1. Federal appeals court hears case on abortion pill, Judges express skepticism of DOJ defense, By Alex Swoyer, The Washington Times, May 18, 2023, Pg. A6 The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday from pro-life doctors over banning the abortion pill after the Supreme Court refused to impose limitations on its use — for now. The three-judge panel, composed of all Republican appointees, appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s argument that the pro-life doctors don’t have legal standing — or have not suffered sufficient injury — to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancies. Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a Bush appointee, asked the federal government about one of the plaintiffs, a physician, who said she was forced to perform emergency surgery after a failed chemical abortion. … The 5th Circuit heard arguments for about two hours on Wednesday, less than a month after the Supreme Court issued an order keeping federal rules in place for using the abortion drug mifepristone while the legal battle moves through the court system. … https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/17/federal-appeals-court-says-governments-defense-abo/__________________________________________________________ 2. South Carolina moves closer to abortion ban, a Southern trend that puts pressure on Virginia, By Kimberlee Kruesi, Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, May 18, 2023 South Carolina became the latest state to move toward a near total abortion ban Wednesday with legislation that if enacted would leave Virginia an outlier in the South as a place where women have unrestricted access to abortions amid a rapid rise in restrictions in the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned. South Carolina is among the last bastions in the region for those seeking legal abortions, but that status could end soon. Access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy — often before women know they’re pregnant — under the bill that now must pass the state Senate, which previously rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw abortions but could give final passage to the new legislation next week. And most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will be banned in North Carolina beginning July 1 after the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto late Tuesday. Abortion is banned or severely restricted in much of the South, including bans throughout pregnancy in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. In Georgia, it’s allowed only in the first six weeks. …https://apnews.com/article/abortion-bans-north-carolina-south-carolina-da99a7f6c4d27297020bc2622c065345__________________________________________________________ 3. Cardinal Parolin: Europe cannot accept continued war of aggression in Ukraine, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin calls for the Council of Europe to take action and establish “a definitive and just peace in Ukraine”., By Devin Watkins, Vatican News, May 17, 2023, 5:49 AM Heads of state and government from across Europe gathered at the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe, a two-day meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin represented the Holy See at the Summit, since the Holy See enjoys observer status at the Council of Europe, an international organization that seeks to uphold human rights and the rule of law in Europe. … Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin concluded his brief address to the Council of Europe Summit with an assurance that the Holy See will do its utmost to pursue peace across Europe and the world. “This is the time to take action and establish a definitive and just peace in Ukraine, and in all the other so-called ‘grey’ areas of Europe,” he said. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-05/cardinal-pietro-parolin-holy-see-council-europe-war-ukraine.html__________________________________________________________

TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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