Isn’t it great that you can get an email account from a big company like

In March, unable to legally obtain abortion care in Texas, Samantha Casiano was forced to carry a nonviable pregnancy to term, and gave birth to a three-pound baby who died hours later. Ms Casiano is among 13 women denied emergency abortion care under state law who are suing the state in a landmark case that is now in front of a Texas judge. In harrowing, historic courtroom testimony in Austin on 19 July, Ms Casiano and two other plaintiffs described their agony, isolation and heartbreak as they detailed their traumatic, life-threatening pregnancies and the state’s failure to care for them. As she described her experience to the court through tears, Ms Casiano vomited from the witness stand. “I watched my baby suffer for four hours,” she said in her testimony. “I am so sorry I couldn’t release you to heaven sooner. There was no mercy for her.” Abortion rights legal advocacy group Center for Reproductive Rights Texas filed the lawsuit on behalf of the women in March to force Texas authorities to clarify emergency medical exceptions to the state’s overlapping anti-abortion laws, marking the first-ever case brought by pregnant patients against such laws. Their testimony has underscored the depth of impacts from Texas laws and similar anti-abortion laws across the country, with abortion access stripped away for millions of Americans who are now exposed to dangerous legal and medical minefields during their pregnancies. The conflicting exemptions for medical emergencies in Texas have resulted in widespread confusion among providers and hospitals fearing legal blowback or severe criminal penalties, according to abortion rights advocates. Healthcare providers in the state found in violation of those laws could lose their medical license, face tens of thousands of dollars in fines, or receive a sentence of life in prison. The plaintiffs “suffered unimaginable tragedy” directly because of the state’s anti-abortion laws, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane said in her opening arguments. Texas officials and the state’s medical board have “done nothing” to clarify the law, she said. “I feel like my hands are tied,” said Houston obstetrician-gynecologist Dr Damla Karsa. “I have the skill, training and experience to provide care but I’m unable to do so. It’s gut-wrenching. I am looking for clarity, for a promise that I’m not going to be prosecuted for providing care.” Attorneys for the state have sought to dismiss the case altogether, arguing in court filings that the women lack standing to challenge the law because it is ultimately uncertain they will face similar complications again, that their “alleged prospective injuries are purely hypothetical”, and that some of the plaintiffs admitted they have since “struggled to become pregnant” again after their traumatic experiences. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in the case, is still hoping to become pregnant after her life-threatening pregnancy. She called the state’s argument “infuriating and disgusting and ironic.” “Do they not realise the reason why I might not be able to get pregnant again is because of what happened to me as a result of the laws that they support?” she told the court. “Anybody who’s been through infertility will tell you it is the most isolating, grueling, lonely, difficult thing a person can go through.” ‘I wished I was dreaming. I knew I wasn’t’ Ms Casiano, a mother of four, was hoping for a girl. When she visited her physician for a checkup last September, “all of a sudden the room went cold” and quiet, she testified. Her daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of a brain or skull. “My first thought was … ‘maybe it’s a surgery, maybe she can be fixed,’ and then she said, ‘I’m sorry, but your daughter is incompatible with life, and she will pass away before or after birth,’” Ms Casiano said. “I felt cold,” she said. “I was hurt. I wished I was dreaming. I knew I wasn’t. I just felt lost.” A case worker at her obstetrician’s office gave her a pamphlet with funeral homes. She was prescribed antidepressants. She could not be referred for abortion care anywhere in the state. Texas was the first to implement a near-total ban on abortion, months before the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last June, a decision that triggered a wave of state laws and legislation from anti-abortion lawmakers and governors to restrict care and threaten providers with criminal penalties. Amanda Zurawski endured several rounds of fertility treatments, tests, surgeries and misdiagnoses before learning she was pregnant in May of last year. “We were at first in shock … we were over-the-moon excited,” Ms Zurawski said. But her obstetrician discovered that she dilated prematurely, and soon after her membranes ruptured, draining amniotic fluid and endangering the life of her expected child. Doctors informed her there was nothing they could do under what was recently enacted state law, despite knowing with “complete certainty we were going to lose our daughter,” she said. The condition led to life-threatening sepsis. Doctors ultimately induced labor. Her daughter, which she named Willow, was not alive when she delivered. Ms Zurawski and her husband are still trying for pregnancy, but the trauma has closed one of her fallopian tubes, and a doctor had to surgically reconstruct her uterus. They also are considering in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and adoption. She previously testified to members of Congress about her experience, a story she will continue to tell, even if it is “excruciating” to do so, she told the Texas courtroom. “I know that what happened to me is happening to people all over the country. … So many people are being hurt by similarly restrictive bans,” she said. She has spoken out “because I can, and I know a lot of people who are experiencing or will experience something similar who can’t speak out, and it’s for those people I will,” she said. Healthcare providers caring for pregnant patients in the months after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade have faced severe obstacles for providing standard medical care in states where abortion is effectively outlawed, leading to delays and worsening and dangerous health outcomes for patients, according to a first-of-its-kind report released earlier this year. Individual reports from patients and providers like those named in the Texas lawsuit have shed some light on the wide range of harm facing pregnant women in states where access to abortion care is restricted or outright banned. But reporting from the University of California San Francisco captures examples from across the country, painting a “stark picture of how the fall of Roe is impacting healthcare in states that restrict abortion,” according to the report’s author Dr Daniel Grossman. More than a dozen states, mostly in the South, have effectively outlawed or severely restricted access to abortion care after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization last June. The decision has also opened new legal challenges, ones that could once again reshape the future of abortion access in America, while anti-abortion lawmakers and Republican candidates face a public that is overwhelmingly against such bans. ‘I don’t feel safe to have children in Texas anymore’ Ashley Brandt sent a picture of an ultrasound to her husband when she found out she was pregnant with twins. But after her 12-week ultrasound last May, doctors discovered one of the twins had acrania, in which the skull of the fetus is not formed, and brain tissue is exposed to amniotic fluid. The condition is fatal. Despite no chance of the twin’s survival, Ms Brandt was not eligible under Texas law for a procedure called a selective fetal reduction; Twin A still had some signs of life, like muscle spasms and cardiac activity. They traveled to neighbouring Colorado for care, and she returned home the day after the procedure. She gave birth to her daughter in November. “If I had not gone out of state and just done what was legal in Texas, my daughter … would likely have been in the [neonatal intensive care unit],” she said. “All of my ultrasounds leading up to labor I would have had to watch twin A … deteriorate more and more, every ultrasound. … I would have to give birth to an identical version of my daughter without a skull, without a brain, and I would have to hold her until she died, and I would have to sign a death certificate, and hold a funeral.” She said the state has failed to account for medical emergencies like hers. “I don’t feel safe to have children in Texas anymore,” she said. “It was very clear that my health didn’t really matter, that my daughter’s health didn’t really matter.” Read More ‘I felt I couldn’t tell anyone’: The stigma of abortion keeps women silent. It’s time for us to shout Ohio voters are likely to decide the future of abortion rights One year after Roe v Wade fell, anti-abortion laws threaten millions. The battle for access is far from over

It’s early morning in Christina Vidal’s Los Angeles home office. She’s easing into the day, doing her best not to let her lengthy to-do list creep into her mindspace too soon.

Nicolás Maduro is allowing some of his regime’s darkest moments to be aired on cinema screens across Venezuela,

Since Beyoncé dropped her highly-anticipated album Renaissance in July 2022, fans have eagerly awaited to celebrate along with the Grammy winner live. Yet, as with all things Beyoncé — whose knack for fashion has involved collaborations with Balmain, her own line with Adidas, and pop culture-defining red carpet moments — the stakes are high when it comes to Renaissance tour style.

SAVE 49%: Access Peacock from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN. A one-year subscription to

Amazon Prime is getting into healthcare, but it’s no replacement for your health insurance. The

Charles Leclerc saw off team-mate Carlos Sainz by just 0.067 seconds as Ferrari locked out the front row for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix. Max Verstappen improved on his final run at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but could not usurp the Ferrari drivers, finishing 0.097 sec adrift. The triple world champion also faces a nervous wait to see if he is moved down the grid after being summoned to see the stewards. Verstappen, charged with impeding on the pit exit, is among four drivers who will be hauled in front of the race officials. Lewis Hamilton, disqualified from finishing runner-up to Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix a week ago, may too feel the wrath of the race referees for failing to slow under yellow flags. Hamilton finished only sixth, 0.288 sec back. George Russell, who qualified eighth, and Fernando Alonso, 13th on the grid, have also been called to see the stewards for blocking on the pit exit in Q1. Verstappen hit the kerb at Turn 8 in his first attempt in Q3 to leaving him trailing Leclerc by 0.120 sec. The Red Bull man, who has won 15 of the 18 rounds so far, produced a better last lap, but could not prevent Leclerc from sealing his second pole in as many weekends. “I didn’t expect to be one pole because we looked to be lacking quite a bit of pace after practice,” said Leclerc. “But for some reason once we put everything together it went well and on the new tyres we gained a lot. “I’m already focusing on tomorrow’s race because we have had many pole positions this season, but we need to convert it into victory and that is going to be very difficult.” Nearly 400,000 spectators will pass through the gates at the high-altitude Mexico City venue this weekend with the majority here to support Sergio Perez. But the home favourite failed to deliver, finishing nearly three tenths adrift of Verstappen and qualified fifth, one position behind Daniel Ricciardo who impressed in his AlphaTauri. Earlier, Lando Norris was the surprise name eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying, leaving the in-form British driver in 19th place. Norris, who has finished on the podium at the past four races, attempted to progress from Q1 on the slower medium rubber in order to save a set of speedier softs. But the plan backfired when Norris’ lap wasn’t quick enough. Norris bolted on the soft tyres but then made a mistake a Turn 10. He aborted the lap and prepared for one last attempt, only to run into yellow flags at the opening bend after Alonso spun in his Aston Martin. Norris’ qualifying was over leaving him a tall order to salvage anything from tomorrow’s race. American rookie Logan Sargeant, who earned his first point in F1 last weekend in Austin, will prop up the grid after he saw two laps scrubbed off by the stewards for exceeding track limits. Read More Essex boy with Italian twang – History-maker Ollie Bearman impresses in Mexico Max Verstappen sets fastest time in Mexican Grand Prix practice Max Verstappen urges fans to show him respect ahead of feisty Mexican Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton claims many more cars were illegal at United States Grand Prix Max Verstappen beefs up security in preparation for hostile reception in Mexico On this day in 2015: Lewis Hamilton crowned F1 world champion for third time

Over 200,000 minors are estimated to have been sexually abused in Spain by the Roman Catholic clergy since 1940, according to...

The Texas Supreme Court is set Tuesday to hear arguments in a case brought on behalf of 22 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious complications with their...

Felipe Massa has reiterated calls for Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title triumph to be investigated after new remarks surfaced from Bernie Ecclestone. Brazilian driver Massa, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions. Yet new comments, by former F1 supremo Ecclestone, about that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned. Speaking about Ecclestone’s comments for the first time on camera, 42-year-old Massa labelled Hamilton’s first F1 title win an ‘injustice’ and ‘not fair’. “You fight them to the last corner of the last race, pass the chequered flag as the champion and then everything changed,” he told Sky Sports in Miami. “For sure, a fight on the track. “Then you discover what has happened in Singapore. People, important people like Bernie [Ecclestone], like Max Mosley, like Charlie Whiting - they knew in 2008 and they didn’t do anything. “That is really a massive surprise for me. It’s really [an] injustice and I think definitely we need to study everything that happened because it’s not fair what has happened.” Ecclestone revealed in March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the Crashgate scandal in 2008, but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal.” WHAT WAS CRASHGATE? Crashgate rocked the sport when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed to bring out a safety car which played into Alonso’s hands. That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing which ultimately impacted the title result. While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statues making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code. “We decided not to do anything for now,” Ecclestone told F1-Insider. “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being. “Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine. “We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions. “That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.” Upon hearing this new information come to light, Massa told Motorsport.com last month that he will look into his – albeit slim – legal options, noting the example of Lance Armstrong’s doping revelations and the stripping of his Tour de France victories. “There is a rule that says that when a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion’s trophy, things can no longer be changed, even if it has been proven a theft,” Massa, who ultimately did not win an F1 world title, said. “At the time, Ferrari’s lawyers told me about this rule. We went to other lawyers and the answer was that nothing could be done. So I logically believed in this situation. “But after 15 years, we hear that the [former] owner of the category says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing [so as] to not tarnish the name of F1. “This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this. “We have already seen other situations happening in sports, such as Lance Armstrong, who was proven to have doped, and he lost all the titles. What is the difference?” Despite Massa’s comments, his options appear slim, with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize giving ceremony. He also cannot use the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this, with the independent International Court of Appeal the highest authority in the sport. CAS may only be involved in F1 matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee. Massa’s best-finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017 while Hamilton has gone on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Read More Lewis Hamilton would be taking gamble by leaving Mercedes, says former rival Inspired by Schumacher, meet the Hong Kong billionaire targeting a new Formula 1 team Is a bright Ferrari future being hampered by the past? The Miami Grand Prix could already have a problem – and it comes in the form of Las Vegas Max Verstappen urged to ‘take leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book’ after George Russell clash

A crucial deal aimed at averting a global food crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been extended for two months.