an “unpopular and extreme” abortion policy that had been imposed on the U.S. Polling shows 58% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
“We are so grateful to the countless pro-life people of goodwill who contributed and sacrificed to make today possible – including the millions of those who have marched for life over the years – and we recognize that this is just the beginning of our work to advance policies that protect life. We will continue to march until abortion is unthinkable because equality begins in the womb,” March for Life said.
Jun 24, 10:54 am
Schumer calls today ‘one of darkest days our country has ever seen’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a statement following the Dobbs decision, called Friday one of the “darkest days our country has ever seen” and directly blamed “MAGA Republicans” for the decision.
“These justices were intentionally appointed by Republicans to overturn Roe v. Wade and every Republican Senator knew this would happen if they voted to confirm these radical justices,” Schumer said in a statement. “These MAGA Republicans are all complicit in today’s decision and all of its consequences for women and families in this country.”
He pointed to the upcoming midterm elections and called on voters to support Democratic causes.
“Today’s decision makes crystal clear the contrast as we approach the November elections: elect more MAGA Republicans if you want nationwide abortion bans, the jailing of women and doctors and no exemptions for rape or incest. Or, elect more pro-choice Democrats to save Roe and protect a woman’s right to make their own decisions about their body, not politicians.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Jun 24, 10:46 am
Former VP Pence praises SCOTUS decision
Former Vice President Mike Pence praised the SCOTUS decision Friday overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Today, Life Won,” Pence said in a statement. “By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States has given the American people a new beginning for life, and I commend the justices in the majority for having the courage of their convictions.”
Pence said the 6-3 decision, which overturned 50 years of precedent, “righted a historic wrong.”
He continued, “Having been given this second chance for Life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.”
The former vice president has been a proponent of anti-abortion laws for years and has called numerous times on the court to overturn the decision.
Jun 24, 10:45 am
Barack Obama calls decision ‘devastating’
Former President Barack Obama responded to the Supreme Court decision, saying although this opinion was expected, “that doesn’t make it any less devastating.”
“Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans,” he wrote in a statement.
The former president further called on people to support groups like Planned Parenthood and United State of Women that “have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years—and will continue to be on the front lines of this fight.”
Jun 24, 10:44 am
Anti-abortion groups call court ruling historic victory
Anti-abortion groups praised the Supreme Court decision to overturn federal abortion rights on Friday.
“Today marks an historic human rights victory for unborn children and their mothers and a bright pro-life future for our nation,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, in a statement.
“Every legislature in the land, in every single state and Congress, is now free to allow the will of the people to make its way into the law through our elected representatives,” Dannenfelser added.
Students for Life, another pro-abortion group, also called the ruling a “win,” saying, “Roe v. Wade has been a cancer growing in our Constitution resulting in more than 63 million deaths. Today, the court has cut it out.”
“The injustice of Roe has finally come to an end, and the momentum to protect life in law is finally on the side of innocent preborn children and their mothers who deserve our help,” said Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins.
Jun 24, 10:36 am
House minority leader applauds abortion decision
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, immediately lauded the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.
“Every unborn child is precious, extraordinary, and worthy of protection,” the trio of GOP leaders wrote in a statement minutes after the decision was announced. “We applaud this historic ruling, which will save countless innocent lives.
“The Supreme Court is right to return the power to protect the unborn to the people’s elected representatives in Congress and the states. In the days and weeks following this decision, we must work to continue to reject extreme policies that seek to allow late-term abortions and taxpayer dollars to fund these elective procedures.”
McCarthy added “more work remains” to protect the most vulnerable among us.
Jun 24, 10:26 am
Supreme Court overturns Roe, leaves abortion decisions up to states
The Supreme Court struck down 50 years of precedent on Friday, striking down abortion rights at the federal level.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely—the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
