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Oct. 5, 2023, at 1:58 p.m. Alabama will have a new congressional map that gives Black voters more power and almost certainly, a pickup for Democrats, a federal court ruled Thursday. But when the court flipped to a Republican majority, it reversed the previous ruling, paving the way for a new map that is expected to deliver more seats to Republicans in 2024. [Extracted from the article]

In a special election in Alabama, Democrat Marilyn Lands won with 62% of the vote, campaigning primarily on reproductive rights. This victory does not threaten the Republican Party's control of the state House, but it highlights their vulnerability on issues such as abortion, in vitro fertilization, and birth control. The election coincided with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a case on access to mifepristone, a drug used for medication abortions. Democrats are hoping that reproductive rights will drive voter turnout in upcoming elections in states where the issue is on the ballot. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports that the Alabama State House has approved legislation that would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion, including in cases of rape or incest. Topics include Texas lawmakers tried and failed to enact a bill that would have made it possible to give the death penalty to women who have abortions and the doctors who performed them.