51��Ƶ

More than 200 members of Congress — nearly all of them Republicans — on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to reconsider the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, prompting a wave of protests from Democrats and reproductive rights groups. The 207 lawmakers signaled their position in an amicus brief supporting a restrictive Louisiana abortion law that is expected to be reviewed by the Supreme Court on March 4. The 2014 law, which was stayed by the Supreme Court in February, would require doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. (Sonmez, 1/2)

Roughly 80 percent of the Republicans in Congress — 39 senators and 166 House members — and two centrist House Democrats signed the amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in the case of June Medical Services L.L.C. v. Gee. They also asked the justices to consider overturning another landmark abortion ruling in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey. “The court has exercised that judgment to overrule precedent in over 230 cases throughout its history,” the lawmakers wrote. “Forty-six years after Roe was decided, it remains a radically unsettled precedent: Two of the seven justices who originally joined the majority subsequently repudiated it in whole or in part, and virtually every abortion decision since has been closely divided.” (Stolberg, 1/2)

The Republican brief comes on the heels of nearly 200 congressional Democrats filing a brief last month defending Roe and Louisiana abortion providers. The Louisiana challenge is the first abortion-related case that will be heard since Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch took the bench. Supporters of reproductive freedom fear that the case will present the justices with a chance to chip away at abortion rights. (De Vogue and Kelly, 1/2)

June Medical Services challenged a Louisiana law, passed in 2014 and currently not in effect, which required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital within 30 miles of the facility where the abortion is performed. If the law is allowed to be implemented, all of Louisiana's abortion clinics would close, as first reported in October by CBS News. (Segers, 1/2)

A federal district judge blocked the law in 2017. But in 2018, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it, arguing that the law would not impose an "undue burden," which has been the high court's key legal test for challenges to abortion restrictions. The Supreme Court reimposed the stay in February to weigh its constitutionality, and it said Tuesday that it would hear the case on March 4. (Clark, 1/2)

Republican senators who did not sign include: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowksi (Alaska), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Martha McSally (Ariz.), Shelley Moore Capito (W. Va.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), David Perdue (Ga.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Richard Shelby (Ala.). (Perano, 1/2)

Nearly every Republican member of Congress from Ohio on Thursday signed on to a legal brief that urges the U.S. Supreme Court to use a Louisiana abortion case the court will hear in March to reconsider the historic Roe v. Wade case that set forth a “right to abortion," and to overrule it, “if appropriate.” (Eaton, 1/2)

Two Democrats, Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.) and Rep. Daniel Lipinski (Ill.), also signed onto the brief. Lipinski has come under fire for his anti-abortion stance, and is being targeted in his upcoming primary by a progressive Democrat. (Weixel, 1/2)

Abortion rights advocates sounded the alarm Thursday, warning that the legal battle over Roe is now in full swing. “The anti-choice movement is no longer trying to hide their real agenda,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, in a statement. “They are gunning to end Roe, criminalize abortion and punish women. If it wasn’t clear why we fought like hell to stop [Supreme Court justice] Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation before, it should be crystal clear now.” (Burns, 1/2)

Read the amicus brief here. (1/2)

White evangelical Protestants stand noticeably apart from other religious people on abortion restrictions and LGBT discrimination protections, two of the most politically divisive issues at play in the 2020 presidential election, according to a new poll. The findings point to an evangelical Protestant constituency that’s more firmly aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda than other Americans of faith. White evangelicals were also more likely than members of other faiths to say religion should have at least some influence on policymaking. (Schor and Swanson, 1/2)

The teenager was just 15, and recovering from a rape, when she realized she was pregnant. This young woman, whom NPR has agreed not to name, says she knew right away that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy. But like a lot of states, Massachusetts required — and still requires — minors to get a parent's consent before obtaining an abortion. (Bebinger, 1/2)