Texas’ abortion ban and the rise in newborn deaths | Defining “book ban”
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Bi-Weekly Sexual Freedom Newsletter Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Top Stories This Week
What’s happening at Woodhull;
Protections for LGBTQIA+ folks all year round;
Defining “book ban”;
Texas’ abortion ban and the rise in newborn deaths;
How the GOP is criminalizing abortion post-Dobbs;
What decriminalized sex work actually looks like; and
Woodhull’s take on Muñoz and family separation.
An Important Update on Woodhull's Sexual Freedom Summit
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation's Sexual Freedom Summit was one of the first events of its kind when it began 14 years ago. Since then, many similar sex-positive conferences have emerged nationwide, inspired partly by Woodhull's pioneering efforts.
Given the current political and social climate, including civil and human rights challenges, the upcoming election, the disharmony in our country, and Woodhull's vital role in the national efforts to protect our freedoms, we’ve made the difficult decision not to bring the Summit back. Instead, we’re continuing to focus on protecting our most fundamental human rights.
🔥Coming in Hot - July’s Censorship Series Program!🔥
Our Censorship Series programs feature some of the most innovative, passionate, and inspiring speakers, and July’s lineup of panelists is one of the best! My guests on July 30th include policy, digital rights, reproductive justice, and human rights advocates. We’ll look back at the last two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the landmark case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Then, we’ll be looking forward and discussing a strategy to address the post-Dobbs censorship of information about not only abortion but contraception and reproductive healthcare. Get inspired and get involved!
The Week of Visibility for Non-Monogamy is here! This week marks a pivotal moment in the fight for relationship equality. Woodhull stands firmly as an endorser, championing the fundamental human right to forge diverse families and relationships. This global celebration, spanning July 15-21, 2024, is not just an event – it's a powerful statement of inclusivity and acceptance.
Join us live on Zoom on Friday, July 19, at 12 Noon PST/3 pm EST for an Advocacy Roundtable. Leading experts in family law, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice will discuss how we can challenge outdated norms, foster understanding, and pave the way for a more inclusive future where all forms of ethical love are celebrated.
FreedomFest Highlights: Celebrating Sexual Freedom in Sin City!
We are taking the critical conversations about our personal autonomy to new audiences, engaging new allies in our work to combat government overreach, including censorship and surveillance.
We turned the record-high temperatures up even higher in Las Vegas last week at FreedomFest, the annual festival where free minds meet to celebrate freedom in an open-minded environment. We presented two important workshops, “Sin, Sex and Censorship: Defending Freedom in Adult Entertainment” and “Sex Work is the New Marijuana: The Decriminalization of Prostitution is Enjoying a Familiar Political Trajectory.”
Allies from Chaturbate, Free Speech Coalition, and Decriminalize Sex Work joined us and helped to spread the word about sexual freedom at the event. Thanks to the organizers, staff, and attendees for welcoming us!
(Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Beyond Pride Month: Protections for LGBTQ+ People All Year Round (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Empowering ourselves with the tools to be safe – while in-person at protests to having private conversations with friends – is a critical step to being better equipped to engage with our communities and the issues we care deeply about. Reflecting on Pride month and LGBTQIA+ specific risks and resources, Paige Collings and Daly Barnett write: “There is no one-size-fits-all security solution to protect against everything, and it’s important to ask yourself questions about the specific risks you face, balancing their likelihood of occurrence with the impact if they do come about. In some cases, the privacy risks brought about by technologies may actually be worth risking for the convenience that they offer. For example, is it more of a risk to you that phone towers are able to identify your cell phone’s device ID, or that you have your phone turned on and handy to contact others in the event of danger? Carefully thinking through these types of questions is the first step in keeping yourself safe.” Read more.
(Ted Shaffrey/AP)
What’s a book ban anyway? Depends on who you ask (NPR)
Book bans threaten our most fundamental human rights. But how, exactly, do we define “book ban”? Elizabeth Blair writes: “‘Book ban’ is one of those headline-ready terms often used by the news media, including NPR, for stories about the surge in book challenges across the U.S. The American Library Association launched its annual Banned Books Week in 1982. There are banned book clubs. States have introduced or passed laws that’ve been called bans on book bans. Meanwhile, many people fighting to get books removed from school libraries are not fans of the term book ban. The practice of censoring books has been around for centuries. But what does it actually mean to ban a book today? The answer depends on who you ask.” Read more.
(Photo by Hasan Esen/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A New Study Confirms That the Texas Abortion Ban “Is Responsible” for a Rise in Infant Deaths (The Nation)
Abortion bans are unconscionable attacks on reproductive and sexual freedom. The bans also, according to a new study, are the causal link to a rise in newborn infant deaths. Mary Tuma writes: “Before thousands of anti-abortion protesters at the Texas Capitol in 2023, Republican Governor Greg Abbott brazenly touted his party’s passage of draconian abortion laws as ‘life-saving.’ [...] Abbott’s words now ring particularly hollow in light of a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics [(JAMA Pediatrics)] that reveals a stark increase in infant deaths in Texas following SB 8, which barred care at the first sign of embryonic cardiac activity, typically around six weeks of pregnancy, and carried a private enforcement provision that deterred the vast majority of care in the state.” Read more.
(Fibonacci Blue via Flickr)
Abortion ‘Trafficking’ Laws, Travel Bans, Medication Crackdowns: How the GOP is Criminalizing Abortion Post-Dobbs (The Appeal)
In the wake of Dobbs, draconian laws criminalizing abortion are on a relentless rise. Meg O’Connor writes: “Alabama’s top law enforcement official wants to prosecute organizations that provide mutual aid to people seeking abortions. Louisiana made abortion medication a controlled substance alongside drugs like Xanax or Valium. After Idaho lawmakers created a new crime of ‘abortion trafficking’ last year, legislators in at least five states introduced copycat bills. And thirteen Texas municipalities have made it illegal to transport people through their jurisdictions to get an abortion. Across the country, lawmakers are testing the limits of what they can outlaw to prevent people from getting abortions. Police and prosecutors criminalized people for their pregnancy outcomes while Roe v Wade was in place. But lawmakers have redoubled those efforts since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022.” Read more.
(Old Pros)
What Does Decriminalized Sex Work Actually Look Like? (Reason)
Decriminalization of sex work is inextricable from the fight for sexual freedom, and for some, it’s already a reality. Kaytlin Bailey writes: “I recently spent six weeks touring my one-woman show, Whore’s Eye View, in Australia and New Zealand, where I met sex workers, clients, and brothel owners who negotiate sexual services openly without fear of arrest. After my shows, people from the sex industry—both workers and clients—stayed to tell me their stories. I spoke with people who did sex work to start their own businesses, pursue a passion project, or put themselves through school. Here’s the picture that emerged: Decriminalization has reduced violence and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and it has made it easier for sex workers to hold people accountable who try to hurt them.”Read more.
(Photo by Ian Hutchinson)
Woodhull’s Take: Department of State v. Muñoz: Authorizing Family Separation (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog)
In a recent ruling in Department of State v. Muñoz, SCOTUS held that U.S. citizens have no constitutional right to have their noncitizen spouses travel abroad and then return home to the U.S. We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation share our take on the decision and its devastating impact on family separation: “We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation are incensed by the Muñoz decision, which as it stands will lead to cruel, unconscionable results for mixed-status families across the country. We’re also concerned by the risk [...] that the erosion of the fundamental right to marry will serve to undermine the right to same-sex marriage, and all the fundamental rights enjoyed as part of that. We at Woodhull believe that the fundamental right to form a family includes the right to live together as a family, and we will continue to fight to protect that right.” Read more.
Woodhull Freedom Foundation is the only national human rights organization working full time to protect the fundamental human right to sexual freedom. Our work includes fighting censorship, eliminating discrimination based on gender or sexual identity, or family form, and protecting the right to engage in consensual sexual activity and expression. We do this through advocacy, education, and coalition building.
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