Number of abortions in 2023 likely to be higher than in 2020: Support networks that help with travel and medical costs, and telehealth access to abortion, are two reasons why the Guttmacher Institute predicts more U.S. abortions will have occurred in 2023 than in 2020, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V. Wade abortion rights. The nonprofit says most states that protect abortion rights expanded abortion services in 2023. Read more from Guttmacher here.
Ban on conversion therapy bans hits Iowa Legislature: Yes, you read that right: a move is afoot to ban local governments from banning the practice of conversion therapy, which is the use of intimidation or abuse to attempt to change someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation. The clash at hand is actually over First Amendment free speech rights, following court rulings in two Florida communities, and in Atlanta, that declared conversion therapy bans a violation of free speech and forced those bans to be overturned. Nationwide, 22 states including Michigan and Illinois ban conversion therapy. Read more about Iowa’s proposed ban on the ban, and how Iowa’s LGBTQ+ activists are responding to the proposal, in the Quad City Times.
Redlining initiative leads to $1.9 million investment in Tennessee’s People of Color customers: Two years ago, the Biden administration announced a historic effort to investigate and penalize “redlining,” the practice of intentionally impeding the ability of People of Color to obtain mortgages and loans. That effort, the Combating Redlining Initiative, resulted this week in a Tennessee bank agreeing to pay almost $2 million for redlining from 2015 to 2020, reports the Department of Justice. An investigation by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed that Patriot Bank had for five years “avoided providing mortgage services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Memphis and discouraged people seeking credit in those communities from obtaining home loans. The settlement is the 11th case of redlining researched through the Initiative since 2021.
“Love Your Mind” campaign focuses on mental health needs of Black, Hispanic men With statistics showing that 64% of Black and 63% of Hispanic adults report having a mental health condition, the “Love Your Mind” campaign is recruiting soccer stars of color to help reduce the stigma of men of color seeking mental health services, reports Healthcare Utah. “People of color in our country face unique challenges, including ongoing experiences of racism that can lead to ‘racial battle fatigue,’ and we’re proud to develop messages and resources that acknowledge and uplift them,” sys Dr. William A. Smith with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute that is leading the campaign.
(photo credit: sign at an April 2022 abortion rights rally at Stanford University, from Suiren2022 on Wikimedia Commons)
