Top Stories This Week

• What’s happening at Woodhull;
• IVF access in Alabama;
• Data protection and abortion access;
• The legality of blocking social media critics;
• Improving access to gender-affirming care in Hawaii;
• A “Don’t Say Gay” settlement; and
• Woodhull’s take on criminalizing supporting trans kids. 

Jamila Aisha Joins Mandy Salley for April’s Censorship Program! 

Woodhull is thrilled to welcome our very first Censorship Series Co-Host, Jamila Aisha, next month! Jamila is a brilliant sexologist and advocate who has graciously extended some of her time and talent to us to develop next month’s program, “Silenced Perspectives.”

Jamila and Mandy will be joined by two women who have dealt with unequal influence from censorship. This conversation will be more personal than usual. We’ll hear directly from those impacted by censorship's unequal effects instead of those who are fighting against it in legislatures. Our discussion will tackle history, policy, and so much more. Join us on Zoom on April 12 at 12 Noon ET for this necessary conversation. 

Woodhull is Standing Up and Speaking Out On Your Behalf: Legislative Updates and Actions  

Even though some states have closed their legislative session for the year, there is still a lot of movement happening on bills that will impact our human right to sexual freedom, if passed. Since our last newsletter, our fingertips have started eroding due to furiously typing testimony and letters of support or opposition. We’ve sent letters or testified in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, and Rhode Island since we sent our last newsletter. 

• Alaska, Arizona, and Georgia are all considering age verification measures. We’ve been vocal about how damaging these bills will be to our privacy and free expression rights, and we won’t stop speaking up! We were fortunate enough to be joined by 14 fabulous allied organizations opposing this legislation in letters to Arizona and Georgia’s Senators last week. AZ 2586 passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on 3/18/24, and that means the AZ Senate could vote on it any day. If you live in Arizona, there is still time to oppose this measure! Take action! 
  
  
• In Georgia, HB 910 passed the House and could be voted on in the Senate any time now. Just like Arizona, there is still time for Georgians to stop this bill from becoming law. Make your voice heard! 
  
  
• In a pleasant turn of events, Woodhull supported testimony in Rhode Island last week! H7833 would make it a crime for law enforcement to sexually assault people in their custody. Shockingly, Rhode Island is one of five states without a law like this already on the books. Our allies at Decriminalize Sex Work were in the state house, leading the charge to pass this bill, and we are grateful for their leadership on this issue. The bill is still under consideration, and Rhode Islanders can call their leaders to make their stance known on this crucial legislation. Our testimony would make a great script for your call! 
  

At Woodhull, we are often asked to educate politicians about human rights and sexual freedom. Do you think your legislator would benefit from a quick refresher?
Fill out our Legislative Support Request Form,
and we'll send them a note, or who knows?
Maybe we’ll pay them a visit! 

(Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Alabama has restored IVF access. But legal battles are likely just beginning. (The 19th) 

Choosing if, when, and how to build a family is central to reproductive justice. Shefali Luthra writes: “In vitro fertilization is set to resume in Alabama, following the passage of a state law shielding health care practitioners and patients from civil or criminal liability following the state Supreme Court’s February 16 ruling that grants embryos the same right as people. With the new law in effect, Alabama physicians said they were prepared to resume treatment almost immediately, with patients scheduled for embryo transfers this week and next. But in the longer term, physicians acknowledged, the state court’s decision may have opened a sort of Pandora’s box, triggering a potential new round of efforts to restrict IVF’s legality in Alabama.” Read more.

(Electronic Frontier Foundation)

Sen. Wyden Exposes Data Brokers Selling Location Data to Anti-Abortion Groups That Target Abortion Seekers (Electronic Frontier Foundation) 

Data protection is critical in a world where our human right to abortion is under relentless attack. Adam Schwartz writes: “In a recent letter to the FTC and SEC, Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) details new information on data broker Near, which sold the location data of people seeking reproductive healthcare to anti-abortion groups. Near enabled these groups to send targeted ads promoting anti-abortion content to people who had visited Planned Parenthood and similar clinics.” Read more.

(Cath Virginia/The Verge/Photos via Getty Images)

Supreme Court defines when it’s illegal for public officials to block social media critics (The Verge) 

As Woodhull’s President, Ricci Joy Levy, commented last summer, we are proud to advocate against viewpoint discrimination by government officials, which “often impacts those expressing non-conforming positions on matters involving sexual freedom.” Recently, the Supreme Court issued an opinion on this very issue in Lindke v. Freed. Lauren Feiner writes: “In an opinion signed by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court established a test to determine when a public official can be considered to be engaging in state action in blocking someone from their social media account. The official must have both ‘(1) possessed actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social-media posts.’” Read more.

(Cage Rivera/Rewire News Group illustration)

Hawaii Has an Opportunity to Improve Gender-Affirming Care Access (Rewire News Group) 

Improving and protecting access to gender-affirming care is essential to the sexual freedom movement. Hawaii seems to be taking steps in the right direction with HB 2079, a bill that would relax the in-person requirements for drugs prescribed as part of gender-affirming care. Garnet Henderson writes: “HB 2079 would also extend the protections of Hawaii’s ‘shield law’—which guards abortion patients, providers, and anyone who helps someone get an abortion from out-of-state legal action—to gender-affirming care providers and parents or guardians of minors receiving gender-affirming care.” Read more.

(Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Civil rights attorneys win settlement in ‘Don’t Say Gay’ (Prism) 

Censorship laws like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law endanger us and our access to human rights. Still, there are glimmers of hope as people secure victories challenging those laws. Alexandra Martinez writes: “Civil rights won a rare victory in Florida on March 11 when Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys reached a settlement that allows students and teachers to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms as long as it’s not part of instruction.” Read more.

(thisisengineering)

Woodhull’s Take: Missouri’s HB 2885 Criminalizes Supporting Trans Kids (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Increasingly, attacks on our human rights consistently involve criminalization as an enforcement tool. We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation share our take on Missouri’s HB 2885, which would make it a Class E felony for teachers or school counselors to aid the “social transition” of a child: “We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation staunchly oppose HB 2885. We believe firmly that everyone – including teachers – should be encouraged to support trans youth rather than face unthinkable criminal punishments for simply caring for another human being.” Read more.

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