Top Stories This Week

• What’s happening at Woodhull;
• Senate Bill 197, a new bill in West Virginia;
• Removing dictionaries from Florida libraries;
• The 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade;
• A proposed Colorado bill to limit book bans;
• The consequences of forced birth; and
• Woodhull’s take on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. 

(Tario Tama/Getty Images)

Bills Introduced in West Virginia Would Categorize Trans People as “Obscene Matter” (them.) 

Abby Monteil explains Senate Bill 197, a new bill in West Virginia: “Senate Bill 197 criminalizes ‘obscene matter’ near minors or within 2,500 feet of any public school facility under the supervision of the state board. Once again, the bill mentions ‘transgender exposure, performances, or display to any minor’ as an example of obscene matter. Under the proposed legislation, public school faculty who discover and fail to report that a student has ‘been exposed to obscene matter’ — which includes the general existence of trans people — may be prosecuted and face a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in prison.” Read more.

(Popular Information)

Florida school district removes dictionaries from libraries, citing law championed by DeSantis (Popular Information) 

Judd Legum writes about removing dictionaries from Florida libraries, including those in the Escambia County School District: “The American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary for Students, and Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary are among more than 2800 books that have been pulled from Escambia County school libraries and placed into storage. The Escambia County School District says these texts may violate HB 1069, a bill signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in May 2023. HB 1069 gives residents the right to demand the removal of any library book that ‘depicts or describes sexual conduct,’ as defined under Florida law, whether or not the book is pornographic.” Read more.

(Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Roe Anniversary Sparks Calls for Restoring Federal Right to Abortion (Common Dreams) 

Jessica Corbett reflects upon the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade: “Since right-wing Supreme Court justices overturned Roe with their June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, anti-choice activists and officials have ramped up efforts to further restrict abortion care, particularly in GOP-dominated states, while patients have been forced to carry unwanted or dangerous pregnancies and clinics in Democrat-controlled states have been flooded with ‘medical refugees.’” Read more.

(Viorika/ E+/Getty Images)

Colorado Democrats Propose Bill to Limit Book Bans (Truthout) 

Chris Walker covers a proposed Colorado bill to limit book bans: “Democratic lawmakers in the Colorado state legislature have introduced a bill that would change how challenges to school library books and materials operate in order to curtail book bans based on racial and/or LGBTQ content. Senate Bill 049, cosponsored by Democratic state Sens. Lisa Cutter and Chris Kolker, as well as Democratic state Reps. Junie Joseph and Eliza Hamrick, would require school districts across the state to establish for themselves a process for challenging school library materials. Each district must have a committee to consider challenges, the bill stipulates, which will be comprised of individuals selected by the school district’s superintendent.” Read more.

(Charles A. Smith)

More Than a Year After Mississippi Forced Her To Give Birth, It Still Hasn’t Offered Any Extra Help (In These Times) 

Bryce Covert tells the story of Lationna, who was forced to give birth in Mississippi over a year ago: “After Lationna went back to work, she and Kendall entered a new phase, enjoying a bit more sleep but trying desperately to figure out how to afford raising a child they hadn’t planned for with scant government help. The typical exhaustion and chaos of parenting two young children has been exacerbated by a lack of control over the timing and their economic precarity. Mississippi does virtually nothing to ease that precarity, and despite some pledges from lawmakers to do more to assist children and families after it banned abortion, little has changed in the year and a half since Lationna was deprived of autonomy over her own body.” Read more.

(Colin Lloyd)

Woodhull’s Take: Abortion is Healthcare (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation share our take on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act: “The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law, requires that hospitals provide stabilizing care – including abortions – to patients in medical emergencies. But apparently, in Texas, it doesn’t. In early January, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas hospitals can refuse to provide life-saving abortions, despite EMTALA. In other words, the court ruled that Texas’ state abortion ban overrides federal law.” Read more.

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 
Our federal identification number is 11-3681116.
Copyright © 2024 Woodhull Freedom Foundation. All Rights Reserved.