Abortion confusion, ICWA reaction, and animal shelter plea
VNN Weekly Digest July 3-9
Here’s a look at the week’s top stories:
After court rulings, Oklahoma doctors are still confused about when abortion is legal to save a patient’s life
(OKLAHOMA) A year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and most abortions became illegal in Oklahoma, a pregnant patient came into an Enid hospital with her water broken weeks before the baby had a chance at survival. Dr. Rebecca Lewis, a family physician practicing obstetrics at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, and her patients were left to decide between inducing delivery early, or waiting until the baby died in the womb or the patient went into septic shock.
Indian Country reacts on the ICWA decision
(MUSCOGEE NATION) The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that was enacted in 1978. The recent Haaland v. Brackeen case challenged the law, with petitioners arguing that ICWA was unconstitutional and that it violated the anti-commandeering principle of the Tenth Amendment. This case started on November 9, 2022 and wrapped up June 15. The Supreme Court voted to make the decision on June 15, 2023 to uphold ICWA, 7-2.
Broken Arrow shelter pleads for donations to avoid bankruptcy
(OKLAHOMA) Many animal rescues in the Tulsa metro are bursting at the seams and find themselves in financial straits due to a lack of donations, some of it stemming back to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the situation is so dire at Broken Arrow Rescue Community (BARC) that the organization is considering filing for bankruptcy.
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WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA
(NATIONAL) Heavy rain and instances of flash flooding likely across parts of the Northeast, lingering threat across New England, rounds of severe weather and flash flooding persist across the Central/Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley, and anomalously hot weather continues for portions of the Florida Peninsula, Texas, the Southwest, and the interior Pacific Northwest.
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