Top Stories This Week

• What’s happening at Woodhull;
• New Jersey’s ban on book bans;
• The war on libraries and education;
• Location tracking tools and abortion access;
• The connection between rights and abortion rights;
• Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law; and
• Woodhull’s take on Texas’ H.B. 991.

It’s a Wrap - on Censorship!

For our last Censorship Series program of 2024, Ricci and Mandy are bringing in the old and talking about the new (year, of course!), and you’re invited! 

On December 23 at 12:30 pm EST, we will host our 12th (!!!) Censorship program of the year. We’re wrapping up 2024 with a slightly different format as we invite back some of our free expression allies to help us recap challenges and opportunities to the censorship of sexual freedom in 2024 and ponder what we face in 2025.

You’ll hear from: 

🔸Emma Shapiro, Artist & Editor at Large for Don’t Delete Art 

🔸India McKinney, Director of Federal Affairs at Electronic Frontier Foundation 

🔸Mike Stabile, Policy Director at the Free Speech Coalition 

Woodhull Presents at the National Sex Ed Conference with EducateUs! 

Mandy Salley, Woodhull’s COO, and Jaclyn Friedman from EducateUs presented “Navigating Sex Ed in Censored Spaces” to a packed room at the conference last week! They reviewed the Comstock Act, current legislation that threatens to censor sex ed, and introduced attendees to strategies for fighting censorship in their communities. For a snippet of what we covered, check out our August 2024 Censorship Program, which features Jaclyn Friedman as one of our panelists. 

Interested in covering this topic in your classroom or community? 

(Photo by Etienne Girardet)

Honoring the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers 

Yesterday, December 17, we observed the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers—a somber reminder of the physical and systemic violence faced by sex workers worldwide. Originating in the U.S. to honor victims of the Green River serial killer, this day has grown into a global call to action to protect the rights, health, and safety of sex workers.

Stigma and harmful policies like SESTA/FOSTA continue to endanger sex workers, conflating consensual work with trafficking and stripping them of online tools that once helped ensure their safety. These laws have made conditions more dangerous for workers while failing to effectively address human trafficking. Research shows that de-platforming sex workers has increased exploitation and violence, particularly for marginalized communities.

Sex workers deserve respect, rights, and protection. Join us in demanding justice and advocating for policies that center their voices and safety. Together, we can fight for a world free from violence and stigma.

NJ governor signs law prohibiting book bans (The Hill) 

Some good news: New Jersey is officially banning book bans. Lexi Lonas Cochran writes: “New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a law [December 9, 2024] prohibiting book banning in state libraries and schools. The law says school boards and the governing boards of public libraries need to create standards for how books are removed from shelves and how complaints are addressed. Books will not be allowed to be removed based on ‘the origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors,’ nor can books be censored based ‘on a disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an individual finds certain content offensive, unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups.’” Read more.

(Sue Barr via Getty Images)

Facing Cuts Likely to Worsen Under Trump, Academic Librarians Urgently Organize (Truthout) 

It’s no secret that conservatives are relentlessly attacking our right to free speech – including our right to access information. Emily Drabinski writes: “The Project 2025 blueprint for the next Trump administration sets its sights on two crucial public institutions: libraries and higher education. Librarians show up on page 5 — targeted for their support for LGBTQIA+ reading — while dismantling the Department of Education, eliminating student loan programs, and restricting what can be taught about gender, race and class feature throughout the document. But even as academic librarians live in dread of what will happen to their libraries after January 20, many of them are also already facing termination now.” Read more.

(Electronic Frontier Foundation)

Location Tracking Tools Endanger Abortion Access. Lawmakers Must Act Now. (Electronic Frontier Foundation) 

Tech – including location tracking tools – has great consequences to accessing our human rights. Lisa Femia writes: “Unfettered location tracking puts us all at risk. Law enforcement agencies can purchase their way around warrant requirements and bad actors can pay for services that make it easier to engage in stalking and harassment. Location tracking tools particularly threaten groups especially vulnerable to targeting, such as immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and even U.S. intelligence personnel abroad. Crucially, in a post-Dobbs United States, location surveillance also poses a serious danger to abortion-seekers across the country.” Read more.

(Photos by Getty Images; photo-illustration by Them)

The Fight for Trans Rights and Abortion Are Inextricably Linked. Cis Women Should Act Like It (Them) 

Trans rights and abortion rights are inextricably linked. Colleen Hamilton writes: “Democrats have argued that the party has focused too much on “cultural issues” like queer and trans rights and not enough on ‘kitchen-table’ policies like the economy. However, this analysis fails to understand that access to healthcare is an economic issue, for trans people and cis people alike. By failing to draw these connections and offer a dynamic vision of bodily autonomy for all, they cede ground to a unified conservative assault on human rights and quietly capitulate to the newest conservative talking point: your body, my choice.” Read more.

(Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Idaho Can Now Arrest People Who Help Kids Get Abortions in Other States (The Appeal) 

Just when you thought abortion access under Idaho law couldn’t get much worse: the state now allows for an “abortion trafficking” ban. Meg O’Connor writes: “Now, Idaho may resume criminalizing adults who ‘harbor or transport’ anyone under 18 to get abortions without parental consent. Anyone who breaks the law may be punished by two to five years in state prison. [The] ruling reversed a lower court’s decision to block the state from enforcing the rule while a lawsuit challenging the statute makes its way through court.” Read more.

(Image Source)

Woodhull’s Take: Texas’ H.B. 991: An Unconscionable Attack on Abortion Rights and Free Speech (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

In a new effort, Texas is threatening our rights to abortion and free speech. We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation share our take on Texas’ H.B. 991: “H.B. 991 carries serious criminal and civil provisions. It would create new felonies for payment or reimbursement of abortion costs – which would notably affect abortion funds – and ‘destroying evidence of an abortion.’ [...] And then there are the gnarly free speech concerns. H.B. 991 would allow further civil claims against any computer services that allow Texans to access information to assist with getting an abortion. [...] H.B. 991 is a bonkers attempt to further curtail abortion rights in Texas, which are already in extremely dire jeopardy. The fact that this attempt is also aimed at suppressing free speech makes it all the more draconian. We firmly oppose H.B. 991.” Read more.

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