Originally published by The 19th. Lawmakers in at least eight states used the last two months of 2022 to prefile anti-transgender bills ahead of state legislative sessions convening this month — setting up another year of statehouse battles over trans rights, while targeting health care for trans adults in new ways. Most states moving early on anti-trans bills focused on banning gender-affirming… Source Source / Read More: State Legislatures Are Now Targeting Health Care for Transgender Adults
Missouri
Cori Bush Pushes to Stop Missouri’s Execution of Amber McLaughlin
Two Democratic members of Congress are urging Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) to stop the execution of Amber McLaughlin, who the state is scheduled to kill next week, citing the “moral depravity” of the death penalty. In their letter to Parson, Missouri Representatives Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver highlighted that McLaughlin was sentenced to death through a unilateral decision by a judge due to a… Source Source / Read More: Cori Bush Pushes to Stop Missouri’s Execution of Amber McLaughlin
Missouri School District Brings Back the Paddle to Discipline Students
A school district in southwestern Missouri is bringing back corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure, in the form of spanking with a paddle. Cassville Public Schools announced the option for parents to “opt into” having their children be punished by being “swatted on the buttocks with a paddle,” according to reporting from The Kansas City Star. Under the new policy, students can be hit by a school administrator with a paddle to avoid suspension, with the permission of a parent or guardian. The district’s decision to allow the archaic form of punishment in schools has divided the community. “I do…
Missouri Lawmaker Wants to Ban Residents’ Travels to Other States for Abortions
A Republican lawmaker in Missouri is hoping to ban residents in her state from traveling to other states to obtain abortion services through an enforcement mechanism that is similar to that of Texas’s restrictive abortion ban. State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) has attached amendments to a number of abortion bills that are currently being considered within the state legislature, with hopes that her amendment will become law should one of those measures pass. Her proposal would allow any state resident to file a lawsuit against any individual who helps a Missouri resident get an abortion — even if that…