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The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a dispute over whether the unborn are entitled to constitutional protections, sidestepping an issue that could be at the center of the next big battle over abortion after high court's conservative majority reversed the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision. The court declined to hear an appeal from two pregnant women, filed on behalf of their then-unborn fetuses, and a Catholic organization of a Rhode Island Supreme Court decision. The state court left intact a Rhode Island abortion rights law and found the unborn babies, Baby Mary Doe and Baby Roe, did not have legal standing to challenge the law because they were not "persons" under the 14th Amendment. (Quinn, 10/11)

The justices turned away an appeal by a Catholic group and two women of a lower court's ruling against their challenge to a 2019 Rhode Island law that codified the right to abortion in line with the Roe precedent. The two women, pregnant at the time when the case was filed, sued on behalf of their fetuses and later gave birth. The Rhode Island Supreme Court decided that fetuses lacked the proper legal standing to bring the suit. (Raymond, 10/12)

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Diane Messere Magee, tweeted about the Supreme Court denying the petition, saying, “It means that they will not take up our case to determine whether unborn human beings have any rights or guarantees of protection under the US Constitution. While we are extremely disappointed with this outcome, we are confident that #SCOTUS will eventually have to answer the question in the future.” (Fitzpatrick, 10/11)

Legal abortions that restarted in Arizona this week after a court blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood ban will be able to continue for at least five weeks while an appeals court considers the case. A schedule set Tuesday for Planned Parenthood and the Arizona attorney general’s office lawyers to file their legal briefs in the case means the Arizona Court of Appeals can’t decide the case until at least Nov. 17. The appeals court blocked enforcement of the Civil War-era law on Friday, reversing at least for now a Sept. 23 ruling from a judge in Tucson. (Christie, 10/11)

Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed an executive order Tuesday that aims to prevent other states from punishing their residents who get an abortion in the islands and stop other states from sanctioning local doctors and nurses who provide such care. “We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive abortions in Hawaii. And we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortions in Hawaii,” Ige, a Democrat, said at a news conference. (McAvoy, 10/11)

When Kansas voted two-to-one against a proposal that would have said there was no right to an abortion in the state, the resounding victory suggested that abortion bans are a losing issue. But it wasn’t clear whether that argument could apply to red states beyond Kansas. Now comes the next test: Kentucky, which is already enforcing a near-total ban on the procedure. (Luthra, 10/11)

KHN: Abortion Bans Are Motivating Midterm Voters, Poll Shows

Half of voters say the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion has made them more motivated to vote in next month’s midterm elections, with enthusiasm growing especially among Democrats and those living in states with abortion bans, according to a new poll from KFF. The survey also showed that most voters, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, do not think abortion should be prohibited in cases of rape or incest, nor do they support laws that set criminal punishments for abortion providers and women who have abortions. (Huetteman, 10/12)

In Wisconsin, Tim Michels, a Republican running for governor, promised activists that he would never “flip-flop” on his support for an 1849 law that bans abortion except when a woman’s life is threatened. Less than three weeks later, he changed his stance. In the Phoenix suburbs, staffers whisked away Juan Ciscomani, a Republican House candidate, citing an urgent text, after he was asked by a voter whether he supported abortion bans. And in New Hampshire, Don Bolduc, the Republican running for governor, described abortion as a distraction from the “really important issues.” (Lerer and Glueck, 10/12)

When the Supreme Court’s decision undoing Roe v. Wade came down in June, anti-abortion groups were jubilant – but far from satisfied. Many in the movement have a new target: hormonal birth control. It seems contradictory; doesn’t preventing unwanted pregnancies also prevent abortions? But anti-abortion groups don’t see it that way. They claim that hormonal contraceptives like IUDs and the pill can actually cause abortions. (Mostafa, Butler and Mieszkowski, 10/8)