It was Happy Hour for the cultural left on Friday evening’s PBS NewsHour, as host Geoff Bennett celebrated with PBS’s St. Louis-based “communities correspondent” Gabrielle Hays on how progressives and pro-choice Republicans were beating back Republican extremism on abortion and transgender rights in various statehouses.
Bennett: Two Republican-led state legislatures, two strict anti-abortion bills rejected. In both cases, Republican members helped defeat the measures by one-vote margins. In South Carolina, five women in the state Senate, three Republicans, a Democrat, and an independent, joined forces to block a near-total abortion ban. Republican Senator Sandy Senn argued her GOP colleagues were blindly following the majority leader.
Bennett didn’t seem to have a problem with the hysterical, inflammatory language used by the pro-abortion representatives. In an abortion, which side are the violent ones??
State Sen. Sandy Senn (R-SC): The only thing we can do when you all, you men in the chamber, metaphorically, keep slapping women by raising abortion again and again and again, is to -- for us to slap you back with our words.
Bennett: And independent Senator Mia McLeod, a sexual assault survivor, expressed frustration that she had to share such personal details to convince her male colleagues to vote No.
State Sen. Mia McLeod (I-SC): Just as rape is about power and control, so is this total ban. And those who continue to push legislation like this are raping us again with their indifference.
Bennett then pivoted to the usual leftist lament about a parade of "anti-trans bills" without noticing that "pro-trans" activists are shoving their agenda down our cultural throats:
And it's not just abortion that's become a flash point at the state level. Battles are also raging over transgender rights. The Washington Post reports that more than 400 anti-trans bills have been filed in the first four months of this year, higher than the past four years combined.
In Kansas yesterday, Republican lawmakers overrode the governor's veto and approved a bill that prevents trans people from using a bathroom or a locker room associated with their gender identity. That even applies to crisis centers for domestic violence and rape. Montana became the latest state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth today. Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed the legislation that will go into effect in October. And in Missouri, a state judge is set to weigh in on Monday on new rules from the state's attorney general that would ban the same kind of care for youth and adults.
Communities correspondent Gabrielle Hays is covering that and joins us now. So, Gabby, help us understand what Missouri's A.G. is trying to do.
Hays sounded quite cozy with the abortion mill Planned Parenthood, which provides what she called “gender-affirming care,” a benign, trans-friendly description for a selection of services, including irrevocable surgery or hormone therapy.
However, organizations who advocate for those who will be looking for this care for the trans community, for the LGBTQ community, say that it is not only drastic and unprecedented, but it is also a dangerous move. I spoke to Planned Parenthood earlier today. They provide gender-affirming care in our state. And they say, though the attorney general has argued that this is not a ban, that any rule or regulation that makes it significantly harder for an individual to get care is considered a ban.
Hays performed outreach on behalf of Planned Parenthood:
….So, Planned Parenthood, for instance, held three pop-up clinics to provide gender-affirming care for individuals, not only on the Missouri side, but on the Illinois side, of our state line. They tell me that those clinics were full and that they even had to open up 200 extra appointments….
This pro-abortion, transgender segment was provided in part by Cunard, a “proud supporter of public television.”
A transcript is available, click “Expand” below:
PBS NewsHour
4/28/23
7:30:55 pm (ET)
Geoff Bennett: Two Republican-led state legislatures, two strict anti-abortion bills rejected. In both cases, Republican members helped defeat the measures by one-vote margins. In South Carolina, five women in the state Senate, three Republicans, a Democrat and an independent, joined forces to block a near-total abortion ban. Republican Senator Sandy Senn argued her GOP colleagues were blindly following the majority leader.
State Sen. Sandy Senn (R-SC): The only thing we can do when you all, you men in the chamber, metaphorically, keep slapping women by raising abortion again and again and again, is to — for us to slap you back with our words.
Geoff Bennett: And independent Senator Mia McLeod, a sexual assault survivor, expressed frustration that she had to share such personal details to convince her male colleagues to vote no.
State Sen. Mia McLeod (I-SC): Just as rape is about power and control, so is this total ban. And those who continue to push legislation like this are raping us again with their indifference.
Geoff Bennett: And in Nebraska, a six-week ban was defeated by an 80-year-old man. Pro-life Republican Merv Riepe abstained over his concerns that the restrictions went too far. In both South Carolina and Nebraska, abortion remains legal for now until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
And it's not just abortion that's become a flash point at the state level. Battles are also raging over transgender rights. The Washington Post reports that more than 400 anti-trans bills have been filed in the first four months of this year, higher than the past four years combined. In Kansas yesterday, Republican lawmakers overrode the governor's veto and approved a bill that prevents trans people from using a bathroom or a locker room associated with their gender identity. That even applies to crisis centers for domestic violence and rape. Montana became the latest state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth today. Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed the legislation that will go into effect in October. And, in Missouri, a state judge is set to weigh in on Monday on new rules from the state's attorney general that would ban the same kind of care for youth and adults.
Communities correspondent Gabrielle Hays is covering that and joins us now. So, Gabby, help us understand what Missouri's A.G. is trying to do.
Gabrielle Hays: Well, essentially, Geoff, earlier this month, the Missouri attorney general, Andrew Bailey, announced that he would be implementing emergency regulations or rules that would restrict a person's access to gender-affirming care. Those rules include different regulations, such as a person would have to receive 18 months of therapy before they would have access to that care. When he announced this, he essentially said that he was doing it to protect children. However, organizations who advocate for those who will be looking for this care for the trans community, for the LGBTQ community say that it is not only drastic and unprecedented, but it is also a dangerous move. I spoke to Planned Parenthood earlier today. They provide gender-affirming care in our state. And they say, though the attorney general has argued that this is not a ban, that any rule or regulation that makes it significantly harder for an individual to get care is considered a ban.
Geoff Bennett: And, Gabby, these rules are being challenged as we speak, as I understand it. So, where do things stand?
Gabrielle Hays: Absolutely. Well, ACLU Missouri, Lambda Legal and other organizations filed a petition hoping for a temporary restraining order. That was earlier this week on Wednesday. A judge did halt the regulations from going into effect on Thursday. However, the halt only lasts until Monday. The judge says that they'd like to hear a little bit more from both sides. And so we are told that we should get some type of judgment or ruling by 5:00 p.m. Monday, which would be May 1.
Geoff Bennett: How are advocates and folks that you have encountered in the course of your reporting, how are they responding to all of this?
Gabrielle Hays: Yes, that's a good question. One of the things I have been told a lot is that organizations across our state have been thinking about this for a while. And so, when the attorney general announced that this would happen, they were already implementing — having things in play. So, Planned Parenthood, for instance, held three pop-up clinics to provide gender-affirming care for individuals, not only on the Missouri side, but on the Illinois side, of our state line. They tell me that those clinics were full and that they even had to open up 200 extra appointments.
But I think also, too, we hear from organizations such as PROMO. Their executive director, Katy Erker-Lynch, told me that what they want people to understand is that they're trying to answer questions to those who would be most affected by this and make sure they know what's going on. But, further, they want people to understand that there are actual human beings behind the policies and the regulations that are being challenged right now. And so that's what they're hoping that people understand and consider as they work to bring care and resources to people across our state. But, until then, we will keep our eye on this as we await a decision by Monday's deadline.
