Latest news with #bodilyautonomy
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary '80s Musician Makes Bold Political Statement With Latest Performance
Legendary '80s Musician Makes Bold Political Statement With Latest Performance originally appeared on Parade. had a blunt political statement to make as she celebrated a major milestone for one of her most beloved tracks, one that many of her fans could, unfortunately, relate to. On Wednesday, July 2, the iconic pop star, who is currently on her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, shared a video of herself performing "She Bop" during a recent concert—a song notoriously about female self-pleasure. "Ain't no law against it yet!" she boldly declared in the caption of the tour clip. "Here's to 41 years of She Bopping! 🫨." Fans were, of course, excited by the milestone, with one commenter applauding, "Amazing! Happy Bopp-aversary!! ☄️🥰💫 ❤️🔥," but many were disappointed by the reality of her statement. "The fact that 'yet' makes sense in that sentence is sad," one fan admitted, while another agreed, "Emphasis on 'yet.'" The "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" singer has never been one to stay quiet, speaking out just last week to affirm that she's "all in" on the fight for women's bodily and reproductive autonomy—a battle she's been embroiled in for much of her life. "In my childhood, women didn't have reproductive freedom and 50+ years later we find ourselves in a time warp where one's freedom to control their own body has been stripped away,' she wrote, in part. "But freedom for women then, and unfortunately now, comes at a big price. If we don't have control over our own bodies then we have no real freedom. Stay loud and stay mobilized. Keep fighting. ✊✊✊.'Legendary '80s Musician Makes Bold Political Statement With Latest Performance first appeared on Parade on Jul 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
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The Independent
29-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Funeral held for Georgia woman kept on life support until baby could be delivered: ‘Adriana's voice will be heard'
Adriana Smith, the Atlanta mother who was declared brain-dead but kept medically alive under Georgia's anti-abortion law, has been laid to rest. Smith, who turned 31 while on life support, suffered a catastrophic stroke in February and was declared brain-dead at eight weeks pregnant, but her family had no choice but to keep her alive until doctors delivered her son by emergency C-section. The case has become a lightning rod for the impact of state-level abortion bans in medical emergencies and has given rise to questions about fetal personhood. The 'vague' language of Georgia's LIFE Act, which doesn't clearly address cases of brain death, left Smith's family to navigate legal and medical complications during a devastating time, according to advocates. At Smith's funeral Saturday at Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia, just outside of Atlanta, loved ones addressed the difficulty of the nurse's death and vowed her voice 'will be heard,' 11Alive reports. 'Adriana's life mattered and we're gonna make sure ... from this house to the state house to Washington, D.C., that Adriana's voice will be heard,' Evangelist Triana Arnold James told the congregation, according to the outlet. Democratic State Rep. Park Cannon also rallied behind enacting 'Adriana's Law,' which she said would 'affirm that individuals retain agency over their bodies and medical decisions even under restrictive fetal personhood regimes.' 'We believe bodily autonomy should be upheld in Georgia by enacting Adriana's Law,' Cannon said. Smith's younger sister Naya spoke at the service, where she praised her sibling's 'love, kindness and wisdom.' In a poignant tribute at the end of the service, the Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honor Guard formally relieved Smith of her duties as a nurse and recited the 'final call of duty' in her honor, 11Alive reported. Smith's son Chance was born prematurely earlier this month, weighing about 1 pound 13 ounces. He is still in a neonatal intensive care unit. Smith has another 7-year-old son. Smith's mother, April Newkirk, said that doctors told her Georgia's anti-abortion law required that her daughter remain on life support until the fetus was able to survive outside the womb. The law was among a wave of anti-abortion measures enacted in Republican-led states after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion care by overturning the landmark Roe v Wade ruling in 2022. Georgia's law restricts abortion once cardiac activity is detected, or at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant. The law also grants personhood rights to a fetus, effectively providing the same full rights and legal protections as a person. 'I'm not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But I'm saying we should have had a choice,' Newkirk told 11Alive in a previous interview. Newkirk felt the same way after Chance's birth. 'I think all women should have a choice about their body,' she said. 'And I think I want people to know that.' Smith's loved ones gathered on June 15 to mark her 31st birthday and celebrate her life. Her life support machine was turned off a few days later.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan GOP Lawmaker When Asked If He Supports Women's Bodily Autonomy: 'I Don't'
Michigan Rep. Karl Bohnak (R-Deerton) has finally said what so many members of the GOP are too scared to say outright: they don't support women's bodily autonomy. Bohnak recently held an office hours event at a public library to take questions from his constituents. In audio obtained by the Heartland Signal, one Marquette resident mentioned how their community is now 'a healthcare desert' after the only Planned Parenthood clinic in the Upper Peninsula closed in April, and asked Bohnak whether he supported 'reproductive freedom.' While the Republican lawmaker said he supports 'reproductive clinics' that provide contraceptives or pre-cancer screenings, he wouldn't support a clinic that offers abortion care. Most Popular George Clooney Sounds Like a Lovely House Husband Ohio Woman Faces 'Abuse of a Corpse' Charge for Miscarriage in Another Post-Roe Nightmare Abortion Access Will, Once Again, Be Decided by the Supreme Court 'If you're talking about abortion, I'm not going to support an abortion clinic,' Bohnak said. The resident responded: 'So you don't support a woman's autonomy over her own body?' 'I don't,' Bohnak answered, making sure there was no room left for confusion. If there's anything that 2025 has taught me about the GOP, it's that they never know when to shut up. This confession is practically my Signalgate. Bohnak, who The Independent previously described as QAnon adjacent, was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in November, turning the U.P. entirely red by upsetting incumbent Democrat Jenn Hill. Before becoming a politician, Bohnak, who's skeptical of climate change, worked as a meteorologist. But he got fired in 2021 over his refusal to take the covid vaccine, claiming it violated the Nuremberg Code of 1947. During his campaign, Bohnak was repeatedly asked if he would vote to restrict abortion access, but—like every single GOP candidate in 2024—he refused to comment. If only he'd taken the same advice this time around. The U.P. is largely rural and isn't physically connected to the state's Lower Peninsula; instead, it branches off of northeast Wisconsin, which is currently fighting its own battle with abortion legislation. As the Marquette resident mentioned, Bohnak's district is now considered a reproductive healthcare desert, with the closest Planned Parenthood five hours south in the L.P.—though many clinics in the L.P. now offer travel accommodations for U.P. patients. In 2022, Michiganians did vote to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution—though needless hurdles to access remain. And, this week, on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs reminded hospitals of their duty 'to continue providing adequate and appropriate reproductive care to patients.' The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs should probably send a reminder to all of Michigan's lawmakers, too. They can start with Bohnak. Like what you just read? You've got great taste. Subscribe to Jezebel, and for $5 a month or $50 a year, you'll get access to a bunch of subscriber benefits, including getting to read the next article (and all the ones after that) ad-free. Plus, you'll be supporting independent journalism—which, can you even imagine not supporting independent journalism in times like these? Yikes.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Assisted dying: The heat and emotion of today's significant vote
Today's vote is hugely significant. It now looks highly likely that assisted dying will be introduced in England and vote by MPs to approve Kim Leadbeater's bill is arguably the biggest vote regarding bodily autonomy since the legalisation of abortion in Great Britain in the baking heat of London's Parliament Square today, hundreds of campaigners stood chanting their views - both for and against assisted dying - amid a sea of colourful banners and was emotion too. Some carried photos of loved ones who died in pain, while others expressed their fears for the vulnerable in debate around assisted dying has been a polarised one - and there are still hurdles to cross before it will be a reality here. What happens next? The Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill will now go to the Lords, where it is likely to spend several months undergoing the same line-by-line scrutiny that it did before this year, perhaps around October, the bill would come back to the Commons for any changes to be voted on and it could then be sent for Royal Assent. So when could assisted dying become available in England and Wales?The government has said it could take up to four years to set up an assisted dying service, meaning it could be 2029 or even 2030 before the first medically-assisted death minister Stephen Kinnock said this delay was needed to ensure "safe and effective implementation" of an "entirely new service with robust safeguards and protections" which would need to be "carefully developed and tested".Under the proposals, mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with a life expectancy of less than six months would be eligible for an assisted would need to make two separate declarations, signed and witnessed, about their "clear, settled and informed" wish to die, and satisfy two independent doctors that they are eligible, and have not been would be at least a seven-day gap between each application would then go before a multidisciplinary panel comprising a psychiatrist, social worker and a panel would hear evidence from at least one of the doctors and the applicant, possibly via live the panel approved the application there would be a further 14-day "period of reflection" which could be cut to 48 hours if the patient is likely to die within a month. Ms Leadbeater has said the whole process could take up to two months, which does raise the risk of people dying while they are waiting for process is also far longer than other comparable services on which the Leadbeater bill is Oregon, the first US state to legalise assisted dying nearly 30 years ago, there is a 15-day waiting period between the first and second request. Since 2020, this restriction has been lifted for patients at risk of imminent California, the 15-day cooling off period has been cut to 48 hours because of the risk of patients dying before their medically assisted death is chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty has cautioned against creating a system that would risk terminally ill patients being "stuck in a bureaucratic thicket" in their final months of the Leadbeater bill contains a lot of detail, there is still plenty to sort out if it becomes law. Training for doctors If the legislation is passed, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who voted against the bill, will be required to set up an assisted dying service under the NHS This means sorting out the training for doctors who will assess patients for capacity and for any signs of coercion or pressure, plus creating safeguards for those with a learning MPs first voted on the issue in November, the plans included a High Court judge who would need to approve each proposal has now been dropped and replaced with the new service will be overseen by a voluntary assisted dying commissioner, who will be either a serving or retired senior role will include appointing members of review panels, referring cases to them and monitoring the operation of the law. Although the proposed law is based on legislation in 10 US states and Australia, there are important California, patients are able to store the lethal medication at home and they are not required to have a medical professional present when they the Leadbeater bill, a doctor would prepare the drug, and be present when the patient self-administers would usually mean swallowing the lethal substance, although if that is not possible, the bill allows for a "medical device" to be used to enable the patient to ingest will be strict limits on what a doctor can and can't do. Mr Kinnock said it would be legal for them to help a patient sit up and make them comfortable, but not for them to tip a cup of pills into their health secretary will regulate what drugs can be used. In all likelihood these will come in a powdered form and need to be mixed with liquid for swallowing. Elsewhere in the world I was present at an assisted death in California and witnessed the doctor adding fruit juice to the drug in order to make it more palatable and less bitter for the patient to that occasion the patient, Wayne Hawkins, was unconscious within a few minutes of swallowing the drug and died in around 35 iplayer - Assisted dying: The Final ChoiceDeaths usually occur within an hour although there have been rare cases of it taking several some other countries that have legalised assisted dying, euthanasia is permitted, whereby a doctor or nurse administers the lethal dose, usually by is allowed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but even for most supporters of assisted dying here, it is seen as a step too impact assessment, carried out by civil servants estimated there could be between 1,042 and 4,559 assisted deaths in the 10th year after the law came into upper estimate would represent around 1% of all deaths in England and happens to the Leadbeater bill in the coming months, assisted dying is coming to the British Isle of Man has already approved an assisted dying bill and Jersey is also committed to changing the law.A bill to legalise assisted dying in Scotland has passed an initial vote at Holyrood, but faces further hurdles. The Scottish bill does not have a life expectancy timescale for eligibility and instead refers to advanced and progressive disease that is expected to cause premature dying, or assisted suicide as many critics prefer to call it, remains illegal in most of the medicine means that healthcare systems can keep people alive longer than ever before, but often with limited quality of say that assisted dying gives autonomy and control to patients. For opponents it is a chilling and dangerous step which puts the vulnerable at risk of happens to the bill at Westminster, this heated and polarising debate will continue.
