International
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allows emergency abortions to be done in Idaho
– The United States Supreme Court decided on Thursday to temporarily allow abortions in medical emergencies in the state of Idaho to protect the life and health of the mother.
The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, formally dismissed an appeal on the strict prohibition of abortion in Idaho by 6 votes to 3, although the central issues of the case were not considered.
The document was published a day after it was briefly posted by mistake on the Supreme Court’s website and published by a news agency.
The decision re-establishes, therefore, a ruling of a lower court that temporarily allowed state hospitals to perform emergency abortions in hospitals if necessary to protect the mother’s health, while the case progresses in the lower courts.
Three of the court conservatives (President John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett) sided with the three liberals (Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson) when they dismissed Idaho’s appeal.
Judges Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissaged.
The case focuses on whether a federal law aimed at guaranteeing emergency care for any patient – the Medical Treatment and Emergency Work Act (Emtala) – replaces the abortion ban in Idaho, one of the strictest in the country.
This has been the first time that the highest court has studied the state restrictions on abortion that came after the TS itself eliminated the Roe vs Wade doctrine that had protected the right to abortion at the national level.
This timid victory for abortion advocates is in addition to the victory achieved after the decision of the Supreme Court to reject a challenge to the approval of the abortion pill, the most widely used method to abort today in the United States.
On that occasion, again, the highest court did not rule on the merits of the case.
After the decision was heard, President Joe Biden recalled in a statement that it is only valid “while this case returns to the lower courts.”
“No woman should be denied attention, forced to wait until she is on the verge of death or forced to flee her state of origin just to receive the medical attention she needs. This should never happen in the United States,” but “it’s exactly what is happening in states across the country since the Supreme Court annulled Roe against Wade,” he said.
According to Biden, who tonight is facing the first debate of the White House race against Donald Trump, doctors “should be able to practice medicine” and “patients should be able to receive the care they need.”
“We will continue to fight for women’s right to make deeply personal health care decisions and we will continue to fight to restore Roe’s protections against Wade in federal law, for all women in all states of the country,” she said.
Since in June 2022 the U.S. supreme court, with a conservative majority, eliminated federal protection against abortion by annulling the ‘Roe vs. Wade’ ruling, dozens of states – Idaho among them – have carried out a frontal attack on women’s rights by implementing restrictive anti-abortion laws.
That same year, the Administration of the current US President, Joe Biden, sued the state of Idaho alleging that the restrictions on this procedure are regulated in part by federal law and cannot be interposed when it comes to saving the lives of pregnant women.
To defend this position, the 40-year-old Emtala Law was invoked, which obliges hospitals that receive federal funds to provide emergency medical care to anyone, also for reproductive reasons.
In the opinion of the vice president of reproductive rights and health of the National Center for Women’s Law, Gretchen Borchelt, “the Supreme Court does not deserve any credit for this decision.”
“This is the minimum that pregnant people and suppliers in Idaho deserve,” he said in a statement.
“Instead of issuing a decision that would unequivocally reaffirm that emergency abortion care is protected by a long-standing federal law, the Court ruled out this issue, opening the possibility that in the future more pregnant women will be denied care that saves their lives and health,” he added.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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