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U.S. NEWS Friday 6 September 2019

Group seeking to

overturn Oklahoma gun

law falls short

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A group seeking to stop a new
law that would allow people in Oklahoma to openly car-
ry firearms without training or a background check is ac-
knowledging they fell short of the number of signatures
needed for a statewide vote on the issue.
In a court filing on Thursday, an attorney for the group
estimates they gathered between 30,000 and 50,000 sig-
natures. They would have needed nearly 60,000 signa-
tures from registered voters to qualify the question for the
ballot.
Attorney Brian Ted Jones says one reason for the uncer-
tainty is because supporters were dropping off signatures
right up until the Aug. 29 deadline.
Led by Democratic state Rep. Jason Lowe and the gun
safety group Moms Demand Action, supporters say they In this May 21, 2019 file photo, a group gathers to protest abortion restrictions at the State Capitol
were prompted to act after two mass shootings last in Austin, Texas.
month.q Associated Press
Texas hoping to revive law

on burial of fetal remains

By KEVIN McGILL any manner as authorized their feelings about the buri-
Associated Press by law” or buried. It says al and cremation require-
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Texas they cannot be placed in ments. But David Brown,
attorneys asked a federal a landfill. Lawyers for the an attorney for the clinics,
appeals court Thursday to state, in defending the law, noted the trial record did
revive the state’s require- say abortion rights attor- include testimony from a
ment that fetal remains neys challenging the law woman who sought treat-
from abortions and miscar- on behalf of clinics failed to ment at a hospital for a mis-
riages at health care facili- prove those facilities would carriage. He said she was
ties be buried or cremated. be unable to comply with upset upon learning of the
A three-judge panel of the the law. And they said Tex- hospital’s requirement for
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- as has a legitimate legal interment of the remains.
peals in New Orleans gave interest in “respecting the The case was heard by the
no indication when it would dignity of unborn life.” 5th Circuit’s chief judge,
rule following the argu- “Treating embryos and Carl Stewart, a nominee of
ments. One panel member fetuses as medical waste President Bill Clinton; Judge
raised the possibility that a ... is the literal definition of Rhesa Barksdale, nomi-
decision could be delayed devaluing them,” Beth Klus- nated to the court by Presi-
until after the Supreme mann, an assistant solici- dent George H.W. Bush;
In this Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 photo, Oklahoma state Rep. Court rules in a pending tor general with the Texas and Judge Gregg Costa,
Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, gestures to a stack of petitions Louisiana abortion regula- Attorney General’s Office, nominated by President
during a news conference, in Oklahoma City. tion case. No date for con- told the panel, arguing that Barack Obama.
Associated Press sideration has been set in Ezra’s ruling should be over- Costa questioned both
that case. turned. Ezra also found that sides about whether it
The law, blocked last year the law imposes a burden might be best to put off a
by U.S. District Judge David on women seeking abor- decision until after the Su-
Ezra, requires that fetal tis- tions because it “increases preme Court rules in the
sue remains from abortions, the grief, stigma, shame, Louisiana case, June Medi-
miscarriages or ectopic and distress of women ex- cal Services v. Gee. The
pregnancies at health care periencing an abortion, case involves that state’s
facilities, including abortion whether induced or spon- currently blocked require-
clinics, be buried or cre- taneous.” ment that says abortion
mated. It requires that ash- Klusmann emphasized that providers must have admit-
es from cremation of such the clinics lacked testimony ting privileges at nearby
remains be scattered “in from their clients regarding hospitals.q