Transgender activist Raquel Willis speaks out on "the problem with trying to police people's bodies"
CBSN
Activists are criticizing the Arkansas Republican-controlled state legislature after it overrode Governor Asa Hutchinson's veto on a law that makes it a criminal offense for medical professionals to provide transgender minors with transition treatments such as hormone blockers or gender-affirming surgeries. The move comes a day after Hutchinson, a Republican, called the legislation a "vast government overreach."
The historic, but controversial law, which also prohibits physicians from referring minors to other professionals for such care, comes amid a sweeping number of anti-trans bills in states, including banning transgender student-athletes from competing in sports aligned with their gender identity. Activist and cultural organizer Raquel Willis said these pieces of legislation are demoralizing. "I think that we have to really have a conversation around the problem with trying to police people's bodies," Willis told CBSN. "This is not only going to affect trans youth but everyone because in some states these pieces of legislation build registries to police the bodies of all athletes."Just days ago, invasive Joro spiders sent New Yorkers into a frenzy amid news that the large arachnids that can soar with the winds are headed for the Big Apple. Now, there's another critter causing a stir that has "furry" mittens for claws and is known to terrorize fishermen while tearing up coastlines.
Officials in two of the three states probing their first cases of bird flu in dairy cattle this month said their hands are tied after the Food and Drug Administration pleaded with states to ramp up testing and restrictions on potentially infectious raw milk being sold to consumers within their borders.