Wyoming becomes first US state to ban abortion pills

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2 years ago

March 18, 2023

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Wyoming has become the first US state to ban abortion pills.

Those who “prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion” will face up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $9,000 (£7,300).

However, the law adds that women “upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted”.

Wyoming’s Republican Governor Mark Gordon signed the bill into law after it was approved by state legislators earlier this month.

It comes in the wake of a US Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade judgment, which granted the constitutional right of American women to have abortions.

Under Wyoming’s new law, “morning-after” pills, prescription contraceptive medication used after sex but before a pregnancy can be confirmed, will be exempted from the ban.

There will also be an exemption for treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health”, as well as any treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines”.

As well as the ban on abortion pills, Governor Gordon allowed a separate and more sweeping measure restricting abortion to become law without his signature.

He said signing the bill would result in a lawsuit that will “delay any resolution to the constitutionality of the abortion ban in Wyoming”.

The state is currently pushing for more sweeping laws banning abortions, with an early abortion ban bill currently at the centre of a court battle.

The previous bill was blocked by the courts after providers claimed that the law violated the Wyoming state constitution’s guarantee of freedom in health care decisions.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Texas is considering ordering a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone in response to a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups.

Wyoming American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocacy director Antonio Serrano criticised Governor Gordon’s decision to sign the abortion pill law.

“A person’s health, not politics, should guide important medical decisions – including the decision to have an abortion,” Mr Serrano said.

Fifteen states already have limited access to abortion pills, including six that require an in-person physician visit, in the wake of the Roe v Wade judgment.

Since the reversal of the judgment, abortion restrictions have been up to states to set their own legislation, instead of the right to abortion being enshrined as a constitutional right.

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

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3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

The Belgian government has said it will officially recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month.

The country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, announced it will join the UK, France, Canada, and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state.

Belgium will also introduce “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government, he said, including a ban on imports from West Bank settlements and possible judicial prosecutions.

The Israeli foreign ministry and its Belgian embassy have not yet commented on the announcement.

However, its foreign ministry previously said the UK’s plan to recognise Palestine “constitutes a reward for Hamas”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions, those being:

• Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“

• Israel agrees to a ceasefire

• Israel commits to a long-term sustainable peace – reviving the prospect of a two-state solution

• Israel must allow the UN to restart the supply of aid

• There must be no annexations in the West Bank

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”

The UN General Assembly session in New York will begin on 9 September. Ireland, Spain, and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio revoked the visas of 81 delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – blocking them from attending the general assembly.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is now more than 63,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It added that nine more people, including three children, died of malnutrition and starvation over Monday, raising deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump’s aid cuts

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3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump's aid cuts

Earthquakes represent a constant danger in Afghanistan – a country which sits across three geological fault lines.

This most recent rupture near the city of Jalalabad – leaving more than 800 people dead – represents the third major quake in the past four years.

But the people of this impoverished nation are vulnerable in a number of ways.

The impact of foreign aid cuts

Since the Taliban took control in 2021, the international community has withdrawn much of the financial support which formed the bulk of government spending in Afghanistan.

Even humanitarian aid, which generally bypasses government institutions, has shrunk substantially – from $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in 2022 to $767m (£566.6m) this year.

The US government, through its international development arm USAID, provided 45% of all assistance granted to Afghanistan last year – but the Trump administration has slashed those sums.

The UK, along with France, Germany, Sweden, and others have also made deep cuts to humanitarian aid.

As a consequence, hundreds of hospitals and local health clinics in the country have been shut this year and related medical posts have been lost.

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This crisis comes as the country tries to absorb millions of people who fled when the Taliban took power. More than two million have come back this year, with Pakistan and Iran taking measures to force their return.

On arrival, they discover a country where more than half the population requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UN – with millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

Large parts of northern Afghanistan have been stricken with the long-term drought.

A catastrophe compounded in a nation that ranks as one of the poorest – and most desperate – on Earth.

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

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3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a landslide in a village in western Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) has said.

The rebel group said only one survivor was found, and that the village in the Marrah Mountains area, in the Darfur region, was destroyed.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement that the landslide struck on Sunday, 31 August, after days of heavy rainfall.

He appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies for help in recovering the bodies.

The SLM controls the area located in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

Fleeing the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents had sought shelter in the Marrah Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

In January, the US determined that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide in Sudan.

The RSF rejected the claim and said: “America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong.”

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The ensuing devastation has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded – with over 11 million people forced out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Minni Minnawi, leader of a faction of the group, said in March last year that 1,500 troops would support the Sudanese army in the civil war against the RSF, according to the Sudan Tribune.