Our 2022 Impact Report is Live! 

This year Woodhull: 

• Hosted our first in-person Sexual Freedom Summit since the COVID-19 pandemic started 
• Brought over 600 people together to tell Congress “No” on the EARN IT Act with our petition 
• Started a brand new program to train sex worker rights activists called Spokes Hub 
• Signed on to over 25 different coalition letters on topics related to sexual freedom & human rights 
• Highlighted the human rights violations posed by censorship during our Human Rights Commission 

Read about all of this and more in our Impact Report! 

The Supreme Court Must Protect Internet Users’ Rights to Access Controversial Information Online (Electronic Frontier Foundation) 

Aaron Mackey urges us to protect First Amendment rights online: “In Twitter v. Taamneh, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that online services can be civilly liable under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) based on claims that the platform had generalized awareness that members of a terrorist organization used its service. [...] Although the legal issues in Taamneh primarily center on how federal courts should interpret the ATA’s language,the Ninth Circuit’s broad interpretation would have dangerous implications for the First Amendment rights of internet users and the platforms hosting their speech.”
Read more.

Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights (The 19th) 

Kate Sosin explains the Respect for Marriage Act: “The U.S. House approved legislation [December 8] to shore up marriage rights for LGBTQ+ couples. The Respect for Marriage Act has been hailed by lawmakers as a landmark law that will protect queer Americans for generations to come. [...] But the bill doesn’t codify the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that granted LGBTQ+ couples the right to marry. Instead, it forces states without marriage equality laws to recognize LGBTQ+ marriages from other states. It also declares all legal marriages in the United States must be recognized, even across state lines.” Read more.

The Pilots Flying Abortion Patients Across State Lines: Elevated Access is circumventing restrictive legislation and all-out bans from high in the air. (The Cut) 

Kim Brooks writes about flying abortion patients across state lines: “Flying women by private plane to get them to abortion clinics may sound too far-fetched, too expensive, and too legally precarious, but that’s because you’re probably imagining the sort of private planes a Kardashian might fly around in and be tracked by regulators and celeb watchers. Or maybe you’re thinking of the small commercial puddle jumpers you get booked on for a very short connection. To get a sense of what Elevated Access is doing, think smaller — much smaller — and much further off the radar.” Read more.

Christian Conservatives Want to Control Classrooms and Libraries (Rewire News Group) 

Lisa Needham writes about conservatives’ control of classrooms and libraries: “Curriculum attacks are rampant, and the people behind them aren’t hiding the ball. Their goal is no less than the erasure of the marginalized. For example, the Texas State Board of Education bowed to conservative pressure and won’t be updating its social studies curriculum standards until 2025—despite the fact they haven’t been updated in over a decade. Conservatives blocked the proposed standards because they had information about the history of the LGBTQ pride movement and discussed same-sex marriage.”
Read more.

How Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry Traps People in Debt and Homelessness (The Appeal) 

Christina Lynch writes about Georgia’s sex offender registry: “In 2011, after six years of engaging in sex work to survive, I was arrested and charged with, at age 19, pimping, pandering, and exploiting a minor who was over 16 years old. In 2012, I was convicted and sentenced to 30 years, with 14 to be served in custody, and forced to register as a sex offender. [...] Sex offender registries are debt traps that cause mass homelessness and mass incarceration. After years estranged from society and divorced from a solid employment history, the cost of rebuilding a life from rubble and debris is exorbitant (housing, furniture, vehicle, insurance, food, clothing, medications and medical expenses, etc).” Read more.

Tess’ Take: Dear FDA… Approve Over-the-Counter Birth Control, Now (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph shares her take on over-the-counter birth control: “OTC birth control would not resolve the devastating lack of reproductive justice across the United States, but it would certainly bring us closer to guaranteeing one of our fundamental human rights. Approving OTC birth control would be consistent with the demands of a nearly two-decade coalition-driven effort involving more than 100 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, research and advocacy groups, youth activists, health care providers, prominent medical and health professional associations, and regulatory experts. And it would most certainly be consistent with our demands at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation for sexual freedom to be promoted, celebrated, and accessible to all.”
Read more.