Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. Lawsuits have been filed in West Virginia and North Carolina challenging the states' restrictions on the use of abortion pills.

Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. A Texas judge will soon rule on the drug's future availability.

Credit: AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File

The panel

Emma Hurt, @Emma_Hurt, reporter, Axios Atlanta

Jim Galloway, @JimJournalist, former political columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State Sen. Kim Jackson, @KimforGeorgia, (D), Stone Mountain

Tanya Washington, @AskProfW, professor of law, Georgia State University

 

The breakdown

1. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke with five jurors from Fulton County's investigation into the 2020 election.

  • Jurors report they heard another recorded phone call between former President Donald Trump and the late House Speaker David Ralston. The speaker denied the president's request to convene the Legislature for a special session.
  • The jurors detailed their lives while attending hearings three times a week.
  • The five jurors wanted to speak about their experience after forewoman Emily Kohrs faced criticism for her public comments.

LISTEN: Emma Hurt on the special grand jurors' experiences.

2. A Texas federal judge will rule on the FDA's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.

  • Appointed by President Trump in 2019, Amarillo's Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk could decide on the drug's FDA approval shortly.
  • The plaintiff, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, argues that the FDA's approval used an obscure regulation for drugs that treat serious illness. Any decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court.
  • In Georgia, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the state's "heartbeat bill," previously suspended by Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney.

Tanya Washington on the Texas judge who will decide the case.

3. A bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors passes a House panel.

  • Already past the Senate, the House could put the bill on Gov. Brian Kemp's desk shortly.
  • Rep. Jodi Lott removed language that would protect health care providers for violating the proposed law.

4. This Women's History Month, Emma Hurt looks at representation under the Dome.

  • Hurt's report notes it may be easier to find a statue of a mermaid than one of a woman in Georgia.

Friday on Political Rewind: A St. Patrick's Day special on Georgia's Irish history.

Tags: Georgia  Georgia Politics  Atlanta  Macon  Savannah  Fulton County  Fani Willis  mifepristone  Abortion  transgender care