The latest model legislation would “ensure that all parties participating in an illegal abortion are subject to enforcement” – expanding that definition to include not just individuals or groups that help provide specific care or instruction to someone seeking an abortion, but also internet providers and companies that “host or maintain a website, or provide internet service, that encourages or facilitates efforts to obtain an illegal abortion.” The model also addresses recent statements from prosecutors and other officials: the law would allow state attorneys general to adopt abortion-related criminal cases if prosecutors refuse to."
STORY: "Post-Roe States Advised to Fight Abortion like Organized Crime," by Justice Reporter Intern Audrey Nielsen, published by The Crime Report, on June 21, 2022.
GIST: "A legal team for the National Right to Life Committee, which describes itself as the largest anti-abortion group in the country, has drafted model anti-abortion legislation for states to adopt, in addition to criminalizing abortion, the Independent reports.
The model legislation, which would be introduced following the anticipated Supreme Court ruling against Roe v Wade, would also use organized crime statutes to charge anyone “aiding and abetting” an abortion with conspiracy under “RICO-style laws” modeled on the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act that lays out charges for activity performed “as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise,” attorneys said.
The proposed bill would would make it illegal for organizations or individuals to help connect patients with abortion care and resources over the phone or online, ban websites that provide information about abortions and criminalize funding groups that pay for patient travel costs from operating in the state.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule this summer to either maintain the 14th Amendment right to privacy protections for abortion established by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey or radically curb abortion rights, potentially paving the way for states to regulate or ban abortion entirely.
The Court is expected to release its opinion on Mississippi’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization within weeks.
The Mississippi case deals with a challenge to a law that banned abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy or later, the kind of state legislation rejected by the justices in Casey.
A draft opinion on Dobbs leaked in early May saw the majority choosing to overturn Roe’s extension of the due process clause’s privacy protections to the right to choose to have an abortion.
The entire story can be read at:
model-anti-abortion-bill-for-states-uses-organized-crime-statutes
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
