UNITED STATES NEWS

A federal appeals court just made medication abortions harder to get in Guam

Aug 3, 2023, 1:49 PM

People seeking medication abortions on the U.S. Territory of Guam must first have an in-person consultation with a doctor, a federal appeals court says, even though the nearest physician willing to prescribe the medication is 3,800 miles (6,100 kilometers) and an 8-hour flight away.

The ruling handed down Tuesday by a unanimous three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could make it even more difficult for pregnant people to access abortions on the remote island where 85% of residents are Catholic and about 1 in 5 live below the poverty line. The last doctor to provide abortions in Guam retired in 2018, leaving people seeking the procedure without local options.

That changed in 2021 when a lower court partially lifted the territory’s in-person consultation requirement and said two Guam-licensed physicians in Hawaii could provide medication abortions via telemedicine to people in Guam.

The appellate court panel reversed that ruling Tuesday, saying Guam can enact the laws it thinks are best, even if others find them unwise.

“Guam has legitimate interests in requiring an in-person consultation: the consultation can underscore the medical and moral gravity of an abortion and encourage a robust exchange of information,” wrote Judge Kenneth K. Lee.

Lee was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 along with fellow panel member Judge Daniel P. Collins. The third member of the panel, Judge Carlos T. Bea, was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2003.

Abortion rights advocates contend having no doctors able to provide abortions on the island creates a significant challenge to people seeking care. The court ruled other doctors there could conduct the in-person consultations even if they do not want to personally perform abortions themselves. It’s not clear if any physicians in Guam are willing to take on that role.

“We are deeply disappointed that the court is permitting medically unnecessary government mandates to once again be enforced,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project. “Today’s decision imposes unnecessary obstacles on people seeking abortion in Guam, but make no mistake, abortion remains legal in Guam and we will continue to do everything in our power to make sure it stays both legal and accessible.”

Guam currently allows abortions in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy — or in the first 26 weeks in the case of rape or incest, grave fetal defects or serious risks to the pregnant person’s life or health.

A 2012 Guam law required an in-person consultation 24 hours before an abortion. Two years ago, Hawaii-based Drs. Shandhini Raidoo and Bliss Kaneshiro sued over the law, saying they wanted to provide medication abortions to Guam residents via telemedicine. They argued that there was no rational government interest for the law and that it placed an undue burden on abortion-seeking patients. The lower court ruled in their favor in 2021, waiving the requirement and making it easier for abortion-seeking residents to find care.

In Tuesday’s ruling, the appellate court said Guam can require an in-person consultation requirement because it has a “legitimate governmental interest of safeguarding fetal life.”

The appellate panel also suggested people might be more likely to be talked out of abortions during in-person consultations.

“In the more solemn context of a face-to-face meeting—unlike a Zoom call—a pregnant woman may decide against an abortion after having a candid conversation at the clinic about the gestational age of her fetus and concluding that the fetus represents human life,” Lee wrote for the panel.

Vanessa L. Williams, a Guam attorney who represents the doctors, said there is no health benefit to preventing telemedicine visits for abortions.

“A person’s health should guide important medical decisions throughout pregnancy,” Williams said, “not politics.”

Another abortion-related lawsuit is still making its way through the courts: Attorney General Douglas Moylan is fighting in court to reinstate a 1990 law that made it a felony for a doctor to perform abortions except to save a woman’s life or prevent grave danger to her health. The U.S. District Court on Guam blocked it from being enforced in 1992, citing Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. It was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022.

A federal court in Guam denied Moylan’s reinstatement request in March of this year, but Moylan has appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

___

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Komenda reported from Tacoma, Washington.

United States News

FILE - White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi attends a speech by President Joe Biden about supply c...

Associated Press

Biden rule aims to reduce methane emissions, targeting US oil and gas industry for global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy. The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rule will sharply reduce methane and other […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Trump and DeSantis will hold dueling campaign events in Iowa with the caucuses just six weeks away

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis plans on Saturday to complete his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties, a timeworn tactic for presidential candidates hoping to make their mark in the leadoff state over months mingling with voters at the state’s diners, cookouts and Pizza Ranches. But the Florida governor’s moment, […]

6 hours ago

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is shown before administering the oath of office t...

Associated Press

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor paved a path for women on the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — One fall day in 2010, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor slipped into the courtroom where she worked for nearly 25 years to take in an “amazing” sight. The first — and for 12 years, the only — woman on the high court saw three women in black robes among the […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

US Navy plans to raise jet plane off Hawaii coral reef using inflatable cylinders

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll a jet plane off a coral reef in Hawaii before removal from the ocean waters where the aircraft crashed on Nov. 20. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the salvage effort, said […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Las Vegas police search for suspect after 5 homeless people are shot, killing 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Five homeless people were shot in Las Vegas on Friday, two of them fatally, and police were searching for a lone suspect, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. near a freeway overpass in the northeastern part of the city, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Mark Lourenco. […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Judge rejects calls to halt winter construction work on Willow oil project in Alaska during appeal

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Friday rejected requests from environmental groups to halt winter construction work for the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope while the groups’ legal fight over the drilling project wages on. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason just last month upheld the Biden administration’s […]

9 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

(KTAR News Graphic)...

KTAR launches online holiday auction benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley

KTAR is teaming up with The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley for a holiday auction benefitting thousands of Valley kids.

...

Dierdre Woodruff

Interest rates may have peaked. Should you buy a CD, high-yield savings account, or a fixed annuity?

Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, and it looks like the Fed has paused hikes. This may be the best time to lock in rates for long-term, low-risk financial products like fixed annuities.

Follow @KTAR923...

West Hunsaker at Morris Hall supports Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona

KTAR's Community Spotlight this month focuses on Morris Hall and its commitment to supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona.

A federal appeals court just made medication abortions harder to get in Guam