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In the United States, more state abortion restrictions were passed in 2021 than any other year since Roe v. Wade was decided. One of the most draconian of these was the SB8 inaptly named the Heartbeat Law, enacted by Texas Republicans.

Texas Republicans extreme abortion ban has no exception for rape or incest, and is designed to prevent doctors from being able to freely carry through with medical practices that are unquestionably in the best physical, mental, and emotional interest of the mother.

Furthermore, a record number of states have taken action to prevent many qualified family planning providers from participating in their Medicaid programs, undercutting access to a broad range of reproductive health care services including contraceptives and preventive care such as cancer screenings for low-income people.

With the Dobbs ruling, Americans can no longer rely on federal protections to protect their right to bodily autonomy, and for that reason state officials have outsized power compared to the previous decades.

Access to abortion is not only a fundamental matter of our right to privacy but also a matter of equity and personal and public health:

Policy Proposals from Beto ORourke for Governor:

All Texans deserve the freedom to make their own decisions about their own body, their own health care, and their own future. We deserve the freedom to decide if, when, and with whom to start a family.

Beto trusts Texas women to make their own health care decisions.

Abbotts eight years of attacks on reproductive freedom have shuttered womens health clinics across the state, making it harder and harder for women to receive a cervical cancer screening, maternal health checkup, or family planning help of any kind. On his watch, Texas ranks dead last in the nation for access to prenatal and maternal health care, which helps to explain how our statethe ninth largest economy on planet earthhas one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world.

In addition to using every tool available to repeal Abbotts dangerous abortion ban, Beto will veto any future legislation that seeks to further control women, including Republican proposals to limit access to contraception, prevent Texans from crossing state lines to seek reproductive care, and prosecute businesses that pay for employees to seek care in other states.

While strengthening investments in affordable contraception, cancer screenings, and other crucial family planning services, Beto will also support healthy babies and combat Texas maternal mortality crisis by expanding Medicaid and increasing pregnancy Medicaid eligibility to one-year postpartum.

Policy Proposals from Mike Collier for Lt. Governor and Rochelle Garza for Attorney General:

Mike Collier will fight to ensure that women and their doctorsnot politiciansmake decisions about their own healthcare.

As Lt. Governor, he will work to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into state law. He will put an end to the constant culture wars that have consumed our state government and pit Texan against Texan.

Indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Republicans showed with their lawsuit to block protections for women who are in a medical emergency that theyll stop at nothing to exert control over Texans and steamroll Texans with their extreme, far-right ideologies. This is not about being pro-life. This is about forcing birth, even if it will literally kill women.

As our next Attorney General, Rochelle Garza is committed to defending the rights of women and pregnant people whenever theyre threatened, and will not pursue litigation to implement Texas trigger law nor prosecute abortion providers, including doctors who provide life-saving treatment. In the words of Rochelle Garza: Abortion care is health care, and health care is a human right.

While extremist Republicans on the Supreme Court overruled Roe with Dobbs, President Biden signed an Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services. This Executive Order builds on the actions his Administration has already taken to defend reproductive rights by:

The Presidents Executive Order takes additional steps to protect patient privacy, including by addressing the transfer and sales of sensitive health-related data, combatting digital surveillance related to reproductive health care services, and protecting people seeking reproductive health care from inaccurate information, fraudulent schemes, or deceptive practices.

Issuing new guidance to address how the HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the privacy of individuals protected health information, including information related to reproductive health care. The guidance helps ensure doctors and other medical providers and health plans know that, with limited exceptions, they are not required and in many cases, are not permitted to disclose patients private information, including to law enforcement.

The Attorney General will provide technical assistance to states affording legal protection to out-of-state patients as well as providers who offer legal reproductive health care.

While Texas Republicans at the state level stripped people of their reproductive autonomy and freedom, Democrats have delivered for abortion rights not just at the federal level, but also at the local level:

Austin City Council led the way with the GRACE (Guarding the Right to Abortion Care for Everyone) Act that essentially relegates abortion cases as the lowest level of priority by the Attorney General, thus rendering SB8 ineffective within the city.

Officials in Travis, Bexar, Nueces, Fort Bend, and Dallas Counties have sought out similar protections, as well as the cities of Houston, San Marcos, and Denton.

Travis County District Attorney Jos Garza has said his office would not prosecute crimes under the law. Enforcing this law will not only fail to promote or protect public safety but will also lead to more harm, he reiterated in a statement Thursday. Our office will continue to fight for and protect womens rights and use our discretion to avoid tragedy and preventable harm in our community.

San Marcos City Council Member Maxfield Baker said San Marcos Police Departments directive is comparable to Austins GRACE Act. Everything is so new that our community members are afraid. They dont know whether or not police officers are going to pursue this or where its going to land on their priority list, Baker said. I want to send the right message to our community that we have their backs, were looking out for them and that we share some of these concerns because were still in these uncertain times.

Having Democrats in positions of power at city, county, state, and federal levels all serve as backstops to either circumvent or overrule the horrifying agenda of anti-abortion advocates in order to give bodily autonomy and the right to medical privacy back to Texans.

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FACT SHEET: How Democrats Will Deliver for Abortion Access in Texas - Texas Democratic Party

The stock price of Peloton (PTON) fell by over 4% today.

Why: Peloton announced changes to its leadership team. The company accepted the resignations of John Foley as Executive Chair and Hisao Kushi as Chief Legal Officer, effective September 12, 2022and October 3, 2022, respectively.

Foley co-founded Peloton in 2012 and is credited with leveraging his tech and business experience to build the company into the largest interactive fitness platform in the world. And having previously been the companys CEO for 10 years, he became Executive Chair in February 2022. He is largely viewed as the pioneer who was the driving, creative force behind todays global connected fitness industry.

The Board appointed Karen Boone as Pelotons Chairperson of the Board. And Boone was first elected to Pelotons Board as Audit Committee Chair in 2019 and subsequently named Lead Independent Director in October 2021. She had previously served as President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Restoration Hardware (RH). During her tenure at RH, Boone led the company through tremendous growth, the transition to its current membership model, as well as through several key financial milestones and transactions.

Hisao Kushi was a co-founder of Peloton and played a key role in the companys growth and global scale. And he has served as the companys Chief Legal Officer since 2015. Over the course of his tenure, Kushi had guided the execution of the companys M&A activities, crafted the novel music license deals which are the backbone of the Member experience, and protected emerging IP that ultimately shapes todays connected fitness industry.

Tammy Albarrn is going to replace Kushi as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Peloton, effective October 3, 2022. And in the new role, Albarrn will manage the Legal, Compliance, and Policy functions. Albarrn is one of the technology industrys most well-regarded legal executives and brings a wealth of experience to the job, having served most recently as Chief Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Corporate Secretary at Uber Technologies. During her time at Uber, Albarrn oversaw Ubers global legal teams and was a driving force behind the companys cultural transformation. Albarrn was also a key champion of the companys diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Before Uber, Albarrn was a securities litigation and investigations Partner at Covington & Burling LLP, working alongside former Attorney General Eric Holder. Together, Albarrn and Holder co-authored the high-profile report that resulted in profound changes at Uber.

KEY QUOTES:

We are immensely grateful to John and Hisao for having the vision, ambition, and commitment to turn Peloton into the iconic consumer brand it is today. Not only did they succeed in building a great company, they transformed an entire industry by leveraging fitness and technology. Their impact will resonate long after their departure.

Pelotons incoming Chairperson of the Board Karen Boone

As I reflect on the journey Peloton has been on since we founded it, I am so proud of what we have built together. From day one, the incredible talent weve had on our team and the dedication, hard work, and creativity of every Peloton employee are what got us to where we are today. We founded the company because we wanted to make fitness and wellness convenient, fun, and effective. Because of the work of thousands of people, weve done that.

Peloton co-founder and former Executive Chair John Foley

I would like to offer my gratitude to John and Hisao for their shared vision, dedication, and passion for Peloton. Through their hard work, they have given the world the connected fitness industry and created a platform that empowers each of us to be the best version of ourselves. We are indebted to them for their countless contributions.

Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy

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Peloton (PTON) Stock: Why It Fell Over 4% Today - Pulse 2.0

Foreign heads of state and their partners attending the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II have been asked to arrive in the UK on commercial flights and have been banned from using helicopters to move around the capital.

In addition, they have been told they will not be able to use their own official cars to attend the funeral, scheduled for Monday 19 September, but will instead be bussed to Westminster Abbey from a site in west London en masse, Politico reports.

Official documents obtained by the outlet circulated to embassies on Saturday also confirmed that only the heads of state and their partner from each country have been invited.

The official capacity of Westminster Abbey is 2,200 people, and it is expected to be full to the point that having more than one senior representative for each nation plus a spouse would be untenable.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said in the protocol document that it regrets that, because of limited space at the state funeral service and associated events, no other members of the principal guests family, staff or entourage may be admitted.

Those heads of state unable to attend are asked to choose another representative such as a head of government or senior minister.

King Charles III will host a reception for overseas leaders at Buckingham Palace on Sunday 18 September, the evening before the funeral.

In addition, heads of state are invited to attend the lying-in-state of the queens body, and sign the condolence book at Lancaster House immediately afterward.

While at Lancaster House, they will also be able to deliver a tribute to the late queen of up to three minutes, which will be recorded for the media.

On the day of the funeral, there will be tight security and road restrictions across much of central London and therefore heads of state have been told to meet at a site in west London from where they will be escorted to the abbey in coaches.

After the service, foreign leaders are invited to attend a reception hosted by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly at Deans Yard, within the grounds of the abbey, to which they will be escorted on foot.

They will then be returned to the site in west London by coach to collect their cars.

Multiple and comprehensive layers of security will be in place across London and at all the official venues used for the state funeral and associated events, another FCDO document states that details logistics for those traveling from overseas.

It further warns thatbecause of the extensive ceremonial programme related to the state funeral and the logistical challenges, requests for bilaterals will not be considered on this occasion, in line with the rules of the governments mourning period.

There is also a warning that where possible foreign leaders should arrive in the UK on commercial flights as there will be no arrangements made for private aircraft at Londons Heathrow Airport.

Instead, it is recommended that planes are routed to less busy airports around the capital. The document also warns that the use of helicopters to transfer from airports to other venues is banned due to the expected congestion in the regions airspace notably there is also a warning that unforeseen events may require commercial and private flights to divert from the intended airport of arrival.

The reports of the protocol information from the FCDO come shortly after the White House confirmed that President Joe Biden has officially accepted an invitation to the state funeral and will be attending with first lady Jill Biden.

There has been much speculation as to whether there might be a more sizeable US delegation similar to that at the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa in December 2013.

On that occasion, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were joined by former president George W Bush and his wife, Laura; Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state; and several senior White House advisers. Former President Jimmy Carter also attended the funeral.

Others who joined them were the attorney general, Eric Holder, national security adviser Susan Rice and economics adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, travelled separately. Beyond that, two dozen US lawmakers also flew out to South Africa.

Judging by the tone of the FCDO document, such a large delegation seems highly unlikely for the Queens funeral though this is not yet confirmed but it does neatly sidestep the looming question of whether former presidents including Donald Trump would be able to go and the potential awkwardness of having two such bitter political rivals in attendance.

The Bidens would likely arrive on Air Force One, as the aircraft can land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

Despite its status as a Royal Air Force base, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing.

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Foreign leaders to be bussed to Queens funeral as private jets and helicopters banned - The Independent

Now that the GOP has succeeded in its decades-long push to overturn Roe v. Wade, conservatives are turning to the next front in their war on reproductive rights: a national abortion ban. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a top ally of Donald Trump, is introducing a bill that would federally prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It doesnt go as far as the heartbeat bill his colleague, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, has proposed. But Grahams measure, dubbed the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act, would nonetheless constitute an extreme attack on reproductive freedom and healthcare and incidentally, on the states rights Republicans say are near and dear to their heart.

If you'll recall, states' rights had seemed top of mind for Republicans back in June, when Samuel Alito and the Supreme Courts conservative supermajority issued its Dobbs decision and ended federal abortion protections. The power to decide this profound moral question has officially returned to the states, where it will be debated and settled in the way it should be in our democratic society by the people, Republican Representative Ken Buck of Colorado said in a news release at the time. Graham himself echoed that point in a CNN interview just last month, arguing that states should decide the issue of marriage and states should decide the issue of abortion.

But, as The Washington Post pointed out last week, that hasnt stopped Republicans like Buck and Graham from expressing support for a national abortion ban a sweeping invasion of privacy that would seem to trample over state sovereignty. As Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote Tuesday, Overturning Roe was never about giving power back to states. It was about controlling our bodies and our personal autonomy. We cannot let this happen.

The timing of Grahams legislation is somewhat curious, coming two months before an election that has, in part, become a referendum on Dobbs: All across the country, Republican candidates have scrambled to soften or hide their extreme anti-abortion stances while Democrats, who were just months ago bracing for a November shellacking, continue to gain momentum in the midterms. But putting forth a nationwide ban which, as Sean Hannity approvingly noted Monday evening, mirrors the Mississippi law at the center of the Dobbs case appears to confirm Democrats dire warnings that the GOP seeks to outlaw abortion not just in GOP-led states but throughout every state in the union.

Its unclear how much traction Grahams legislation will have within his party at least with the midterms looming. But even if the party doesnt mobilize around him now, Grahams latest proposal the most extreme antiabortion legislation hes ever introduced serves as a preview of what a GOP majority is likely pursue on Capitol Hill. Indeed, a number of Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have expressed support for draconian federal restrictions. Would they be able to pull it off? Thats hard to say. But the prospect of such a move underscores the danger the GOP continues to pose to reproductive rights in this country.

A national abortion ban may be wildly unpopular, but thats also sort of the point. If Republicans were to truly confer such policies to the will of the people, as Buck put it, Roe probably wouldnt have been overturned in the first place. Polls have consistently shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans support reproductive freedom. Even in the GOP-led state of Kansas, voters soundly rejected a ballot initiative that would have stripped abortion protections from the state constitution. Voters may be poised to do so again in states like Michigan, where Republicans tried and failed to block a ballot measure to let the citizens decide. States rights," the GOP is learning, might be a nice rallying cry when youre trying to justify the Supreme Court breaking with five decades of precedent. But its far less appealing when states dont do exactly as you want them to.

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So Much for States' Rights: Republicans Are Eyeing a National Abortion Ban - Vanity Fair

Brian Flick| Opinion contributor

I was a registered Republican until I pulled my first Democratic ballot on May 8, 2018.

Like many reading this, I grew up in suburban neighborhoods that were predominately white and middle class. I grew up listening to Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh remember Rushs bit during the Clinton years about "American Held Hostage?" I went to a Baptist church on Wednesday nights and Sundays, and I lived in a household where politics wasnt a dinner table discussion, nor was it something we seemed to ever talk about.

Many of you who identify as Republican or conservative in the wake of Jan. 6, the Trump presidency and the Dobbs decision have asked yourself the same question I began to ask myself in earnest about 15 years ago: Is this Republican Party really the party for me?

The answer has become a clear no for me.

On the economy, my former party has gone rogue.

I began my legal career in 2007 as a consumer bankruptcy attorney which I still am to this day working primarily with working-class and middle-class families. I spent the majority of my first four years in practice helping families across the socio-economic spectrum trying to save their homes from foreclosure, their cars from repossession and collection efforts from banks and corporations, especially payday lenders, who preyed upon these families. As the bailout was happening, I asked myself why the corporations were being bailed out, and families were losing everything.

On middle- and working-class families, my former party has given up.

I have been abhorred by the Republican Partys, particularly the Ohio GOPs, outright assault on middle- and working-class families. I witnessed this firsthand in the Ohio Legislature in 2010-2011 when I urged passage of a bill that would increase Ohios homestead exemption. After I testified in front of a House committee, I was able to watch floor debates; and, to my absolute horror, I listened as countless Republicans openly attacked Gov. John Kasich over Medicaid expansion and expressed disdain for the needs of our most economically vulnerable Ohioans.

And most recently on womens rights, my former party has rejected protections for personal rights.

I have always supported a womans right to choose, and there is no place in the party for a pro-choice Republican given the continued grip the religious right and lobbyists have on the party.

This horror has continued each and every time I have petitioned at the Statehouse, which has included two other memorable meetings: the time I heard an unnamed state senator refer to Ohioans as "you people" during a meeting with corporate lobbyists and two consumer groups about legislation over Ohios first data security bill, and a second time where I worked against a payday lending bill only to have the Republican representative repeatedly pause in his questioning as he was getting texts of questions to ask me from the lobbyist in the corner.

My only regret from May 8, 2018 was not making the decision to become a Democrat earlier.

The Republican Party has lost its way, and Im proud to be working with organizations across our state, like WelcomePAC (https://welcomepac.org/), that are committed to elevating candidates who can protect our state and our democracy from the GOPs radicalized positions.

It is my hope that sharing parts of my story inspires others to not only ask themselves the hard questions, but to also leave a party that now celebrates greed, corruption and oppression.

Brian Flick is Managing Partner and Cincinnati Office Director of Dann Law, with a practice that focuses on bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, appellate litigation, and other areas of consumer law.

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Opinion: I left the Republican Party because it has lost its way - The Cincinnati Enquirer