Latest news with #Bill194
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Abortion care has resumed in Missouri after voters enshrined rights. Providers fear it won't last
Abortion clinics have resumed service in Missouri after voters opted to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and a federal judge temporarily blocked restrictions that had lingered after the election. Abortion providers in the state worry the restoration of access could soon be undone, however, given the breadth of anti-abortion bills being considered by the state legislature. 'I'm happy and optimistic but in the back of my mind I do worry,' said Margaret Baum, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, one of two abortion providers in the state outside of hospitals. 'Are we going to go backwards again?' Republican lawmakers in Missouri introduced a slew of bills aimed at weakening or getting rid of the state's newabortion protections at the beginning of the state legislative session in January. Those bills include two proposed constitutional amendments, the first of whichwould outlaw the procedure except in medical emergencies and in cases with fetal anomalies,as well as in some cases involving rape or incest if patients presented required documentation. Lawmakers held a public hearing on the measure last month, a few weeks before abortion services resumed in the state. If the amendmentpasses the state's General Assembly, Missourians could vote on whether to adopt itas early as this year. The second proposed amendment would make abortion illegal after the point of fetal viability, around 24 weeks into pregnancy. Other abortion-related bills state lawmakers have introduced also seek to change at what point an abortion can be performed. House Bill 194,for instance, seeks to prohibit the procedure in Missouri after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. Lawmakers have targeted medication abortion as well, including in a bill proposing the abortion drug mifepristone be reclassified as a Class IV controlled substance — just as it was under a law passed by Republicans in Louisiana last year. 'The legislature has shown its cards,' said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the second abortion provider in the state. 'They don't want people to get reproductive care. They don't trust people to make their own medical decisions.' Missouri became the first state to overturn a near-total ban on abortion last year whenvoters approved a constitutional amendment to include a fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Abortions had previouslybeen outlawed in Missouri since 2022, when the state became the first in the country to enact a trigger law banning the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. After Roe was overturned, the state's Planned Parenthood branches were still connecting people to abortions, but Missourians had to travel to clinics in neighboring states Kansas and Illinois. Soon after the constitutional amendment was approved in November, Planned Parenthood sued the state for its abortion ban and a number of other restrictions on the procedure. A Jackson County Circuit Court judge ruled in Decemberthat the ban was unenforceable, but did not issue any judgments regarding the state's other abortion laws, like one requiring abortion facilities to be licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The same Jackson County judge issued a temporary injunction on the clinical requirements in February after Planned Parenthood argued they made it impossible for it to provide abortions in the state, allowing the organization to perform the procedure again. The case is slated to go to trial again in 2026. Even if none of the proposed legislation passes this year, the future of abortion access in the state will remain precarious until a final decision on the case is made next January, according to Baum. For now, however, abortion providers at both Planned Parenthood affiliates arereturning to more normal abortion services,though theycan only provide surgical abortions for the time being. The clinics will not be able to give patients abortion pills until the state approves a required plan for reporting complications from taking the drugs. A Planned Parenthood in Colombia, Mo., started to schedule and see patients for surgical abortions this week. 'As a physician, and just as a human in general, [I think] it is always better for people to get the care they need in the community they live in,' said Imam Alsaden, chief medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. 'Or at least as close to the community they live in as possible.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Library book bill debated in Wyoming legislative committee
CHEYENNE — Representatives in the statehouse are debating a measure proponents say will protect children from obscene material in school and public libraries, but opponents say is unnecessary and duplicates established protocol. For more than an hour Monday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 194, 'Obscenity amendments,' which would repeal exemptions in place for public and school librarians from the crime of 'promoting obscenity to minors,' with penalty of a $6,000 fine or one year of imprisonment. 'Parents were never notified' Bill sponsor Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said on Monday in committee that Wyoming parents and grandparents have discovered 'books that had what we considered to be inappropriate-level sexual material and content' in school and public libraries in recent years. Parents were not notified that questionable books were available, and districts denied they offered anything inappropriate, Lucas said. Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne (2025) Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne Lucas continued that her bill delineates what is suitable for minors, but also allows for parent or guardian choice in the matter. 'The intent here is, if your 16-year-old daughter is mature, and you want her to be able to read 'The Handmaid's Tale,' she can, with your knowledge and consent as a parent. But nobody else can make that decision for your child but you,' Lucas said. However, anyone other than a parent could be charged with the crime of promoting obscenity to a minor if they provide said material to a minor, Lucas said. Further, she said that the system should be 'opt in,' or such that parents who want access to content like 'The Handmaid's Tale' should have to opt to make it available, rather than requiring parents who don't want their students to have access to 'opt out.' Laramie County Library System Executive Director Antonia Gaona told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Tuesday that she has concerns over the overreach in the bill, and said that as a Christian, a parent and a county librarian, she cannot support HB 194. Antonia Gaona Antonia Gaona 'This legislation is unnecessary government overreach, and it creates duplicate bureaucratic tools and processes,' Gaona said. Local library boards already adhere to reasonable oversight and control, she said. In Laramie County, the library board of directors is appointed by elected county commissioners, and they craft, approve and enforce library policies through a public process that includes public comment. 'Beyond that, as a public library, we follow strict, professional guidelines and ethical standards to determine which materials and offerings are appropriate, based on the audience,' she said. What about health classes? During public comment Monday, opponents called the measure a 'book banning bill' that could have far-reaching, unintended consequences on not only what books are available, but on how teachers are allowed to teach. Proponents said that parents have long relied on school and public libraries as safe spaces for children, but do not know the extent of obscenities in the books on the shelves. Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, speaks during the House Appropriations Committee meeting on Jan. 28 at the state Capitol. Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, asked if the intent of the bill was also to eliminate materials used in sex education classes. Lucas responded that it is possible to teach sex ed without 'any measure of lewdness or prurient interest, by sticking with medical/clinical terms.' Grady Hutcherson with the Wyoming Education Association spoke about the potential unintended consequences HB 194 may have. 'If you are a health educator and have health standards that you're required to teach, this version of this bill currently raises the question of whether or not a health educator could potentially be fined or imprisoned,' Hutcherson said. Committee Chairman Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, asked if those courses could be opt-in by parents, but Hutcherson said he was reluctant to say so because state standards require health education. Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper (2025) Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, said during public comment that he finds 'it incredible to think that we exempt libraries and librarians from the very laws that citizens on the street would be violating,' further adding that teachers should not be exempt, either. 'A teacher doesn't somehow have a halo over them because they have a teaching degree,' he said. Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne (2025) Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne Who should monitor kids in the public library? Lindsay Travis, president of the Wyoming Library Association, approached the committee urging a no vote on HB 194. Echoing what Gaona said, Travis said librarians take their responsibility for not promoting obscenity very seriously, following locally approved policies over what is allowed in their collections. However, even with precautions in place, the definition of what is 'obscene' varies from one individual to the next, she said. 'This is why the exemption is in place, to protect librarians and other professionals from frivolous and likely expensive lawsuits,' Travis said. The bill 'only grows government,' she said, and public library policies state that parents and guardians, not librarians, are responsible for monitoring the reading selections of their own children. 'Likewise, school district policies can allow parents to opt out their children from accessing library materials,' she said. Rep. Pam Thayer, R-Rawlins, asked if there is an age limit for children to enter a library, and Travis responded that it varies from library to library: Some state that unaccompanied minors must be with a parent, and some do not. Rep. Pamela Thayer, R-Rawlins (2025) Rep. Pamela Thayer, R-Rawlins 'You prefer a parent, but how can you ensure, if a minor does come in, that they're not exposed to some of the books of concern?' Thayer said, continuing that she sees HB 194 as a way to address the issue of unaccompanied, unsupervised minors in a library potentially accessing material of which a parent did not approve. Later in the meeting, Christine Brady, director of the Goshen County Library, said her library is one big room with a very small staff. 'How am I going to restrict access? We have things in different locations, but let's be clear. It is a parent's responsibility to know where their children are. Children don't just wander into libraries. The parents are supposed to know where their kids are,' Brady said. 'Trying to figure out logistically how a small library is going to restrict access is going to be a difficult task,' Brady said. 'I urge you to vote no on this bill.' Gaona emphasized to the WTE that a public library cannot act in place of a parent. Methods for parental control include different levels of checkout privileges on a juvenile card, as well as restrictions on and links to a parent card. 'Parents can inspect their children's records. They are expected to accompany their children on library visits and to library events,' Gaona said. But Chelsie Collier, a member of the Campbell County Public Library board in Gillette, spoke in favor of the bill Monday, saying that for decades, parents have seen libraries as a safe place for minors. Those parents have not truly seen what has 'seeped into our walls and pages,' Collier said. A 'loophole' has allowed 'liberal media outlets and publishers to promote sexually explicit material to minors without oversight of parental consent,' she said. 'Parents have no clue what materials their children will have access to,' Collier said. '(They may) stumble upon acts displayed in pictures, drawings and through graphically, erotically painted words.' Natrona County School Board Trustee Mary Schmidt, speaking as an individual before the committee, said that she, too, supports HB 194. 'I can say that our school libraries do contain many of the graphic novels that contain nudity, language and many other obscene things,' Schmidt said. In light of recent Wyoming testing scores, which showed 70% of fourth-graders and 71% of eighth-graders were not proficient in reading, Schmidt said HB 194 would encourage school boards to review library resources and encourage policies that would direct school libraries to support the academic studies 'instead of titillating, leisurely reading materials that we currently have.' Washut said the committee would take up amendments to the bill Wednesday.
