To reflect the Department of Health’s commitment to improving Aboriginal health and wellbeing, we’ve commissioned an artwork: Bayi Dha-ang: Walk Strong (Dhudhuroa language) by Bitja (Dixon Patten Jnr).
We’ll use this artwork across our work – our offices, policy documents, reports, as a symbol of the cultural connections that influence the work we do with Aboriginal communities in Victoria and what we can all learn from the thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom contained in the lands we all live.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On June 24, 2025, the State University of Management Assembly Hall hosted a solemn awards ceremony for the winners of the International Patriotic Competition “Family History. Immortal Memory”.
Opening the award ceremony, the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev reported that 745 applications from 1,443 people from 66 regions of Russia and 5 regions of Belarus were received for the competition.
“Our university initiated the competition, which we have been working on for six months. GUU is closely connected with the Great Patriotic War, because in 1941 many of our students, teachers and even representatives of the university administration voluntarily went to defend the Motherland. Many of them, even the majority, died in the battles for Moscow, to which the memorial in our yard is dedicated. That is why the theme of the competition is so important for us, because every family in one sense or another took part in that war, if not in direct combat, then in providing the front with everything necessary. This was not only our war, it was a fight for the life and freedom of all mankind,” said Vladimir Stroyev.
The Chairperson of the Coordination Council of the League of Higher Education Teachers, Elena Lyapuntsova, admitted that it was difficult, sensitive and responsible to evaluate the competition entries.
“All the participants are great, but a competition is a competition, let the losers not be upset, because the main thing is that you were able to tell the whole country about your relatives. If we do not know history, then we will have no future, so it is doubly important to pass on to the next generations not only the information from textbooks, but also your family, personal stories,” noted the Chairperson of the Coordination Council of the League of Higher Education Teachers.
Elena Lyapuntsova also thanked the State University of Management for its cooperation and invited everyone to the All-Russian Forum of Higher Education Teachers, the first day of which, like last year, will be held at the State University of Management, and also announced free advanced training courses for teachers, including on project activities.
A welcoming letter from State Duma deputy Biysultan Khamzaev was read by his assistant Natalya Belova. In it, the deputy emphasized the importance of patriotic initiatives for the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and noted that such competitions inspire young people to study history, and also wished further creative success to the participants and organizers.
Competition results
Nomination: “Best Video” (students aged 18 to 25): 1st place – “A Soldier’s Feat”, team of Kuzma Dashchenko, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics; 2nd place – “There Are Twenty Million of Us Unforgotten”, Ksenia Kovalenko, N.M. Fedorovsky Polar State University; 3rd place – “When the Poppies Bloom”, team of Victoria Spanake, Kazan branch of the All-Russian State University of Justice (RPA of the Ministry of Justice of Russia).
Nomination: “Best Video” (young teachers aged 18 to 35): 1st place – “Until the Next Waltz”, Grigory Sotnikov’s team, Siberian Federal University; 2nd place – “Letter from a Peer”, Maria Brokar’s team, Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University; 3rd place – “The Holy Name of My Great-Grandfather”, Sofia Atrokhova, Moscow Finance and Law University MFUA.
Nomination: “Best Video” (young teachers aged 35 and above): 1st place – “Generation of the Unconquered”, Anna Bychkova, A.S. Pushkin State Institute of the Russian Language; 2nd place – “1941. Evacuation. Memories of E.A. Kosyreva”, Lyubov Belyaeva’s team, N.V. Vereshchagin Vologda State Dairy Farming Academy; 3rd place – “Turning the Pages of Memory”, Yulia Morudenko, N.F. Katanov Khakass State University.
Nomination: “Best Literary Work” (students aged 18 to 25): 1st place – “The Last Letter”, Aleksey Zemsky, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin; 2nd place – “From My Grandmother’s Wartime Childhood”, Olesya Taras, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin; 3rd place – “A Letter from Grandmother Hannah”, Maria Karabun and Sofia Antonova, Belarusian State University.
Nomination: “Best Literary Work” (young teachers aged 18 to 35): 1st place – “Step, Step, Another Step!”, Ekaterina Bugrysheva, Russian State University for the Humanities; 2nd place – “Frontline Album of My Family”, Natalia Bogoslovskaya, Lipetsk State Pedagogical University named after P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky; 3rd place – “Where the Steel Was Tempered”, Maxim Sokolov, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.
Nomination: “Best Literary Work” (young teachers aged 35 and above): 1st place – “Childhood Scorched by War”, Elena Fayzieva, Elektrostal branch of Moscow Polytechnic University; 2nd place – “Petka’s Childhood”, Iya Suslova, International Innovation University; 3rd place – “The Last Battle of Red Army Soldier Bogdan”, Marina Borisova, Yaroslav the Wise Novgorod State University.
The competition was organized by the State University of Management and the Moscow City Branch of the Russian Military Historical Society with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation under the auspices of the activities of the Association of Student Patriotic Clubs “I am proud”.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Legislation strengthening independent monitoring and oversight of the children’s system will help better protect young New Zealanders.
The Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation passed its third reading in Parliament tonight and also gives visibility to the advocacy role of a single Children’s Commissioner.
“By returning to a single Children’s Commissioner, the Bill also makes it crystal clear to children and young people who their advocate is.
“These changes intend to build public trust in independent monitoring and advocacy and improve governance of the oversight of the children’s system by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the agencies that oversee it.” Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says.
The Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill amends the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 and Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022, specifically to transition:
the Monitor from a departmental agency to an independent Crown entity with a small multi-member board; and
the Children and Young People’s Commission from an independent Crown entity led by a multi-member board to an independent Crown entity led by a single Children’s Commissioner.
“This Bill fulfils a commitment from the ACT-National Coalition agreement and responds to feedback on previous reforms to the oversight of the children’s system in 2022. There is significant public support to strengthen the oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, and these changes will contribute to that,” Louise Upston says.
“The changes will take effect from 1 August 2025, making it clear to children, young people and their families that the Monitor is independent and separate from government, and that the Children’s Commissioner will advocate effectively for all children and young people.”
The Monitor’s current Chief Executive, Arran Jones, will remain in his role from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 to oversee and support the organisation’s transition.
Current Chief Commissioner of the Children and Young People’s Commission Board, Dr Claire Achmad, also will continue in her role for one year from 1 August 2025.
“Dr Achmad is a respected voice for children and young people. I am confident that she will ensure the interests and concerns of children and young people will continue to be heard in this role,” Louise Upston says.
“During the Committee stage, an important addition to the Bill was made to strengthen accountability for agencies that are the subject of specific reports by the Monitor, by requiring additional reporting measures.
“This additional reporting will give Ministers the ability to take decisive action earlier to ensure relevant agencies are improving compliance and enhancing the wellbeing of children and young people in care.”
Notes to editors:
Under the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022, the Oranga Tamariki system includes several government agencies and their contracted partners that are responsible for providing services or support to children, young people, and their families and whānau.
This includes Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children, Police, the Ministries of Health, Social Development, Education, and Justice, and the Department of Corrections.
The Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022 established the Children and Young People’s Commission, equipping it with the functions, duties, and powers to protect and advocate for the interests and wellbeing of all children under 18 years old and young people over 18 and under 25 years old who are in care or have been in care or custody.
The Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 established the Independent Children’s Monitor as the monitoring agency of the Oranga Tamariki system and appointed the Ombudsman to investigate issues and handle complaints that relate to services of support delivered by Oranga Tamariki or other care and/or custody providers.
The Bill does not propose any changes to the roles and responsibilities of the Independent Children’s Monitor, the Children’s Commissioner, or the Ombudsman (in relation to complaints that relate to the Oranga Tamariki system).
The cost of implementing these changes will be met by reallocating existing funding.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
As part of ACT Government’s ‘One Government, One Voice’ program, we are transitioning this website across to our . You can access everything you need through this website while it’s happening.
The ACT Government is progressing critical infrastructure planning to ensure ACT Policing can continue to meet the needs of our growing city and keep our community safe.
A Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) will be issued by Infrastructure Canberra (iCBR) this week for third parties interested in providing property options and solutions to replace City Police Station and Winchester Headquarters.
Over $3.8 million has been allocated to plan the new infrastructure.
It is intended that both new facilities will be situated in the city precinct to ensure strong functional links to ACT Courts, ACT Government buildings and the Australian Federal Police.
iCBR has identified suppliers within the target area and will release invitations to submit an expression of interest to them this week.
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Dr Marisa Paterson said the new facilities will support ACT Policing service levels, operational efficiency and business continuity, ensuring Canberrans have appropriate access to policing services when needed.
“It is the ACT Government’s priority to deliver modern facilities that support ACT Policing to meet the needs of our growing city and keep the community safe,” Dr Paterson said.
“This is an important step forward, and we look forward to seeing innovative proposals through the EOI process that will help shape the future of policing infrastructure in Canberra.”
Chief Police Officer for the ACT, Deputy Commissioner Scott Lee said he appreciates the positive progress being made and the significant investment by the ACT Government on critical infrastructure for ACT Policing.
“The approach to market is a significant milestone to consider options to ensure that ACT Policing has a modern, fit for purpose headquarters facility and City Police Station that enables us to meet the needs of the Canberra community well into the future” said Chief Police Officer Lee.
“These buildings will have modern workspaces to support the health and wellbeing of our people, combined with specialist facilities that enable best practice support to victims and responses to crime. They will support our dedicated workforce as they strive to keep the community safe.”
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) — An international academic conference dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is being held at Heilongjiang University in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, from June 23 to 25, the Zhongxinshe News Agency reported.
The event, with the main theme “Archives and the Memory of War Trauma,” brought together experts in archival science and history from China and Russia to discuss the key role of archival documents in recording, preserving and transmitting the memory of war trauma.
“Archives are faithful witnesses of history, carrying the memory of the trauma caused by war,” said Cui Benqiang, vice-president of Heilongjiang University.
Yuan Lili, secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Information Management of Heilongjiang University, said experts and scholars are discussing the role of archives in preserving and transmitting the memory of war trauma from various aspects, making their contribution to the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.
The event also featured speeches from scholars from Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University, Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, the Museum of Crime Evidence of Unit 731, etc. -0-
Police are seeking assistance from the public to locate a Maremma who was dog-napped from an eastern suburbs backyard in the early hours of Tuesday.
Just after midnight Tuesday 24 June, a white three-year-old Maremma sheepdog was stolen from a home on Ashbrook Avenue at Payneham. CCTV captures a woman in the area at the time of and in the hours prior to the incident who may be able to assist police with locating Alfredo.
The woman is described as Caucasian, medium build with brown shoulder length hair and was seen wearing a dark top with brown pants. She was driving a white Toyota Echo two-door hatch.
If you know this woman, spot Alfredo or have any information about this incident, please contact police. You can anonymously provide information to Crime Stoppers online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au or free call 1800 333 000.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Beijing on Tuesday.
Xi congratulated Wong on his second term in office. Noting that this year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore, Xi highlighted that the two sides have consistently upheld mutual understanding and respect, which has provided a solid foundation for the stable and healthy development of bilateral relations.
Cooperation between the two countries has aligned with China’s development priorities at various stages, yielding substantial outcomes such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, significantly contributing to each country’s modernization efforts, and also setting a benchmark for cooperation among regional nations, Xi noted.
He called on both sides to draw experience and wisdom from the development process of bilateral relations, inherit and carry forward fine traditions, and enable the tree of China-Singapore friendship to thrive and bear abundant fruits.
Xi emphasized that China and Singapore should firmly grasp the general direction of bilateral friendship, and continuously observe and develop China-Singapore relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective.
He called for consolidating the political foundation of China-Singapore friendship, supporting each other’s core interests and major concerns, and enhancing political mutual trust to facilitate the development of bilateral relations.
China welcomes Singapore’s continued deep engagement in China’s development, Xi said, calling on both sides to promote Belt and Road cooperation, create landmark achievements in areas such as digital economy, green development and artificial intelligence, promote the improvement and upgrading of major projects, and continue to write a new chapter in high-quality cooperation.
Both sides should encourage frequent people-to-people exchanges to deepen cultural exchanges and cooperation and strengthen the popular support for China-Singapore friendship, Xi said.
China has always believed that peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit are the unstoppable trend of the times, Xi said, adding that the world must not revert to hegemonism or be dragged back to the law of the jungle.
China is willing to work with Singapore to stand on the right side of history and uphold fairness and justice, and jointly advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, Xi added.
Wong said that Singapore and China share a deep-rooted and enduring friendship, and the two sides have always respected and trusted each other, ensuring the stable development of bilateral relations and close cooperation.
Singapore will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and oppose “Taiwan independence,” Wong said.
Singapore stands ready to fully leverage the opportunities brought about by China’s prosperity and development, expand bilateral trade and investment, enhance cooperation in digital economy, artificial intelligence, new energy and other fields, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and advance Singapore-China relations to new heights, Wong said.
In the face of a turbulent global landscape, Singapore is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on regional and multilateral platforms to jointly uphold multilateralism and the international order, Wong added.
Met Police officers have arrested 10 people as part of an investigation into a series of robberies at phone shops in London and across the south of England.
Flying Squad detectives worked to identify an organised crime group believed to be behind 13 robberies between February and early June.
The arrests are part of the Met’s continued focus on tackling phone robbery and theft across London. As well as targeting organised gangs, officers have also increased patrols in phone snatch hotspot areas.
The Met took on the investigation after identifying a number of similar incidents where suspects stole thousands of pounds worth of new phones from secure store rooms at high street phone stores.
Staff reported being threatened by the suspects who often had their faces covered and were sometimes armed with weapons.
On Thursday, 19 June eight men, aged between 20 and 31, and two 17-year-old boys were arrested at addresses in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, who is leading the investigation from the Met’s Flying Squad, said:
“Phone robbery has boomed globally, and London is not immune. There is a concerted effort by criminal gangs to steal phones and sell them overseas as part of a multi-million-pound industry.
“The Met is catching more of these criminals and operations such as this are vital to disrupting offenders who cause fear and misery to shop workers and communities.”
They were charged and remanded in custody with conspiracy to commit robbery.
The Met continues to focus on tackling phone theft across London with increased patrols in hotspot areas and better use of technology to identify perpetrators. A recent two-week focus on prolific offenders resulted in 292 arrests across London.
Details of the offences
Staines High Street on Saturday, 1 March Ilford High Street on Wednesday, 19 March Mare Street in Hackney on Sunday, 23 March St Benedict’s Court in Huntingdon on Friday, 4 April Orpington High Street on Friday, 25 April London Road in East Grinstead on Tuesday, 29 April Alton High Street on Saturday, 10 May Pier Avenue in Clacton-on-Sea Sunday, 11 May West Street in Horsham on Saturday, 17 May The Broadway in St Alban’s on Monday, 2 June Tavern Street in Ipswich on Thursday, 5 June Stamford High Street in Lincolnshire on Friday, 13 June Market Street in Eastleigh on Friday, 13 June
A new way for Londoners to hear about policing in their area is being rolled out by the Met.
Local officers will use Met Engage to provide crime prevention advice, updates on ongoing incidents and investigations, and information about successful outcomes and operations.
The new documentary film Joh: The Last King of Queensland offers a dramatised account of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s premiership from 1968 to 1987.
Directed by Kriv Stenders, using reenactments (Bjelke-Petersen is played by Richard Roxburgh), archival footage and contemporary interviews, the film portrays him as a complex and polarising figure.
We are given a man who is socially conservative, economically ambitious and politically divisive. A man who profoundly shaped Queensland’s governance and development.
But while the film effectively captures his popular appeal and role in the state’s economic transformation, it simplifies key aspects of his political ascent.
In particular, it doesn’t capture the complexities of electoral mechanics, internal party maneuvering and the influence of the public service.
National Party dominance
We start with Bjelke-Petersen’s rural upbringing. Stenders emphasises the formative impact of his Lutheran faith, personal abstinence, strong work ethic and family values. These would be foundational to his leadership style.
Roxburgh highlights Bjelke-Petersen’s rhetorical simplicity. He presented himself as an advocate for “ordinary” Queenslanders, especially in rural and conservative communities.
A central critique of Bjelke-Petersen was his manipulation of Queensland’s electoral system.
The film illustrates how electoral malapportionment advantaged rural constituencies, fuelling the National Party’s dominance. But this treatment lacks nuance.
Richard Roxburgh plays Joh Bjelke-Petersen, highlighting his rhetorical simplicity. Stan
Former MP David Byrne’s claim that Bjelke-Petersen remained premier solely due to the electoral system is presented uncritically.
The National Party outpolled the Liberals from 1977 on. Labor failed to win a statewide majority until 1989, under boundaries drawn by Bjelke-Petersen’s administration in 1986.
While Roxburgh’s character mentions this legacy, his claim that there was “not a peep” of dissent overlooks sustained criticism from opposition leader Frank Nicklin throughout the 1950s.
The party apparatus
The film omits several key figures whose contributions were instrumental to the success of the Bjelke-Petersen era.
The organisational acumen of National Party president Robert Sparkes and state secretary Mike Evans played a critical role in constructing a highly efficient party apparatus.
Through the coordination of financial resources and the strategic mobilisation of grassroots support, Sparkes and Evans substantially reinforced Bjelke-Petersen’s leadership and electoral resilience.
Also excluded are prominent members of the premier’s personal staff, such as media advisor Allen Callaghan and policy researcher Wendy Armstrong. Both contributed significantly to shaping public messaging and policy development.
Bjelke-Petersen was premier of Queensland from 1968 to 1987. Stan
We do not hear about the contributions of senior public servants such as Sydney Schubert, coordinator-general, and Leo Hielscher, under-treasurer.
Schubert was instrumental in expediting infrastructure development across the state. Hielscher ensured Queensland maintained its AAA credit rating and successfully attracted international investment.
These administrative achievements were central to the state’s economic growth.
Bjelke-Petersen was frequently detached from the formal processes of cabinet and Westminster governance. But his reliance on a capable and loyal bureaucracy underscores a distinct, if unconventional, mode of operation.
This model, characterised by strong administrative delegation, contributed to the longevity and effectiveness of his premiership.
Winning seats, suppressing rights
The film addresses his opposition to the Whitlam government and his promotion of states’ rights. Both cemented his popularity. It highlights his decision to abolish death duties – a move that allowed him to present a low-tax, pro-development agenda.
Bjelke-Petersen’s authoritarian style is explored through archival footage of the 1971 protests during South Africa’s rugby tour of Australia. But the film fails to contextualise electoral reaction.
The government won seats, including central Brisbane and Maryborough, in by-elections held at the height of the protest activity.
His later suppression of civil liberties, particularly against students, unions and Indigenous activists, is acknowledged.
Corruption flourished under Bjelke-Petersen’s administration due to insufficient oversight and a permissive political culture. Stan
The depiction of the “Joh for PM” campaign presents it as a significant strategic miscalculation. Stenders illustrates the limits of Bjelke-Petersen’s political judgement beyond the state level.
Investigative journalist Chris Masters is interviewed about his role in creating the Four Corners exposé which served as a catalyst for the Fitzgerald Inquiry (1987–89).
This inquiry uncovered extensive political and police corruption. It exposed entrenched institutional malpractice, and contributed decisively to the erosion of Bjelke-Petersen’s political legitimacy.
Such corruption was longstanding and predated Bjelke-Petersen’s tenure. It flourished under his administration due to insufficient oversight and a permissive political culture.
Emotional resonance, but not fully nuanced
While the film suggests that Bjelke-Petersen was never personally corrupt (and he was never convicted of any criminal offence) it omits a pivotal episode in his political downfall.
According to journalist Matthew Condon, Springwood MP Huan Fraser publicly accused the Premier of corruption during a 1987 National Party meeting.
Fraser’s confrontation, reportedly triggered by Bjelke-Petersen’s push to approve what was then the world’s tallest building, marked a significant rupture within the party.
The proposed project symbolised growing concerns about impropriety and unchecked executive power during his premiership.
Joh: The Last King of Queensland succeeds in capturing the emotional resonance of Bjelke-Petersen’s political persona. But it stops short of delivering a fully nuanced account.
His legacy continues to polarise. To supporters, he remains a visionary who championed economic growth and conservative values. To critics, he presided over an era of democratic erosion, civil rights suppression and entrenched corruption.
His story reflects the enduring tension between executive authority and democratic accountability in modern Australian political history.
Joh: The Last King of Queensland is on Stan now.
John Mickel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Police have arrested and charged a man over a fatal crash in Rotorua on 15 June.
Police conducted search warrants in Hamilton and Rotorua today, which led to the arrest of a 31-year-old Hamilton man. He was arrested at a property in Hamilton.
The arrest relates to the crash on Edmund Road, Rotorua on 15 June that killed a 24-year-old Rotorua man.
“We are glad to get this result and hope it provides some relief to the family,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Van Kempen.
“We still have a long way to go, but today’s arrest marks an important milestone in our investigation, and the public has played a significant part in today’s arrest.
“What happened on 15 June was a tragedy and was felt through our community, and I want to thank everyone who has assisted us throughout the investigation.”
The man is due to appear in Hamilton District Court on Thursday 26 June, charged with manslaughter, failing to stop to ascertain injury or death, and driving while disqualified.
ENDS
Notes for media:
The family of the victim ask for privacy at this time.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Police have arrested a 48-year-old male in relation to an attempted sexual assault in Darwin City on Saturday afternoon.
Around 1:30pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received reports that a man was attempting to sexually assault a woman on Peel Street.
A short-time later, Darwin general duties officers responded and arrested a 48-year-old man nearby.
The victim and offender are not believed to be known to each other.
He has since been charged with Attempted sexual intercourse without consent, Aggravated assault and Indecent touching or act and remanded to appear in Darwin Local Court 20 August 2025.
Detective Acting Sergeant Tanya Holliday said, “This was a despicable act in broad daylight.
“I would like to commend the community for coming forward and reporting the incident.
“We continue to urge anyone with information to contact police on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500063293. Anonymous reports can be made via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
The number seven is widely considered to be lucky across many cultures, and today seven new Police Security Officers (PSO) graduated from the South Australia Police Academy’s Qualification Program 7!
While hard work, determination and skill, rather than luck, saw today’s graduates successfully complete weeks of training, the new PSOs feel lucky to play a vital role in safeguarding the community.
Six men and one woman bring a wealth of valuable employment experience to the role, including from retail, sales, truck driving, and hospitality.
Before joining SAPOL, Scarlett worked in various roles including in retail, working as a barista while studying a Bachelor of Science.
“I was drawn to the variety of PSO roles, and the idea of every day being different,” she said.
When reflecting on the academy experience, the new PSO valued her course mates.
“We would encourage each other whenever any of us struggled with anything,” Scarlett said.
“We would catchup out of work to build up our rapport and become closer as a team.
“The mentors, as well as your course mates are always there to support you if you are ever concerned about anything.”
Fellow graduate Tynan studied and completed a Bachelor of Criminology at Flinders University before joining SAPOL.
“I studied this due to my interest in crime rehabilitation of offenders,” he said.
“This study exposed me to the world of law enforcement and was a major contributor as to why I wanted to join SAPOL.”
Tynan has a passion for football, which has developed his teamwork skills – of great value in this new role.
He was attracted to SAPOL knowing that every day has the potential to be new and different, and he hopes to one day become a police officer.
“SAPOL offers many pathways and extensive opportunities to branch off into different aspects of the organisation,” he added.
“As a PSO, the variety of working in the cells, working at static sites, and conducting patrols is an attractive aspect of the role.”
Today’s PSO graduates will be posted to Police Security Services Branch (PSSB), in the District Support Section.
SAPOL is currently recruiting for Police Security Officers and is keen to hear from people who are committed to the state’s safety and security.
If you are looking for job security, career progression pathways and a chance to make a real difference in local communities visit Achievemore – Join Us (police.sa.gov.au)
Tynan and Scarlett are among seven new Police Security Officers to graduate today from the South Australia Police Academy.
Broadcast journalist Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for her political opinions concerning the war in Gaza, the Federal Court has found.
Lattouf has been awarded $70,000 in damages for non-economic loss, based on findings that her sacking caused her what the judge called “great distress”.
Justice Darryl Rangiah said this was obvious from her demeanour in the witness box. She had given evidence of feeling shock and humiliation at being sacked, and that this had affected her sleep and put strain on her personal relationships.
However, the court found Lattouf’s race or ethnicity had played no part in the ABC’s decision to sack her, as she had claimed.
The decision to sack her had been made by Chris Oliver-Taylor, who at the time was chief content officer of the ABC. His decision had been fortified by the views of the then managing director and editor-in-chief of the ABC, David Anderson, that Lattouf had expressed antisemitic opinions.
The court found Oliver-Taylor was under pressure from many sources: the external complaints, Anderson’s view of the matter, and the wishes of the then chair Ita Buttrose to put an end to it.
There was also a desire to appease the pro-Israel lobby, to defend the ABC’s reputation for impartiality, and to mitigate the impact of a story that he knew The Australian newspaper was about the publish on the issue.
The case arose from events that occurred in December 2023.
The ABC hired Lattouf, a journalist of Lebanese heritage, as a relief presenter on the mornings program of Sydney ABC Radio for one week leading up to Christmas. The mornings program consisted of light entertainment interspersed with hourly news bulletins. It did not otherwise offer news or current affairs content.
Lattouf had worked for the ABC previously and was well-regarded inside the organisation. Her appointment was uncontroversial among those involved in making it, and she started work on Monday December 18.
Before this stint began, Lattouf had made a series of personal social media posts accusing Israeli soldiers of using rape as a weapon of war. Then, early in the week she was on air, she posted on her personal social media profile a report by Human Rights Watch alleging Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. A few days earlier, the ABC had also posted this report on its own website.
Like the ABC, Lattouf posted it without comment.
However, an orchestrated campaign by the Jewish lobby to have her taken off air had already begun, on the basis of what she had previously published on her private social media account, and Justice Rangiah observed that this had caused consternation among senior ABC management.
This consternation turned to panic after the posting of the Human Rights Watch report, and the campaign intensified. A coordinated email campaign by a pro-Israel lobbying group called “Lawyers for Israel”, and another group called “J.E.W.I.S.H creatives and academics”, demanded Lattouf be sacked, threatening legal action if she was not.
Messages from a WhatsApp group leaked to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age showed that in this way, the campaigners put intense pressure on the ABC’s most senior officers at the time, Anderson and Buttrose.
On December 20, Lattouf was told when she came off air she would not be required for the final two days of her engagement. The Fair Work Commission subsequently found this amounted to sacking her. She then sued the ABC in the Federal Court for unlawful termination, alleging she had been dismissed because of her race and political views.
When the matter came before the Federal Court in February 2025, the ABC argued she had been dismissed not because of her race or political views but because she had disobeyed a lawful instruction not to post anything “controversial” on social media while working for the ABC.
The ABC alleged her act of disobedience was the posting of the Human Rights Watch report. In the course of the proceedings, emails between Anderson and Buttrose were admitted into evidence. They showed Buttrose telling Anderson she was “over” getting these complaints about Lattouf, and asking “can’t she come down with flu or COVID or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing.”
Giving evidence during the court hearing, Buttrose said she had proposed this as a face-saving device for Lattouf’s benefit.
In making a formal determination that Lattouf had been terminated, Justice Rangiah dismissed the ABC’s argument that she had simply been told there would be no work for her on the final two days of her contracted period of employment.
He also found Lattouf had not been instructed not to post on her social media account but had merely been told she would be ill-advised to publish anything “controversial” while on air.
In dismissing Lattouf for her political opinions, the ABC breached section 772 of the Fair Work Act, and by depriving her of an opportunity to defend herself before dismissing her it also breached the ABC’s enterprise bargaining agreement.
The question of whether the ABC should suffer a financial penalty for these breaches will be decided at a later date.
It was evident throughout the proceedings that the ABC had been concerned not just to put an end to the complaints about Lattouf but to protect the organisation’s reputation for impartiality.
In the event, the way the case was handled has done substantial damage to the ABC’s reputation, not just for impartiality but for its capacity to stand up for its journalists and presenters when they come under external attack.
Lattouf is one of several journalists whom the ABC has failed to defend from attacks by politicians, pressure groups and News Corporation. The latter’s flagship newspaper, The Australian, has conducted virulent campaigns against ABC journalists, most notably Stan Grant, as well as Lattouf and others.
The managerial consternation and panic observed by Justice Rangiah in Lattouf’s case were discernible also in the Grant case and in the way the ABC handled the controversy over star journalist Laura Tingle’s observation at a writer’s festival that Australia was a racist country.
This is a cultural weakness in the ABC. Its editorial leadership seems not to understand that the first duty of an editor is to create a safe space in which their staff can do good journalism.
It is a malaise that goes back at least as far as the 2018 debacle in which a former chair, Justin Milne, and former managing director, Michelle Guthrie, showed themselves susceptible to pressure from the Turnbull government.
Both resigned within a few days of each other after a stream of sensational allegations leaked to the press about Milne allegedly calling on Guthrie to fire the chief economics correspondent, Emma Alberici, and the political editor, Andrew Probyn.
Perhaps the Lattouf case will at last stiffen their sinews and make standing up for their journalists a primary qualification for editorial leadership.
The Lattouf case also leaves unresolved the question of the extent to which a media organisation is entitled to place restrictions on a staff journalist’s private activities to protect its interests and reputation.
Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In our guides to the classics, experts explain key literary works.
Ibn Battuta, was born in Tangier, Morocco, on February 24, 1304. From a statement in his celebrated travel book the Rihla (“legal affairs are my ancestral profession,”) he evidently came from an intellectually distinguished family.
According to the Rihla (travelogue), Ibn Battuta embarked on his travels from Tangier at the age of 22 with the intention of performing the Hajj (the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1325. Although he returned to Fez (his adopted home-town) around the end of 1349, he continued to visit various regions, including Granada and Sudan, in subsequent years.
Over the course of his almost 30 years of travel, Ibn Battuta covered an astonishing distance of approximately 73,000 miles (117,000 kilometres), visiting a region that today encompasses more than 50 countries. His journeys covered much of the medieval Islamic world and beyond, excluding Northern Europe.
In 1355, he returned to Morocco for the last time and remained there for the rest of his life. Upon his return he dictated his experiences, observations and anecdotes to the Andalusian scholar Ibn Juzayy, with a compilation of his travels completed in 1355 or 1356.
The work, formally titled A Gift to Researchers on the Curiosities of Cities and the Marvels of Journeys, is more commonly referred to as Rihlat Ibn Battuta or simply Rihla.
A painting of Ibn Battuta (on right) in Egypt by Leon Benett. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
More than a travelogue or geographical record, this book provides rich insights into 14th-century social and political life, capturing cultural diversity across nations. Ibn Battuta details local lifestyles, linguistic traits, beliefs, clothing, cuisines, holidays, artistic traditions and gender relations, as well as commercial activities and currencies.
His observations also include geographical features such as mountains, rivers and agricultural products. Notably, the work highlights his encounters with over 60 sultans and more than 2,000 prominent figures, making it a valuable historical resource.
The travels
His travels began after a dream. According to Ibn Battuta, one night, while in Fuwwa, a town near Alexandria in Egypt, he dreamed of flying on a massive bird across various lands, landing in a dark, greenish country.
To test the local sheikh’s mystical knowledge, he decided if the sheikh knew of his dream, he was truly extraordinary. The next morning, after leading the dawn prayer, he saw the sheikh bid farewell to visitors. Later, the sheikh astonishingly revealed knowledge of Ibn Battuta’s dream and prophesied his pilgrimage through Yemen, Iraq, Turkey and India.
At the time, the Middle East was under the rule of the Mamluk sultanate, Anatolia was divided among principalities and the Mongol Ilkhanate state controlled Iran, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Ibn Battuta initially travelled through North Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Syria, completing his first Hajj in 1326.
He then visited Iraq and Iran, returning to Mecca. In 1328, he explored East Africa, reaching Mogadishu, Mombasa, Sudan and Kilwa (modern Tanzania), as well as Yemen, Oman and Anatolia, where he documented cities like Alanya, Konya, Erzurum, Nicaea and Bursa.
His descriptions are vivid. Describing the city of Dimyat, on the bank of the Nile, he says:
Many of the houses have steps leading down to the Nile. Banana trees are especially abundant there, and their fruit is carried to Cairo in boats. Its sheep and goats are allowed to pasture at liberty day and night, and for this reason the saying goes of Dimyat, ‘Its wall is a sweetmeat and its dogs are sheep’. No one who enters the city may afterwards leave it except by the governor’s seal […]
Farmland on the banks of the Nile river today. Alice-D/shutterstock
When it comes to Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), he declares:
This country, known as the Land of Rum, is the most beautiful in the world. While Allah Almighty has distributed beauty to other lands separately, He has gathered them all here. The most beautiful and well-dressed people live in this land, and the most delicious food is prepared here […] From the moment we arrived, our neighbors — both men and women — showed great concern for our wellbeing. Here, women do not shy away from men; when we departed, they bid us farewell as if we were family, expressing their sadness through tears.
A judge and husband
In 1332, Ibn Battutua met the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
Since Ibn Battuta dictated his work, it’s difficult to assess the extent of the scribe’s influence in recording his narratives. Despite being an educated man, he occasionally narrates like a commoner and sometimes exceeds the bounds of polite language. At times, he provides excessive detail, giving the impression he may be quoting from sources beyond his own observations.
Nevertheless, the Rihla stands out for its engaging style and captivating anecdotes, drawing readers in.
Ibn Battuta later journeyed through Crimea, Central Asia, Khwarezm (a large oasis region in the territories of present-day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), Bukhara (a city in Uzbekistan), and the Hindu Kush Mountains. In 1332, he met Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos and travelled to Istanbul with the caravan of Uzbek Khan’s third wife. He mentions a caravan that even has a market:
Whenever the caravan halted, food was cooked in great brass cauldrons, called dasts, and supplied from them to the poorer pilgrims and those who had no provisions. […] This caravan contained also animated bazaars and great supplies of luxuries and all kinds of food and fruit. They used to march during the night and light torches in front of the file of camels and litters, so that you saw the countryside gleaming with light and the darkness turned into radiant day.
Ibn Battuta arrived in Delhi in 1333, where he served as a judge under Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq for seven years. He married or was married to local women in many of the places he stayed. Among his wives were ordinary people as well as the daughters of the administrative class.
Miniature painting in Mughal style depicting the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
The Sultan’s generosity, intelligence and unconventional ruling style both impressed and surprised Ibn Battuta. However, Muhammad bin Tughluq was known for making excessively harsh and abrupt decisions at times, which led Ibn Battuta to approach him with caution. Nevertheless, with the Sultan’s support, he remained in India for a long time and was eventually chosen as an ambassador to China in 1341.
In 1345 his mission was disrupted when his ship capsized off the coast of Calcutta (then known as Sadqawan) in the Indian Ocean. Though he survived, he lost most of his possessions.
After the incident, he remained in India for a while before continuing his journey by other means. During this period, he travelled through India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He served as a judge in the latter for one and a half years. In 1345, he journeyed to China via Bengal, Burma and Sumatra, reaching the city of Guangzhou but limiting his exploration to the southern coast.
He was among the first Arab travellers to record Islam’s spread in the Malay Archipelago, noting interactions between Muslims and Hindu-Buddhist communities. Visiting Java and Sumatra, he praised Sultan Malik al-Zahir of Sumatra as a generous, pious and scholarly ruler and highlighted his rare practice of walking to Friday prayers.
On his return, Ibn Battuta explored regions such as Iran, Iraq, North Africa, Spain and the Kingdom of Mali, documenting the vast Islamic world.
Back in his homeland, Ibn Battuta served as a judge in several locations. He died around 1368-9 while serving as a judge in Morocco and was buried in his birthplace, Tangier.
Historic copy of selected parts of the Travel Report by Ibn Battuta, 1836 CE, Cairo. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
The status of women
Ibn Battuta’s travels revealed intriguing insights into the status of women across regions. In inner West Africa, he observed matriarchal practices where lineage and inheritance were determined by the mother’s family.
Among Turks, women rode horses like raiders, traded actively and did not veil their faces.
In the Maldives, husbands leaving the region had to abandon their wives. He noted that Muslim women there, including the ruling woman, did not cover their heads. Despite attempting to enforce the hijab as a judge, he failed.
He offers fascinating insights into food cultures. In Siberia, sled dogs were fed before humans. He described 15-day wedding feasts in India.
He tried local produce such as mango in the Indian subcontinent, which he compared to an apple, and sun-dried, sliced fish in Oman.
Religious practices
Ibn Battuta’s accounts of the Hajj (pilgrimage) rituals he performed six times provide a unique perspective. He references a fatwa by Ibn Taymiyyah, prominent Islamic scholar and theologian known for his opposition to theological innovations and critiques of Sufism and philosophy, advising against shortening prayers for those travelling to Medina.
Ibn Battuta’s accounts, particularly regarding the Iranian region, offer important perspectives into religious sects during a period when Iran started shifting from Sunnism to Shiism. He describes societies with diverse demographics, including Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis. His observations on religious practices are especially significant.
Inclined toward Sufism, Ibn Battuta often dressed like a dervish during his travels. He offers a compelling view of Islamic mysticism. He considered regions like Damascus as places of abundance and Anatolia as a land of compassion, interpreting them with a spiritual perspective.
His accounts of Sufi education, dervish lodges, zawiyas (similar to monasteries), and tombs, along with the special invocations of Sufi masters, are important historical records. He also observed and documented unique practices, such as the followers of the Persian Sufi saint Sheikh Qutb al-Din Haydar wearing iron rings on their hands, necks, ears, and even private parts to avoid sexual intercourse.
While Ibn Battuta primarily visited Muslim lands, he also travelled to non-Muslim territories, offering key understandings into different religious cultures, for instance interactions between Crimean Muslims and Christian Armenians in the Golden Horde region.
He also documented churches, icons and monasteries, such as the tomb of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem. His observation of Muslims openly reciting the call to prayer (adhan) in China is significant.
Other anecdotes include the division of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus into a mosque and Christian church. Most importantly, his encounters with Hindus and Buddhists in the Indian subcontinent and Malay Islands provide rich historical context.
His accounts of death rituals reveal diverse practices. In Sinop (a city in Turkey), 40 days of mourning were declared for a ruler’s mother, while in Iran, a funeral resembled a wedding celebration. He observed similarities in cremation practices between India and China and described a chilling custom in some regions where slaves and concubines were buried alive with the deceased.
Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, widely translated into Eastern and Western languages, has drawn some criticism for containing depictions that sometimes diverge from historical continuity or borrow from other works. Ibn Battuta himself admitted to using earlier travel books as references.
Despite limited recognition in older sources, the Rihla gained prominence in the West in the 19th century. His legacy remains vibrant today. Morocco declared 1996–1997 the “Year of Ibn Battuta,” and established a museum in Tangier to honour him. In Dubai, a mall is named after him.
Notably, Ibn Battuta travelled to more destinations than Marco Polo and shared a broader range of humane anecdotes, showcasing the depth and diversity of his experiences.
Ismail Albayrak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
It’s almost a decade since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a worldwide trend and sparked fierce debate when he knelt during the US national anthem.
In 2016, Kaepernick refused to follow the pre-game protocol related to the national anthem and knelt instead, saying:
I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
Soon, many athletes and teams began “taking a knee” at sports events to express their solidarity with victims of racial injustice.
Following the intense public debate over the appropriateness of Kaepernick’s act, the ritual quickly spread worldwide, with athletes in major soccer leagues, cricket, rugby, Formula 1, top-tier tennis and the US’s Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association taking a knee.
Athletes didn’t always kneel during national anthems, with the majority kneeling at certain points pre-game.
Despite the occasional “defection” of a small number of players who would stand while their teammates knelt – such as Israel Folau in rugby league, Wilfried Zaha in soccer and Quinton de Kock in cricket – the ritual was widely embraced by teams and athletes and helped raise awareness of the issue.
Even major sports organisations notorious for prohibiting any type of political activism generally accepted the kneeling ritual. For example, soccer’s International Football Federation (FIFA) showcased kneeling as a “stand against discrimination” and as human rights advocacy.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initially stood firm by its Rule 50, which states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.
But just three weeks before the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the IOC relaxed its interpretation, and athletes were permitted to express their views in ways that included taking a knee.
A surprising turn of events
Despite permission and even encouragement from sports governing bodies, our research shows the practice is disappearing from major sports competitions.
Take soccer, for example. At the FIFA World Cup 2022, England and Wales were the only national teams that knelt at their games in Qatar.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, no teams or players knelt.
The same happened at the 2024 Olympic soccer tournament in Paris.
That only a handful of teams knelt in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, two at the FIFA Mens’ World Cup in Qatar in 2022, none at the FIFA Womens’ World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, and again none at the Paris 2024 Olympics indicates a growing reluctance throughout the sports world.
This surely cannot mean athletes have become indifferent to racial injustice or other forms of oppression in the interval between the late 2010s and the mid-2020s.
The explanation must be sought elsewhere. A hint was provided when Crystal Palace soccer player Zaha, the first player of colour in the UK who refused to kneel, explained:
I feel like taking the knee is degrading, because growing up my parents just let me know that I should be proud to be Black no matter what and I feel like we should just stand tall.
The explanation may therefore be, at least in part, the players’ uncomfortable feelings related to the kneeling posture.
In sociology, this bothersome state of mind is called “cognitive dissonance”: the mental conflict a person experiences in the presence of contrasting beliefs.
A history of kneeling
The body posture of kneeling is not deemed, in any culture, as expressing solidarity.
Ancient Greek and the Roman societies, on whose values Western civilisation was built, rejected kneeling as improper, even when praying to gods.
When performed outside the church, kneeling meant submission to nobility or royalty.
The significance of kneeling as humility is not limited to the Western world.
In African tribal culture, the young kneel in front of elders, and everyone kneels before the king.
In China in 1949, Chairman Mao famously proclaimed at the first plenary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference:
From now on our nation […] will no longer be a nation subject to insult and humiliation. We have stood up.
With this in mind, kneeling may be deemed unfit at sporting events, which often feature a powerful cocktail of emotions, values and social expectations.
The inconsistency between the excitement of competition and the expectation to kneel — a gesture associated with submission and humility — likely creates a bothersome state of mind for athletes.
This potentially motivates some players to reject one of the two – in this case, the kneeling – to restore cognitive harmony.
What could replace the kneeling ritual?
After refusing, by unanimous players’ vote, to take a knee before their October 2020 game against the All Blacks, the Australian rugby union team chose instead to wear a First Nations jersey.
The same year, several teams in German soccer’s top league chose to show their support for Black Lives Matter by wearing distinctive armbands.
So it appears wearing a distinctive jersey or at least an armband is more easily accepted by modern-day athletes. This may be challenging given the governing bodies of many sports, such as FIFA, ban athletes from wearing political symbols on their clothing.
Depending on whether sports code accept this type of activism in the future, wearing suportive clothing could replace taking a knee as symbolic communication of solidarity with oppressed minorities.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Last week, one of the dark web’s most prominent drug marketplaces – Archetyp – was shut down in an international, multi-agency law enforcement operation following years of investigations. It was touted as a major policing win and was accompanied by a slick cyberpunk-themed video.
But those of us who have studied this space for years weren’t surprised. Archetyp may have been the most secure dark web market. But shutdowns like this have become a recurring feature of the dark web. And they are usually not a significant turning point.
The durability of these markets tells us that if policing responses keep following the same playbook, they will keep getting the same results. And by focusing so heavily on these hidden platforms, authorities are neglecting the growing digital harms in the spaces we all use.
One of the most popular dark web markets
Dark web markets mirror mainstream e-commerce platforms – think Amazon meets cybercrime. These are encrypted marketplaces accessed via the Tor Browser, a privacy-focused browser that hides users’ IP addresses. Buyers use cryptocurrency and escrow systems (third-party payment systems which hold funds until the transaction is complete) to anonymously purchase illicit drugs.
Usually these products are sent to the buyer by post and money transferred to the seller through the escrow system.
Archetyp launched in May 2020 and quickly grew to become one of the most popular dark web markets with an estimated total transaction volume of €250 million (A$446 million). It had more than 600,000 users worldwide and 17,000 listings consisting mainly of illicit drugs including MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Compared to its predecessors, Archetyp enforced enhanced security expectations from its users. These included an advanced encryption program known as “Pretty Good Privacy” and a cryptocurrency called Monero. Unlike Bitcoin, which records every payment on a public ledger, Monero conceals all transaction details by default which makes them nearly impossible to trace.
Despite the fact Archetyp had clearly raised the bar on security on the dark web, Operation Deep Sentinel – a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies in six countries supported by Europol and Eurojust – took down the market. The front page has now been replaced by a banner.
While these publicised take-downs feel effective, evidence has shown such interventions only have short-term impacts and the dark web ecosystem will quickly adapt.
A persistent trade
These shutdowns aren’t new. Silk Road, AlphaBay, WallStreet and Monopoly Market are all familiar names in the digital graveyard of the dark web. Before these dark web marketplaces were shutdown, they sold a range of illegal products, from drugs to firearms.
Yet still, the trade persists. New markets emerge and old users return. In some cases, established sellers on closed-down markets are welcomed onto new markets as digital “refugees” and have joining fees waived.
What current policing strategies neglect is that dark web markets are not isolated to the storefronts that are the popular target of crackdowns. These are communities stretched across dark and surface web forums which develop shared tutorials and help one another adapt to any new changes. These closures bind users together and foster a shared resilience and collective experience in navigating these environments.
Law enforcement shutdowns are also only one type of disruption that dark web communities face. Dark web market users routinely face voluntary closures (the gradual retirement of a market), exit scams (sudden closures of markets where any money in escrow is taken), or even scheduled maintenance of these markets.
Ultimately, this disruption to accessibility is not a unique event. In fact, it is routine for individual’s participating in these dark web communities, par for the course of engaging in the markets.
This ability of dark web communities to thrive in disruptions reflects how dark web market users have become experts at adapting to risks, managing disruptions and rebuilding quickly.
The other emerging issue is that current policing efforts treat dark web markets as the core threat, which might miss the wider landscape of digital harms. Illicit drug sales, for example, are promoted on social media, where platform features such as recommendation systems are affording new means of illicit drug supply.
This is all alongside the countless cases of celebrities and social media influencers caught up in crypto pump-and-dump schemes, where hype is used to artificially inflate the price of a token before the creators sell off their holdings and leave investors with worthless tokens.
This shows that while the dark web gets all the attention, it’s far from the internet’s biggest problem.
Archetyp’s takedown might make headlines, but it won’t stop the trade of illicit drugs on the dark web. It should force us to think about where harm is really happening online and whether current strategies are looking in the wrong direction.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Tasmania Police to honour Constable Keith Smith with funeral procession and guard of honour
Wednesday, 25 June 2025 – 12:57 pm.
This Friday, Tasmania Police will farewell Constable Keith Smith with full ceremonial honours in recognition of his dedicated service and the lasting impact he made both on and off duty. Western District Commander Stuart Wilkinson said community members are warmly invited to pay their respects after the funeral service. “While the service itself is not open to the public, we encourage members of the community to line the streets and join us in paying tribute to Keith as he makes his final journey,” he said. “After the service, Tasmania Police members will march in a funeral procession from the Paranaple Centre through the Guard of Honour along Victoria Parade.” “The procession will then continue to Ulverstone and pass through Victoria and Reibey Streets.” “The outpouring of kindness and support from across Tasmania and beyond over recent days has been deeply moving,” Commander Wilkinson said. “Keith was a proud member of Tasmania Police who was deeply respected by his colleagues and his community. His service and spirit will not be forgotten.” A live stream of the funeral will be available online. Community members are encouraged to observe the procession at the following times:
Devonport (from 2:30 pm): Members of the public are encouraged to line Victoria Parade (from Nicholls Street) as the procession travels along Bluff Road, up to William Street. Ulverstone (from 3:30 pm): The procession will travel past Ulverstone Police Station along Victoria Street, turn into Reibey Street, and continue to Kings Parade.
National NAIDOC Week (6-13 July) is a time for all Australians to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This year’s theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, celebrates not only the achievements of the past but the bright future ahead, empowered by the strength of our young leaders, the vision of our communities and the legacy of our ancestors.
The City of Wanneroo is running a variety of free events and activities throughout July, and the community are encouraged to get involved.
On Friday 4 July, a formal Flag Raising Ceremony will take place in the Jacaranda Amphitheatre as symbol of respect and appreciation for the City’s local Aboriginal heritage, culture and community. The event will feature a Welcome to Country by Aboriginal elder Vaughn McGuire and a special cultural performance by students from Butler College.
The City is also running series of bushtucker sessions where participants will learn about native botanicals and bushfood plants for the backyard, Nyungar culture sessions at City youth centres, and special Six Seasons Storytime sessions at Wanneroo and Clarkson libraries.
This 2.5km (one hour) signed heritage walk is in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Start your adventure at Flints picnic area, where you will walk through Flints homestead site and around Church Rock.
The walk has short steep hill sections, a rough surface and many steps. It’s suitable for most ages and fitness levels, but some bushwalking experience is recommended.
This easy 4.5km circuit is in the Googong Foreshores area.
The track takes you through the woodlands to the London Bridge Arch – an incredible geological formation that’s over 20,000 years old – before following the valley to London Bridge Homestead.
Both the arch and the homestead are heritage-listed sites, so remember not to climb on the arch, enter the caves or swim in the surrounding creek.
Start your walk at the London Bridge Woolshed carpark.
This is a short 3.5km (one hour) return walk on the Canberra Centenary Trail.
Mount Arawang is the highest point on Cooleman Ridge. Ascend through bird-rich bushland before reaching the trig point, which has beautiful views of Brindabella Mountains.
The walk requires no experience and has a formed track but has short steep sections and many steps.
Start the loop at the Namatjira Drive entry to Cooleman Ridge Park at Ballarat Street for easy access.
This moderate track curves through open woodlands to the summit of Mount McDonald. At the top, you will be rewarded with great views of Canberra, the Murrumbidgee River and Brindabella Range.
Distance:
3.8km return via Cotter Catchment Lookout Track (two hours)
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 25, 2025.
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The ancients also had to deal with a cost-of-living crisis. Here’s how they managed Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia Louis Le Brun, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY Talk to anyone today, and they will probably have something to say about how expensive life has become. While the rate of inflation has
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Playful or harmful? David Seymour’s posts raise questions about what’s OK to say online Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Veale, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies, part of the Digital Cultures Laboratory in the School of Humanities, Media, and Creative Communication, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party leader David Seymour says he is being “playful” and
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Will the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel hold? One factor could be crucial to it sticking Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University Amir Levy/Getty Images After 12 days of war, US President Donald Trump has announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that would bring to an end the most dramatic, direct conflict between the two nations in decades. Israel
Ramzy Baroud: The fallout – winners and losers from the Israeli war on Iran COMMENTARY: By Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestinian Chronicle The conflict between Israel and Iran over the past 12 days has redefined the regional chessboard. Here is a look at their key takeaways: Israel:Pulled in the US: Israel successfully drew the United States into a direct military confrontation with Iran, setting a significant precedent for
Iran and Israel agree to a fragile ceasefire. One factor could be crucial to it sticking Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University Amir Levy/Getty Images After 12 days of war, US President Donald Trump has announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that would bring to an end the most dramatic, direct conflict between the two nations in decades. Israel
eSafety boss wants YouTube included in the social media ban. But AI raises even more concerns for kids Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University Irina WS/Shutterstock Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, today addressed the National Press Club to outline how her office will be driving the Social Media Minimum Age Bill when it comes into effect in December this year. The bill,
Trouble getting out of bed? Signs the ‘winter blues’ may be something more serious Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelvin (Shiu Fung) Wong, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology Justin Paget/Getty Winter is here. As the days grow shorter and the skies turn darker, you might start to feel a bit “off”. You may notice a dip in your mood or energy levels.
The war won’t end Iran’s nuclear program – it will drive it underground, following North Korea’s model Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Burke, Professor of Environmental Politics & International Relations, UNSW Sydney The United States’ and Israel’s strikes on Iran are concerning, and not just for the questionable legal justifications provided by both governments. Even if their attacks cause severe damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, this will only
Iran’s internet blackout left people in the dark. How does a country shut down the internet? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohiuddin Ahmed, Senior Lecturer of Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University Dylan Carr/Unsplash In recent days, Iranians experienced a near-complete internet blackout, with local service providers – including mobile services – repeatedly going offline. Iran’s government has cited cyber security concerns for ordering the shutdown. Shutting off
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Women’s Health Protection Act comes as Trump and Congressional Republicans move to restrict a woman’s right to choose and toward a national abortion ban
Washington, D.C. — Today, on the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), led the entire Senate Democratic caucus in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025, legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans. The bill’s introduction comes as the Trump Administration further attacks a woman’s right to choose and Congressional Republicans barrel ahead with a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. Put together, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ assault on Americans’ reproductive rights is a backdoor national abortion ban, ripping away millions of women’s access to abortion care and right to control their bodies.
“Three years ago, Donald Trump and Republicans succeeded in overturning Roe, ripping away a Constitutional right for the first time in American history, and causing a full-blown health care crisis in our nation. Since then, we have seen with painful clarity how Republican abortion bans are putting women’s lives in danger, forcing providers to close their doors, decimating access to maternal health care, and forcing women to remain pregnant—no matter their circumstances,” said Senator Murray. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore the right to abortion and end the national nightmare Republicans created by overturning Roe. Democrats will never stop fighting to restore abortion access nationwide—nothing less.”
“First, Donald Trump and Republicans overturned Roe v Wade. Now, they are continuing their crusade for a national abortion ban, stripping away a woman’s right to choose and control her body, healthcare, and future. Republicans continue to show that they will stop at nothing in their pursuit to stop a woman from having the right to choose,” said Senator Baldwin. “In Wisconsin, we’ve seen how these attacks on women’s reproductive rights and freedoms have hurt our neighbors, friends, and families – and we won’t stand for it. The Women’s Health Protection Act is a necessary step to restore Americans’ constitutional right to choose what’s best for their families, stop Congressional and state-level Republicans from further putting themselves between a doctor and a woman, and once and for all, give women their rights and freedoms back.”
“This issue is about more than health care; it is about women’s rights, individual rights, and human rights. The foundation of the Women’s Health Protection Act is simply the right to make your own health care decisions. Three years after Dobbs, American women don’t have that right. Today, thanks to Republican lawmakers and conservative courts, a woman in America might walk into an ER and faint, bleeding, and be refused treatment. That woman might die,” said Senator Blumenthal. “By restoring abortion access and implementing basic protections against medically unnecessary restrictions on health care, the Women’s Health Protection Act overturns the death sentence handed down by Dobbs.”
President Trump appointed the Supreme Court Justices who ruled in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case to overturn Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of precedent. Since the Dobbs decision, 19 states have banned abortion or severely restricted women from being able to access the procedure, leaving one in three American women without access to safe, legal abortion care. Additionally, state legislatures across the country have introduced hundreds of bills to include medically unnecessary restrictions that limit access to abortion care.
In his second term, President Trump has continued to relentlessly attack reproductive rights, including freezing Title X funding for clinics that offer reproductive care, cutting Biden-era emergency abortion protections, pardoning anti-abortion extremists, and fighting to defund Planned Parenthood. Additionally, the House-passed Republican budget bill kicks 16 million people off their health insurance and defunds Planned Parenthood – threatening the closure of 200 health centers across the country and putting access to vital reproductive care for millions of families at risk.
The Women’s Health ProtectionAct creates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access. Specifically, the Women’s Health Protection Act would:
Prohibit states from imposing restrictions that jeopardize access to abortion earlier in pregnancy, including many of the state-level restrictions in place prior to Dobbs, such as arbitrary waiting periods, medically unnecessary mandatory ultrasounds, or requirements to provide medically inaccurate information.
Ensure that later in pregnancy, states cannot limit access to abortion if it would jeopardize the life or health of the mother.
Protect the ability to travel out of state for an abortion, which has become increasingly common in recent years.
The legislation is sponsored by the entire Democratic caucus, including Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D- DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
***WATCH: Video of full forum***
***WATCH and READ: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***
Washington, D.C. — Today—on the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the constitutional right to abortion—U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tina Smith (D-MN) hosted a spotlight forum titled Under Attack: Republicans’ Escalating War on Reproductive Freedom. At the forum, Senate Democrats heard from four panelists who have suffered the consequences of the Dobbs decision and subsequent Republican abortion bans firsthand and warned about how President Trump and Republicans are only escalating their attacks on women’s health care and working to make abortion impossible to access anywhere—a backdoor nationwide abortion ban.
The senators’ spotlight forum comes as President Trump has taken direct aim at reproductive health care in his first few months in office, including by: pardoning anti-abortion extremists found guilty of assaulting and injuring abortion clinic staff and announcing that his Department of Justice will largely no longer enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act; attacking mifepristone based on anti-abortion junk science; laying the groundwork to make “fetal personhood” the law of the land—which would ban abortion in every state and curtail pregnant women’s rights; rescinding CMS guidance reaffirming that the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide life-saving care to pregnant women suffering medical emergencies, which might include abortion care in certain situations; repealing two Executive Orders that sought to protect and expand access to reproductive health care in the aftermath of Dobbs; reinstating the Global Gag Rule that targets reproductive health care around the world; scrubbing government websites of vital information about reproductive health care; and appointing notorious anti-abortion extremists for influential roles in his administration, including Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Russell Vought as OMB Director, and John Sauer as Solicitor General—among much else.
Additionally, right now Republicans in Congress are pushing through a budget reconciliation bill that would make abortion care impossible to access nearly everywhere by defunding Planned Parenthood—putting 200 health centers across the country at risk of closure, 90 percent of which are in states where abortion is legal—and by effectively banning ACA marketplace health plans from covering abortion care. Overall, Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act would kick 16 million people off their health insurance through massive cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and overwhelmingly impact women, who comprise most adults covered by Medicaid. Medicaid is the primary source of coverage and the largest single payer for pregnant women’s health care nationwide, covering between one-third and one-half of births in every state across the country.
“Already, we have seen with painful clarity, how—on a daily basis—Republican abortion bans are putting women’s lives in danger, forcing providers to close their doors, decimating access to maternal health care, and forcing women to remain pregnant—no matter their circumstances. But Dobbs was never the end of this fight for Republicans, whose goal has always been a national abortion ban. And since Republicans know they don’t have the votes right now to pass a national abortion ban outright, they are slowly, but surely, advancing a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, and chipping away at access to reproductive health care piece-by-piece—even in states where abortion is protected. Republicans are hoping no one will notice these attacks—as if people don’t care when their rights are stripped away. As if it’s easy to miss the moment your health care decisions are out of your control,” said Senator Patty Murray. “As hard as Republicans might try, the damage they are causing is undeniable. But that doesn’t mean we give up. Women’s lives are at stake—Democrats are not going to stop pushing back—not ever. We will keep pushing for legislation to protect women and health care providers from Republican prosecution, to help people access and afford the reproductive health care they need, to protect women’s private health data, to protect the Right to Contraception and the Right to IVF, and to restore the right to abortion nationwide—nothing less.”
“When I was ten weeks pregnant, doctors informed me that my baby had acrania, a rare condition that was fatal for my baby, and dangerous for me. Naturally, I was heartbroken and scared, but I trusted that I would receive the necessary medical treatment so that my family and I could begin healing. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Just a few weeks before I received my diagnosis, the Supreme Court issued their decision in Dobbs v. JacksonWomen’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the legal right to abortion. The fallout from the decision was fast, with states across the country starting to enforce cruel and dangerous abortion bans,” said Nancy Davis of Louisiana, Founder and Executive Director of the Nancy Davis Foundation. “My home state of Louisiana has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and even though I needed to terminate my pregnancy to protect my own health and safety, I was told I could not receive care at the hospital in Baton Rouge. Instead of being able to process the diagnosis and grieve the loss of my pregnancy at home with my family, I had to scramble to find a way out of Louisiana to access abortion care. I found myself in a situation I never thought I would be in, forced to travel nearly 1,500 miles to get the care I needed and deserved. I experienced not only a denial of necessary medical care, but a denial of compassion, and my right to make my own decision about my own health. I felt dehumanized and stripped of my most fundamental rights. I knew what I needed to do to protect my health, and my doctors agreed, but local lawmakers who will never know me or understand my situation had the final say. The system failed me, and I am just as outraged today as I was then.”
“I was raised in St. Louis and I love living in Missouri. But, it is challenging to fulfill your job as a physician when you cannot practice medicine as you were trained to do or teach medical students about abortion in the community and state where you live…It is infuriating and irresponsible that because of abortion bans, OBs can teach our students all aspects of medical care—except abortion. When you go to the doctor, you want your doctor to be trained. Anti-abortion politicians and groups have claimed that abortion rights have been left up to the state. That is simply not true. Last fall, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment ensuring the right to an abortion, but — despite the will of the voters — politicians and state officials are still interfering with patients’ rights. At every turn, when we finally make progress towards abortion access in Missouri, they move the goalposts on us. The only way to describe our experience over the last several months is whiplash,” said Dr. Margaret Baum, M.D., FACOG, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers in Missouri. “I have seen first-hand that these draconian laws force patients to make impossible choices when Medicaid cannot cover their care. People delay care because they’re afraid that they are not going to have the coverage for the services we know that they need. Patients are forced to decide if they can pay out of pocket to get lab tests. They are forced to decide between the procedures they need. They are forced to sometimes forego services altogether. It is critical for lawmakers to understand that the decisions they make are affecting patients every. Single. Day. And now, once again, they want to bring this chaos and confusion to the national level. I’m here to tell you today that the Senate bill proposing to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood would be devastating. It could force nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers to close and is a trojan horse for a nationwide abortion ban.”
“Back before the FACE Act protections, our clinic doors were routinely blockaded one day a month by a mob of 300 to 400 anti-abortion extremists. Those days were unpredictable and scary. If we tried to get through them and into the clinic, extremists pinched or pricked us with sharp objects. By the end of the day, our patients were all traumatized and uncared for – and our bodies were black and blue. We can’t go back to those days…I proudly advocated for this Act when it was being debated in the 1990s – I am outraged and heartbroken we have to do this again. The law works at protecting rights, including speech rights, something I witness daily. As soon as the Act took effect, the extreme blockades stopped. Yes, we still had protesters exercising their First Amendment Rights, but now they knew they couldn’t be violent, and they could not invade the clinics or block staff and patients from entering. FACE has helped preserve the dignity and safety of the patients we serve, and the professionals who care for them,” said Renee Chelian, Founder and CEO of Michigan-based Northland Family Planning Centers. “But then in 2017, when President Trump first took office extremists were emboldened to resume their violent attacks, despite FACE, knowing they had a friend in the White House. Twice they invaded our clinics, harassed patients and staff and refused to leave after trespass warnings were given. Even after law enforcement arrived, they refused to leave, went limp and had to be carried out one at a time. But the most appalling and dangerous episode occurred toward the end of Trump’s first term, in August of 2020. A group blockaded our doors preventing staff and patients from entering the clinic including those arriving for birth control appointments and three women scheduled for abortions after receiving a fatal fetal diagnosis…Within days of returning to the White House, sure enough, President Trump pardoned the violent offenders who attacked our clinic and others serving time for violence against clinics in other states, as well as those convicted for their actions here on January 6th. We were all abandoned by our government with that swipe of a pen. The FACE Act has been our only lever preventing clinic violence and holding anti-abortion criminals accountable. The FACE Act simply can’t be undone and it is up to lawmakers like you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Right now, the Trump administration is taking unprecedented action to roll back abortion rights,” said Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. “The majority of Americans do not support right-wing, hate-fueled ideology.Eight in ten Americans want legal abortion. That’s not just a majority—that’s a consensus. But because of the daily churn of chaos from the White House, most Americans don’t know that Republicans are attacking abortion. Our new focus group research shows that when Americans know these attacks are happening, they feel disgusted and betrayed. That means if we’re louder about this issue, we can win. Senator Murray and many of the champions in this room have long been the conscience of the Senate, and it’s time for all Senate Democrats to join them. We need to do everything we can to loudly push back against this administration’s attacks on our bodies, lives, and futures. We are living through remarkably dangerous times, and this is the moment to act. Our rights are not safe under this administration, and that includes abortion rights. In order to protect the safety, health, and dignity of all Americans, we need you to keep fighting. The majority of Americans are on our side, and together, we will protect reproductive freedom and restore abortion rights for all.”
“Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans paved the path to overturn Roe v. Wade and stripped away a woman’s right to choose, but that wasn’t enough for them,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin. “Now, they are putting the puzzle pieces together to finally get what they have long wanted: a national abortion ban. Wisconsinites have said time and again that they want the freedom to control their bodies and futures, without politicians or the government butting in – and that is exactly what I’m fighting for. We are going to keep shining a light on Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ cruel efforts to further chip away at women’s right to get the health care they want and deserve – including abortion care.”
“Since Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen a new form of hell at every turn,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Now, Republicans in Congress are on track to pass a bill that amounts to a backdoor ban on abortion – even in states where it’s protected. Republicans’ bill to cut Medicaid and defund Planned Parenthood is a one-two punch to women across the country, and we are not going to let them get away with it.”
“Three years after the Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs decision, it’s become difficult and dangerous for women to access basic reproductive care, and Trump and Republicans in Congress are continuing to chip away at access and stoke the danger. I worked at Planned Parenthood, and I know all too well that receiving credible death threats is a fact of life for so many people who work in reproductive health care,” said Senator Tina Smith. “We’re seeing an uptick in threats against abortion providers and patients, meanwhile President Trump is actively pardoning anti-abortion extremists found guilty of harassment and violence. That’s why we are spotlighting the voices of leaders working on the frontlines of providing reproductive health care in the face of these threats at this important moment.”
“The deadly Dobbs decision will go down in history as one of the worst, most harmful, most regressive decisions in modern history, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “As bad as the Dobbs decision was and as catastrophic as the impacts have already been, Republicans are doubling down on their crusade against access to reproductive healthcare in their big, ugly reconciliation bill. Democrats are going to fight like hell to strip these cruel provisions from the Republican bill, and to protect and restore reproductive freedom for all.”
“This issue is about more than health care; it is about women’s rights, individual rights, and human rights. It is about the right to make your own health care decisions,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “Three years after Dobbs, American women don’t have that right. Today, thanks to Republican lawmakers and conservative courts, a woman in America might walk into an ER and faint, bleeding, and be refused treatment. That woman might die. But we aren’t giving up, and we will never stop fighting for reproductive justice, abortion access, and the simple, foundational right to choose your own health care.”
“The Guttmacher Institute said 155,000 people traveled for an abortion in 2024,” said Senator Maria Cantwell. “We are forcing them to go get care in some other state, miles and miles away. Why? Because of this archaic decision. Now, we have two problems. We have people coming to our state who want this care, but now we could have fewer Medicaid dollars to even provide the care.”
“With all the chaos and damage this administration has caused, the anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade reminds us that we can’t lose sight of the fact that anti-choice politicians at all levels of our government are working nonstop to roll back women’s access to reproductive care,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “Between devastating cuts to Medicaid in Republicans’ reconciliation bill to top officials in this administration calling the safety of the abortion pill into question, Republicans across our country are taking steps to claw back women’s rights. My Democratic colleagues and I will never stop sounding the alarm about this and working to restore women’s access to basic health care.”
“Three years ago, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority abandoned the long-standing constitutional protections recognized in Roe v. Wade—rejecting nearly 50 years of progress and dragging gender equality and women’s rights half a century backward,” said Senator Dick Durbin. “What has happened in the wake of Dobbs was as predictable as it is devastating—and today we heard how devastating the last three years have been for women seeking critical health care in Republican-led states. While I cannot sugarcoat the state of women’s rights following Dobbs, I want to make one thing crystal clear: this fight is far from over. I thank my colleagues, Senators Murray, Baldwin, Smith, and Warren, for hosting such an important forum and keeping up the fight.”
“I was proud to join my colleagues today to hear directly from those who have suffered due to the deadly Dobbs decision and under Republicans’ anti-choice agenda,” said Senator Mazie Hirono. “Three years after the fall of Roe, Republicans continue to escalate their assault on reproductive freedom, while women across the country experience the devastating impacts of this infringement on their fundamental rights. Dobbs caused chaos and confusion, putting millions of Americans’ lives at risk, but I will not stop doing everything in my power to restore access to abortion and family planning services nationwide and protect reproductive health care providers and their patients.”
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, women have been at the mercy of a patchwork of laws. Over 40 percent of women of reproductive age now live under extreme and dangerous bans, women are being turned away from emergency rooms, and doctors are threatened with prosecution for just doing their jobs. This cannot be a country where our daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. That is why we must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and put the protections of Roe v. Wade into law,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“In the three years since the Trump-packed Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican-led states have passed waves of harmful laws stripping Americans of the freedom to make their own health care decisions. Despite the life-threatening consequences of these actions, the Trump Administration is escalating its attacks on access to reproductive health care across the country—including in states where it’s protected. The stories we heard today underscored the urgent need to protect reproductive care as a matter of federal law,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Today, Senator Murray also joined Senators Tammy Baldwin and Richard Blumenthal to introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025, legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the Senate floor multiple times. Last January, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans, and last June, she chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Last year, Senator Murray helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice), and she led her colleagues in raising the alarm about the threat a second Trump administration poses to reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025.
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
***WATCH: Video of full forum***
***WATCH and READ: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***
Washington, D.C. — Today—on the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the constitutional right to abortion—U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tina Smith (D-MN) hosted a spotlight forum titled Under Attack: Republicans’ Escalating War on Reproductive Freedom. At the forum, Senate Democrats heard from four panelists who have suffered the consequences of the Dobbs decision and subsequent Republican abortion bans firsthand and warned about how President Trump and Republicans are only escalating their attacks on women’s health care and working to make abortion impossible to access anywhere—a backdoor nationwide abortion ban.
The senators’ spotlight forum comes as President Trump has taken direct aim at reproductive health care in his first few months in office, including by: pardoning anti-abortion extremists found guilty of assaulting and injuring abortion clinic staff and announcing that his Department of Justice will largely no longer enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act; attacking mifepristone based on anti-abortion junk science; laying the groundwork to make “fetal personhood” the law of the land—which would ban abortion in every state and curtail pregnant women’s rights; rescinding CMS guidance reaffirming that the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide life-saving care to pregnant women suffering medical emergencies, which might include abortion care in certain situations; repealing two Executive Orders that sought to protect and expand access to reproductive health care in the aftermath of Dobbs; reinstating the Global Gag Rule that targets reproductive health care around the world; scrubbing government websites of vital information about reproductive health care; and appointing notorious anti-abortion extremists for influential roles in his administration, including Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Russell Vought as OMB Director, and John Sauer as Solicitor General—among much else.
Additionally, right now Republicans in Congress are pushing through a budget reconciliation bill that would make abortion care impossible to access nearly everywhere by defunding Planned Parenthood—putting 200 health centers across the country at risk of closure, 90 percent of which are in states where abortion is legal—and by effectively banning ACA marketplace health plans from covering abortion care. Overall, Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act would kick 16 million people off their health insurance through massive cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and overwhelmingly impact women, who comprise most adults covered by Medicaid. Medicaid is the primary source of coverage and the largest single payer for pregnant women’s health care nationwide, covering between one-third and one-half of births in every state across the country.
“Already, we have seen with painful clarity, how—on a daily basis—Republican abortion bans are putting women’s lives in danger, forcing providers to close their doors, decimating access to maternal health care, and forcing women to remain pregnant—no matter their circumstances. But Dobbs was never the end of this fight for Republicans, whose goal has always been a national abortion ban. And since Republicans know they don’t have the votes right now to pass a national abortion ban outright, they are slowly, but surely, advancing a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, and chipping away at access to reproductive health care piece-by-piece—even in states where abortion is protected. Republicans are hoping no one will notice these attacks—as if people don’t care when their rights are stripped away. As if it’s easy to miss the moment your health care decisions are out of your control,” said Senator Patty Murray. “As hard as Republicans might try, the damage they are causing is undeniable. But that doesn’t mean we give up. Women’s lives are at stake—Democrats are not going to stop pushing back—not ever. We will keep pushing for legislation to protect women and health care providers from Republican prosecution, to help people access and afford the reproductive health care they need, to protect women’s private health data, to protect the Right to Contraception and the Right to IVF, and to restore the right to abortion nationwide—nothing less.”
“When I was ten weeks pregnant, doctors informed me that my baby had acrania, a rare condition that was fatal for my baby, and dangerous for me. Naturally, I was heartbroken and scared, but I trusted that I would receive the necessary medical treatment so that my family and I could begin healing. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Just a few weeks before I received my diagnosis, the Supreme Court issued their decision in Dobbs v. JacksonWomen’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the legal right to abortion. The fallout from the decision was fast, with states across the country starting to enforce cruel and dangerous abortion bans,” said Nancy Davis of Louisiana, Founder and Executive Director of the Nancy Davis Foundation. “My home state of Louisiana has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and even though I needed to terminate my pregnancy to protect my own health and safety, I was told I could not receive care at the hospital in Baton Rouge. Instead of being able to process the diagnosis and grieve the loss of my pregnancy at home with my family, I had to scramble to find a way out of Louisiana to access abortion care. I found myself in a situation I never thought I would be in, forced to travel nearly 1,500 miles to get the care I needed and deserved. I experienced not only a denial of necessary medical care, but a denial of compassion, and my right to make my own decision about my own health. I felt dehumanized and stripped of my most fundamental rights. I knew what I needed to do to protect my health, and my doctors agreed, but local lawmakers who will never know me or understand my situation had the final say. The system failed me, and I am just as outraged today as I was then.”
“I was raised in St. Louis and I love living in Missouri. But, it is challenging to fulfill your job as a physician when you cannot practice medicine as you were trained to do or teach medical students about abortion in the community and state where you live…It is infuriating and irresponsible that because of abortion bans, OBs can teach our students all aspects of medical care—except abortion. When you go to the doctor, you want your doctor to be trained. Anti-abortion politicians and groups have claimed that abortion rights have been left up to the state. That is simply not true. Last fall, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment ensuring the right to an abortion, but — despite the will of the voters — politicians and state officials are still interfering with patients’ rights. At every turn, when we finally make progress towards abortion access in Missouri, they move the goalposts on us. The only way to describe our experience over the last several months is whiplash,” said Dr. Margaret Baum, M.D., FACOG, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers in Missouri. “I have seen first-hand that these draconian laws force patients to make impossible choices when Medicaid cannot cover their care. People delay care because they’re afraid that they are not going to have the coverage for the services we know that they need. Patients are forced to decide if they can pay out of pocket to get lab tests. They are forced to decide between the procedures they need. They are forced to sometimes forego services altogether. It is critical for lawmakers to understand that the decisions they make are affecting patients every. Single. Day. And now, once again, they want to bring this chaos and confusion to the national level. I’m here to tell you today that the Senate bill proposing to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood would be devastating. It could force nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers to close and is a trojan horse for a nationwide abortion ban.”
“Back before the FACE Act protections, our clinic doors were routinely blockaded one day a month by a mob of 300 to 400 anti-abortion extremists. Those days were unpredictable and scary. If we tried to get through them and into the clinic, extremists pinched or pricked us with sharp objects. By the end of the day, our patients were all traumatized and uncared for – and our bodies were black and blue. We can’t go back to those days…I proudly advocated for this Act when it was being debated in the 1990s – I am outraged and heartbroken we have to do this again. The law works at protecting rights, including speech rights, something I witness daily. As soon as the Act took effect, the extreme blockades stopped. Yes, we still had protesters exercising their First Amendment Rights, but now they knew they couldn’t be violent, and they could not invade the clinics or block staff and patients from entering. FACE has helped preserve the dignity and safety of the patients we serve, and the professionals who care for them,” said Renee Chelian, Founder and CEO of Michigan-based Northland Family Planning Centers. “But then in 2017, when President Trump first took office extremists were emboldened to resume their violent attacks, despite FACE, knowing they had a friend in the White House. Twice they invaded our clinics, harassed patients and staff and refused to leave after trespass warnings were given. Even after law enforcement arrived, they refused to leave, went limp and had to be carried out one at a time. But the most appalling and dangerous episode occurred toward the end of Trump’s first term, in August of 2020. A group blockaded our doors preventing staff and patients from entering the clinic including those arriving for birth control appointments and three women scheduled for abortions after receiving a fatal fetal diagnosis…Within days of returning to the White House, sure enough, President Trump pardoned the violent offenders who attacked our clinic and others serving time for violence against clinics in other states, as well as those convicted for their actions here on January 6th. We were all abandoned by our government with that swipe of a pen. The FACE Act has been our only lever preventing clinic violence and holding anti-abortion criminals accountable. The FACE Act simply can’t be undone and it is up to lawmakers like you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Right now, the Trump administration is taking unprecedented action to roll back abortion rights,” said Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. “The majority of Americans do not support right-wing, hate-fueled ideology.Eight in ten Americans want legal abortion. That’s not just a majority—that’s a consensus. But because of the daily churn of chaos from the White House, most Americans don’t know that Republicans are attacking abortion. Our new focus group research shows that when Americans know these attacks are happening, they feel disgusted and betrayed. That means if we’re louder about this issue, we can win. Senator Murray and many of the champions in this room have long been the conscience of the Senate, and it’s time for all Senate Democrats to join them. We need to do everything we can to loudly push back against this administration’s attacks on our bodies, lives, and futures. We are living through remarkably dangerous times, and this is the moment to act. Our rights are not safe under this administration, and that includes abortion rights. In order to protect the safety, health, and dignity of all Americans, we need you to keep fighting. The majority of Americans are on our side, and together, we will protect reproductive freedom and restore abortion rights for all.”
“Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans paved the path to overturn Roe v. Wade and stripped away a woman’s right to choose, but that wasn’t enough for them,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin. “Now, they are putting the puzzle pieces together to finally get what they have long wanted: a national abortion ban. Wisconsinites have said time and again that they want the freedom to control their bodies and futures, without politicians or the government butting in – and that is exactly what I’m fighting for. We are going to keep shining a light on Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ cruel efforts to further chip away at women’s right to get the health care they want and deserve – including abortion care.”
“Since Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen a new form of hell at every turn,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Now, Republicans in Congress are on track to pass a bill that amounts to a backdoor ban on abortion – even in states where it’s protected. Republicans’ bill to cut Medicaid and defund Planned Parenthood is a one-two punch to women across the country, and we are not going to let them get away with it.”
“Three years after the Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs decision, it’s become difficult and dangerous for women to access basic reproductive care, and Trump and Republicans in Congress are continuing to chip away at access and stoke the danger. I worked at Planned Parenthood, and I know all too well that receiving credible death threats is a fact of life for so many people who work in reproductive health care,” said Senator Tina Smith. “We’re seeing an uptick in threats against abortion providers and patients, meanwhile President Trump is actively pardoning anti-abortion extremists found guilty of harassment and violence. That’s why we are spotlighting the voices of leaders working on the frontlines of providing reproductive health care in the face of these threats at this important moment.”
“The deadly Dobbs decision will go down in history as one of the worst, most harmful, most regressive decisions in modern history, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “As bad as the Dobbs decision was and as catastrophic as the impacts have already been, Republicans are doubling down on their crusade against access to reproductive healthcare in their big, ugly reconciliation bill. Democrats are going to fight like hell to strip these cruel provisions from the Republican bill, and to protect and restore reproductive freedom for all.”
“This issue is about more than health care; it is about women’s rights, individual rights, and human rights. It is about the right to make your own health care decisions,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “Three years after Dobbs, American women don’t have that right. Today, thanks to Republican lawmakers and conservative courts, a woman in America might walk into an ER and faint, bleeding, and be refused treatment. That woman might die. But we aren’t giving up, and we will never stop fighting for reproductive justice, abortion access, and the simple, foundational right to choose your own health care.”
“The Guttmacher Institute said 155,000 people traveled for an abortion in 2024,” said Senator Maria Cantwell. “We are forcing them to go get care in some other state, miles and miles away. Why? Because of this archaic decision. Now, we have two problems. We have people coming to our state who want this care, but now we could have fewer Medicaid dollars to even provide the care.”
“With all the chaos and damage this administration has caused, the anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade reminds us that we can’t lose sight of the fact that anti-choice politicians at all levels of our government are working nonstop to roll back women’s access to reproductive care,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “Between devastating cuts to Medicaid in Republicans’ reconciliation bill to top officials in this administration calling the safety of the abortion pill into question, Republicans across our country are taking steps to claw back women’s rights. My Democratic colleagues and I will never stop sounding the alarm about this and working to restore women’s access to basic health care.”
“Three years ago, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority abandoned the long-standing constitutional protections recognized in Roe v. Wade—rejecting nearly 50 years of progress and dragging gender equality and women’s rights half a century backward,” said Senator Dick Durbin. “What has happened in the wake of Dobbs was as predictable as it is devastating—and today we heard how devastating the last three years have been for women seeking critical health care in Republican-led states. While I cannot sugarcoat the state of women’s rights following Dobbs, I want to make one thing crystal clear: this fight is far from over. I thank my colleagues, Senators Murray, Baldwin, Smith, and Warren, for hosting such an important forum and keeping up the fight.”
“I was proud to join my colleagues today to hear directly from those who have suffered due to the deadly Dobbs decision and under Republicans’ anti-choice agenda,” said Senator Mazie Hirono. “Three years after the fall of Roe, Republicans continue to escalate their assault on reproductive freedom, while women across the country experience the devastating impacts of this infringement on their fundamental rights. Dobbs caused chaos and confusion, putting millions of Americans’ lives at risk, but I will not stop doing everything in my power to restore access to abortion and family planning services nationwide and protect reproductive health care providers and their patients.”
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, women have been at the mercy of a patchwork of laws. Over 40 percent of women of reproductive age now live under extreme and dangerous bans, women are being turned away from emergency rooms, and doctors are threatened with prosecution for just doing their jobs. This cannot be a country where our daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. That is why we must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and put the protections of Roe v. Wade into law,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“In the three years since the Trump-packed Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican-led states have passed waves of harmful laws stripping Americans of the freedom to make their own health care decisions. Despite the life-threatening consequences of these actions, the Trump Administration is escalating its attacks on access to reproductive health care across the country—including in states where it’s protected. The stories we heard today underscored the urgent need to protect reproductive care as a matter of federal law,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Today, Senator Murray also joined Senators Tammy Baldwin and Richard Blumenthal to introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025, legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the Senate floor multiple times. Last January, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans, and last June, she chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Last year, Senator Murray helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice), and she led her colleagues in raising the alarm about the threat a second Trump administration poses to reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025.
It’s almost a decade since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a worldwide trend and sparked fierce debate when he knelt during the US national anthem.
In 2016, Kaepernick refused to follow the pre-game protocol related to the national anthem and knelt instead, saying:
I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
Soon, many athletes and teams began “taking a knee” at sports events to express their solidarity with victims of racial injustice.
Following the intense public debate over the appropriateness of Kaepernick’s act, the ritual quickly spread worldwide, with athletes in major soccer leagues, cricket, rugby, Formula 1, top-tier tennis and the US’s Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association taking a knee.
Athletes didn’t always kneel during national anthems, with the majority kneeling at certain points pre-game.
Despite the occasional “defection” of a small number of players who would stand while their teammates knelt – such as Israel Folau in rugby league, Wilfried Zaha in soccer and Quinton de Kock in cricket – the ritual was widely embraced by teams and athletes and helped raise awareness of the issue.
Even major sports organisations notorious for prohibiting any type of political activism generally accepted the kneeling ritual. For example, soccer’s International Football Federation (FIFA) showcased kneeling as a “stand against discrimination” and as human rights advocacy.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initially stood firm by its Rule 50, which states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.
But just three weeks before the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the IOC relaxed its interpretation, and athletes were permitted to express their views in ways that included taking a knee.
A surprising turn of events
Despite permission and even encouragement from sports governing bodies, our research shows the practice is disappearing from major sports competitions.
Take soccer, for example. At the FIFA World Cup 2022, England and Wales were the only national teams that knelt at their games in Qatar.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, no teams or players knelt.
The same happened at the 2024 Olympic soccer tournament in Paris.
That only a handful of teams knelt in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, two at the FIFA Mens’ World Cup in Qatar in 2022, none at the FIFA Womens’ World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, and again none at the Paris 2024 Olympics indicates a growing reluctance throughout the sports world.
This surely cannot mean athletes have become indifferent to racial injustice or other forms of oppression in the interval between the late 2010s and the mid-2020s.
The explanation must be sought elsewhere. A hint was provided when Crystal Palace soccer player Zaha, the first player of colour in the UK who refused to kneel, explained:
I feel like taking the knee is degrading, because growing up my parents just let me know that I should be proud to be Black no matter what and I feel like we should just stand tall.
The explanation may therefore be, at least in part, the players’ uncomfortable feelings related to the kneeling posture.
In sociology, this bothersome state of mind is called “cognitive dissonance”: the mental conflict a person experiences in the presence of contrasting beliefs.
A history of kneeling
The body posture of kneeling is not deemed, in any culture, as expressing solidarity.
Ancient Greek and the Roman societies, on whose values Western civilisation was built, rejected kneeling as improper, even when praying to gods.
When performed outside the church, kneeling meant submission to nobility or royalty.
The significance of kneeling as humility is not limited to the Western world.
In African tribal culture, the young kneel in front of elders, and everyone kneels before the king.
In China in 1949, Chairman Mao famously proclaimed at the first plenary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference:
From now on our nation […] will no longer be a nation subject to insult and humiliation. We have stood up.
With this in mind, kneeling may be deemed unfit at sporting events, which often feature a powerful cocktail of emotions, values and social expectations.
The inconsistency between the excitement of competition and the expectation to kneel — a gesture associated with submission and humility — likely creates a bothersome state of mind for athletes.
This potentially motivates some players to reject one of the two – in this case, the kneeling – to restore cognitive harmony.
What could replace the kneeling ritual?
After refusing, by unanimous players’ vote, to take a knee before their October 2020 game against the All Blacks, the Australian rugby union team chose instead to wear a First Nations jersey.
The same year, several teams in German soccer’s top league chose to show their support for Black Lives Matter by wearing distinctive armbands.
So it appears wearing a distinctive jersey or at least an armband is more easily accepted by modern-day athletes. This may be challenging given the governing bodies of many sports, such as FIFA, ban athletes from wearing political symbols on their clothing.
Depending on whether sports code accept this type of activism in the future, wearing suportive clothing could replace taking a knee as symbolic communication of solidarity with oppressed minorities.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Women’s Health Protection Act comes as Trump and Congressional Republicans move to restrict a woman’s right to choose and toward a national abortion ban
Washington (June 24, 2025) – On the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025, legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans. The bill’s introduction comes as the Trump Administration further attacks a woman’s right to choose and Congressional Republicans barrel ahead with a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. Put together, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ assault on Americans’ reproductive rights is a backdoor national abortion ban, ripping away millions of women’s access to abortion care and right to control their bodies.
President Trump appointed the Supreme Court Justices who ruled in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case to overturn Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of precedent. Since the Dobbs decision, 19 states have banned abortion or severely restricted women from being able to access the procedure, leaving one in three American women without access to safe, legal abortion care. Additionally, state legislatures across the country have introduced hundreds of bills to include medically unnecessary restrictions that limit access to abortion care.
In his second term, President Trump has continued to relentlessly attack reproductive rights, including freezing Title X funding for clinics that offer reproductive care, cutting Biden-era emergency abortion protections, pardoning anti-abortion extremists, and fighting to defund Planned Parenthood. Additionally, the House-passed Republican budget bill kicks 16 million people off their health insurance and defunds Planned Parenthood – threatening the closure of 200 health centers across the country and putting access to vital reproductive care for millions of families at risk.
The Women’s Health Protection Act creates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access. Specifically, the Women’s Health Protection Act would:
Prohibit states from imposing restrictions that jeopardize access to abortion earlier in pregnancy, including many of the state-level restrictions in place prior to Dobbs, such as arbitrary waiting periods, medically unnecessary mandatory ultrasounds, or requirements to provide medically inaccurate information.
Ensure that later in pregnancy, states cannot limit access to abortion if it would jeopardize the life or health of the mother.
Protect the ability to travel out of state for an abortion, which has become increasingly common in recent years.
The legislation is sponsored by the entire Democratic caucus, including Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D- DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Full text of the bill is available here. A one-pager on the bill is available here.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Washington (June 24, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) along with U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) to introduce the Health Equity and Access under Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Families Act, bicameral legislation that removes cruel and unnecessary barriers to health care for immigrants of all statuses. The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Immigrants are significantly more likely than U.S. Citizens to be uninsured, leaving them at a higher risk for both adverse health and financial consequences. Of the nearly 151 million people aged 15-49 in the United States, 14.6 million people—almost one in 10—are noncitizen immigrants.
“Trump and Republicans are working to rip health care coverage away from millions, including immigrant communities that are already too often left uninsured and vulnerable due to their immigration status. We must expand health care access for all and eliminate the discriminatory policies that prevent immigrant families and communities from seeking the health care they need,” said Senator Markey.
“Everyone deserves access to comprehensive, affordable, quality care, and the HEAL Act lifts unnecessary barriers to medical care for immigrants,” said Senator Booker. “A more equitable health care system will help create healthier communities and ensure that all families, regardless of immigration status, have access to the care they need.”
“Health care is a human right that must be accessible to everyone — regardless of immigration status,” said Representative Jayapal. “As a proud immigrant myself, I know that the HEAL Act is a necessary first step to allow more people across America to access the health care they need to live, making all of our communities healthier. As Republicans in Congress work to strip health coverage away from millions of Americans and further decimate our already broken immigration system, we’re working to ensure everyone in this country is able to see a doctor when they need it.”
“Access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on your immigration status,” said Representative Barragán. “Healthcare is a basic human right, and it’s time we break down the needless barriers that keep immigrant families from the care they need to survive and thrive. The HEAL Act is a step toward addressing racial health disparities and expanding quality healthcare to everyone in our communities.”
“Withholding health care from immigrants is cruel and doesn’t make our communities safer or healthier,” said Senator Warren. “While the Trump administration continues playing political games with immigrant families, Democrats are fighting to make sure a person’s immigration status doesn’t prevent them from getting life-saving care.”
“As the Trump Administration guts access to health care and basic services for immigrant communities, breaking down barriers to health care for immigrants isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s critical for protecting our public health and economy,” said Senator Padilla. “California is the fourth-largest economy in the world not despite immigrants, but because of their contributions to our workforce. Everyone deserves access to affordable, quality health care no matter their immigration status, and I will keep fighting to continue expanding coverage for these hardworking members of our communities.”
“Health care is a human right—regardless of a person’s immigration status. With this critical legislation, we remove cruel, unnecessary barriers preventing immigrants from receiving the care they need to survive and thrive. By providing access to quality care and treatment, we strengthen our communities and bolster our nation’s public health,” said Senator Blumenthal.
To see the full list of endorsing organizations, click here.
“Rep. Jayapal and Sen. Booker continue to be courageous and powerful champions for immigrant communities by reintroducing the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act. While immigrant families are currently being attacked and torn apart, this bill promotes a vision for what we want for our collective future. A future that supports immigrant communities by removing long standing systemic barriers to health coverage to help our communities access affordable health care. We are especially grateful that Sen. Booker and Rep. Jayapal are introducing this critical legislation today as we mark three years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s HealthOrganization decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion. That decision has disproportionately harmed immigrant communities, for whom abortion bans, misinformation, and the threat of being detained and separated from our families has increased the barriers that keep us from getting the health care we need,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “We urge Congress to protect immigrant communities and pass this bill,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
“The reproductive justice movement teaches us that true justice means being able to have children, not have children, and raise our families in safe, supportive communities. None of that is possible without health care. In a country that has always been shaped by immigrants, we cannot keep allowing people and families, including the Asian American immigrants who make up more than a quarter of immigrants in the U.S., to be shut out from basic health care because of harmful, outdated policies. These are our mothers, our sisters, and our neighbors. The HEAL Act tears down the barriers facing our communities and reaffirms that everyone deserves the right to care, regardless of background, income, or immigration status,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).
“For too long, our health care system has denied immigrants equitable access to health insurance, fueling deep and unconscionable health inequities,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program. “The big ugly reconciliation bill before Congress threatens to lock even more immigrant families out of vital and often lifesaving coverage, widening those inequities. The National Health Law Program is proud to endorse the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act, which offers a better vision for the future: dismantling xenophobic health insurance barriers and fostering health equity and reproductive justice for all,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney, The National Health Law Program.
“Everyone deserves access to health care, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is unacceptable and cruel that many are denied affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive health care because of their immigration status. Amid the ongoing attacks on our immigrant communities and our health care, I thank Reps. Jayapal and Barragán and Senator Booker for reintroducing this critical bill that would break down unjust barriers to care for our immigrant families,” said Alexis McGill Johnson,President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“As a physician, I’ve witnessed the barriers immigrant families face when trying to access health care. Insurance coverage is a cornerstone of meaningful access; without it, care remains out of reach for too many. At a time when attacks on immigrant communities are escalating, we must act now to ensure that everyone—regardless of status—has the right to timely, compassionate, and comprehensive health care. That’s why I join physicians across the country in calling for a swift passage of the HEAL Act. Expanding health coverage to immigrant communities ensures they receive the care they deserve, regardless of their immigration status. Health is a human right and no one should be excluded from receiving healthcare. Congress must pass HEAL – our patients are counting on it,” said Dr. Jamila Perritt, MD, MPH, FACOG, President and CEO,Physicians for Reproductive Health.
“With immigrant families under constant attack, it’s more important than ever to work toward a better, more inclusive future when everyone can get the care we all need. We are proud to champion the HEAL Act – a critical step toward that better future,” said Adriana Cadena,Campaign Director, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
“Now more than ever, it is critical to affirm that everyone—including immigrants—should have access to health care coverage. Immigrants already face many restrictions to such care and an onslaught of attacks on them and their families’ health and well-being, ranging from the fear created by the Administration’s mass deportation efforts to the deeply harmful budget reconciliation bill currently under consideration. The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act is a critical step in moving us back in the right direction by giving children and families access to the health care they need to thrive. CLASP is grateful to Representative Jayapal and Senator Booker for their leadership in promoting a vision that supports health care for all,” said Wendy Cervantes, Director, Immigration and Immigrant Families, CLASP.
“A community’s health and well-being depend on ensuring all of us have access to the affordable health care we need, regardless of immigration status. The HEAL Act would remove harmful barriers to care for millions and benefit all of us. At a time when immigrant communities across the country are facing a barrage of attacks, we commend Representative Jayapal for continuing to champion a vision and policies that help everyone in our communities,” said Kica Matos, President, National Immigration Law Center.
The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act will:
Restore enrollment to full-benefit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to all federally authorized immigrants who are otherwise eligible by removing the 5-year waiting period and outdated list of “qualified immigrants” for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility;
Remove discriminatory Medicare restrictions based on length of stay in the U.S. for many lawful permanent residents (LPR);
End the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces
Ensure access to public and affordable coverage for Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients;
Create a state option to expand Medicaid and CHIP to immigrants regardless of immigration status.
Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) along with U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) introduced the Health Equity and Access under Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Families Act, bicameral legislation that removes cruel and unnecessary barriers to health care for immigrants of all statuses. The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Immigrants are significantly more likely than U.S. Citizens to be uninsured, leaving them at a higher risk for both adverse health and financial consequences. Of the nearly 151 million people aged 15-49 in the United States, 14.6 million people—almost one in 10—are noncitizen immigrants.
“Everyone deserves access to comprehensive, affordable, quality care, and the HEAL Act lifts unnecessary barriers to medical care for immigrants,” said Senator Booker. “A more equitable health care system will help create healthier communities and ensure that all families, regardless of immigration status, have access to the care they need.”
“Health care is a human right that must be accessible to everyone — regardless of immigration status,” said Representative Jayapal. “As a proud immigrant myself, I know that the HEAL Act is a necessary first step to allow more people across America to access the health care they need to live, making all of our communities healthier. As Republicans in Congress work to strip health coverage away from millions of Americans and further decimate our already broken immigration system, we’re working to ensure everyone in this country is able to see a doctor when they need it.”
“Access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on your immigration status,” said Representative Barragán. “Healthcare is a basic human right, and it’s time we break down the needless barriers that keep immigrant families from the care they need to survive and thrive. The HEAL Act is a step toward addressing racial health disparities and expanding quality healthcare to everyone in our communities.”
“Withholding health care from immigrants is cruel and doesn’t make our communities safer or healthier,” said Senator Warren. “While the Trump administration continues playing political games with immigrant families, Democrats are fighting to make sure a person’s immigration status doesn’t prevent them from getting life-saving care.”
“As the Trump Administration guts access to health care and basic services for immigrant communities, breaking down barriers to health care for immigrants isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s critical for protecting our public health and economy,” said Senator Padilla. “California is the fourth-largest economy in the world not despite immigrants, but because of their contributions to our workforce. Everyone deserves access to affordable, quality health care no matter their immigration status, and I will keep fighting to continue expanding coverage for these hardworking members of our communities.”
“Trump and Republicans are working to rip health care coverage away from millions, including immigrant communities that are already too often left uninsured and vulnerable due to their immigration status. We must expand health care access for all and eliminate the discriminatory policies that prevent immigrant families and communities from seeking the health care they need,” said Senator Markey.
“Health care is a human right—regardless of a person’s immigration status. With this critical legislation, we remove cruel, unnecessary barriers preventing immigrants from receiving the care they need to survive and thrive. By providing access to quality care and treatment, we strengthen our communities and bolster our nation’s public health,” said Senator Blumenthal.
To see the full list of endorsing organizations, click here.
“Rep. Jayapal and Sen. Booker continue to be courageous and powerful champions for immigrant communities by reintroducing the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act. While immigrant families are currently being attacked and torn apart, this bill promotes a vision for what we want for our collective future. A future that supports immigrant communities by removing long standing systemic barriers to health coverage to help our communities access affordable health care. We are especially grateful that Sen. Booker and Rep. Jayapal are introducing this critical legislation today as we mark three years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s HealthOrganization decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion. That decision has disproportionately harmed immigrant communities, for whom abortion bans, misinformation, and the threat of being detained and separated from our families has increased the barriers that keep us from getting the health care we need,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “We urge Congress to protect immigrant communities and pass this bill,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
“The reproductive justice movement teaches us that true justice means being able to have children, not have children, and raise our families in safe, supportive communities. None of that is possible without health care. In a country that has always been shaped by immigrants, we cannot keep allowing people and families, including the Asian American immigrants who make up more than a quarter of immigrants in the U.S., to be shut out from basic health care because of harmful, outdated policies. These are our mothers, our sisters, and our neighbors. The HEAL Act tears down the barriers facing our communities and reaffirms that everyone deserves the right to care, regardless of background, income, or immigration status,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).
“For too long, our health care system has denied immigrants equitable access to health insurance, fueling deep and unconscionable health inequities,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program. “The big ugly reconciliation bill before Congress threatens to lock even more immigrant families out of vital and often lifesaving coverage, widening those inequities. The National Health Law Program is proud to endorse the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act, which offers a better vision for the future: dismantling xenophobic health insurance barriers and fostering health equity and reproductive justice for all,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney, The National Health Law Program.
“Everyone deserves access to health care, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is unacceptable and cruel that many are denied affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive health care because of their immigration status. Amid the ongoing attacks on our immigrant communities and our health care, I thank Reps. Jayapal and Barragán and Senator Booker for reintroducing this critical bill that would break down unjust barriers to care for our immigrant families,” said Alexis McGill Johnson,President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“As a physician, I’ve witnessed the barriers immigrant families face when trying to access health care. Insurance coverage is a cornerstone of meaningful access; without it, care remains out of reach for too many. At a time when attacks on immigrant communities are escalating, we must act now to ensure that everyone—regardless of status—has the right to timely, compassionate, and comprehensive health care. That’s why I join physicians across the country in calling for a swift passage of the HEAL Act. Expanding health coverage to immigrant communities ensures they receive the care they deserve, regardless of their immigration status. Health is a human right and no one should be excluded from receiving healthcare. Congress must pass HEAL – our patients are counting on it,” said Dr. Jamila Perritt, MD, MPH, FACOG, President and CEO,Physicians for Reproductive Health.
“With immigrant families under constant attack, it’s more important than ever to work toward a better, more inclusive future when everyone can get the care we all need. We are proud to champion the HEAL Act – a critical step toward that better future,” said Adriana Cadena,Campaign Director, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
“Now more than ever, it is critical to affirm that everyone—including immigrants—should have access to health care coverage. Immigrants already face many restrictions to such care and an onslaught of attacks on them and their families’ health and well-being, ranging from the fear created by the Administration’s mass deportation efforts to the deeply harmful budget reconciliation bill currently under consideration. The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act is a critical step in moving us back in the right direction by giving children and families access to the health care they need to thrive. CLASP is grateful to Representative Jayapal and Senator Booker for their leadership in promoting a vision that supports health care for all,” said Wendy Cervantes, Director, Immigration and Immigrant Families, CLASP.
“A community’s health and well-being depend on ensuring all of us have access to the affordable health care we need, regardless of immigration status. The HEAL Act would remove harmful barriers to care for millions and benefit all of us. At a time when immigrant communities across the country are facing a barrage of attacks, we commend Representative Jayapal for continuing to champion a vision and policies that help everyone in our communities,” said Kica Matos, President, National Immigration Law Center.
The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act will:
Restore enrollment to full-benefit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to all federally authorized immigrants who are otherwise eligible by removing the 5-year waiting period and outdated list of “qualified immigrants” for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility;
Remove discriminatory Medicare restrictions based on length of stay in the U.S. for many lawful permanent residents (LPR);
End the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces
Ensure access to public and affordable coverage for Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients;
Create a state option to expand Medicaid and CHIP to immigrants regardless of immigration status.
Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) along with U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) introduced the Health Equity and Access under Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Families Act, bicameral legislation that removes cruel and unnecessary barriers to health care for immigrants of all statuses. The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Immigrants are significantly more likely than U.S. Citizens to be uninsured, leaving them at a higher risk for both adverse health and financial consequences. Of the nearly 151 million people aged 15-49 in the United States, 14.6 million people—almost one in 10—are noncitizen immigrants.
“Everyone deserves access to comprehensive, affordable, quality care, and the HEAL Act lifts unnecessary barriers to medical care for immigrants,” said Senator Booker. “A more equitable health care system will help create healthier communities and ensure that all families, regardless of immigration status, have access to the care they need.”
“Health care is a human right that must be accessible to everyone — regardless of immigration status,” said Representative Jayapal. “As a proud immigrant myself, I know that the HEAL Act is a necessary first step to allow more people across America to access the health care they need to live, making all of our communities healthier. As Republicans in Congress work to strip health coverage away from millions of Americans and further decimate our already broken immigration system, we’re working to ensure everyone in this country is able to see a doctor when they need it.”
“Access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on your immigration status,” said Representative Barragán. “Healthcare is a basic human right, and it’s time we break down the needless barriers that keep immigrant families from the care they need to survive and thrive. The HEAL Act is a step toward addressing racial health disparities and expanding quality healthcare to everyone in our communities.”
“Withholding health care from immigrants is cruel and doesn’t make our communities safer or healthier,” said Senator Warren. “While the Trump administration continues playing political games with immigrant families, Democrats are fighting to make sure a person’s immigration status doesn’t prevent them from getting life-saving care.”
“As the Trump Administration guts access to health care and basic services for immigrant communities, breaking down barriers to health care for immigrants isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s critical for protecting our public health and economy,” said Senator Padilla. “California is the fourth-largest economy in the world not despite immigrants, but because of their contributions to our workforce. Everyone deserves access to affordable, quality health care no matter their immigration status, and I will keep fighting to continue expanding coverage for these hardworking members of our communities.”
“Trump and Republicans are working to rip health care coverage away from millions, including immigrant communities that are already too often left uninsured and vulnerable due to their immigration status. We must expand health care access for all and eliminate the discriminatory policies that prevent immigrant families and communities from seeking the health care they need,” said Senator Markey.
“Health care is a human right—regardless of a person’s immigration status. With this critical legislation, we remove cruel, unnecessary barriers preventing immigrants from receiving the care they need to survive and thrive. By providing access to quality care and treatment, we strengthen our communities and bolster our nation’s public health,” said Senator Blumenthal.
To see the full list of endorsing organizations, click here.
“Rep. Jayapal and Sen. Booker continue to be courageous and powerful champions for immigrant communities by reintroducing the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act. While immigrant families are currently being attacked and torn apart, this bill promotes a vision for what we want for our collective future. A future that supports immigrant communities by removing long standing systemic barriers to health coverage to help our communities access affordable health care. We are especially grateful that Sen. Booker and Rep. Jayapal are introducing this critical legislation today as we mark three years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s HealthOrganization decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion. That decision has disproportionately harmed immigrant communities, for whom abortion bans, misinformation, and the threat of being detained and separated from our families has increased the barriers that keep us from getting the health care we need,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “We urge Congress to protect immigrant communities and pass this bill,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
“The reproductive justice movement teaches us that true justice means being able to have children, not have children, and raise our families in safe, supportive communities. None of that is possible without health care. In a country that has always been shaped by immigrants, we cannot keep allowing people and families, including the Asian American immigrants who make up more than a quarter of immigrants in the U.S., to be shut out from basic health care because of harmful, outdated policies. These are our mothers, our sisters, and our neighbors. The HEAL Act tears down the barriers facing our communities and reaffirms that everyone deserves the right to care, regardless of background, income, or immigration status,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).
“For too long, our health care system has denied immigrants equitable access to health insurance, fueling deep and unconscionable health inequities,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program. “The big ugly reconciliation bill before Congress threatens to lock even more immigrant families out of vital and often lifesaving coverage, widening those inequities. The National Health Law Program is proud to endorse the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act, which offers a better vision for the future: dismantling xenophobic health insurance barriers and fostering health equity and reproductive justice for all,” said Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney, The National Health Law Program.
“Everyone deserves access to health care, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is unacceptable and cruel that many are denied affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive health care because of their immigration status. Amid the ongoing attacks on our immigrant communities and our health care, I thank Reps. Jayapal and Barragán and Senator Booker for reintroducing this critical bill that would break down unjust barriers to care for our immigrant families,” said Alexis McGill Johnson,President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“As a physician, I’ve witnessed the barriers immigrant families face when trying to access health care. Insurance coverage is a cornerstone of meaningful access; without it, care remains out of reach for too many. At a time when attacks on immigrant communities are escalating, we must act now to ensure that everyone—regardless of status—has the right to timely, compassionate, and comprehensive health care. That’s why I join physicians across the country in calling for a swift passage of the HEAL Act. Expanding health coverage to immigrant communities ensures they receive the care they deserve, regardless of their immigration status. Health is a human right and no one should be excluded from receiving healthcare. Congress must pass HEAL – our patients are counting on it,” said Dr. Jamila Perritt, MD, MPH, FACOG, President and CEO,Physicians for Reproductive Health.
“With immigrant families under constant attack, it’s more important than ever to work toward a better, more inclusive future when everyone can get the care we all need. We are proud to champion the HEAL Act – a critical step toward that better future,” said Adriana Cadena,Campaign Director, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
“Now more than ever, it is critical to affirm that everyone—including immigrants—should have access to health care coverage. Immigrants already face many restrictions to such care and an onslaught of attacks on them and their families’ health and well-being, ranging from the fear created by the Administration’s mass deportation efforts to the deeply harmful budget reconciliation bill currently under consideration. The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act is a critical step in moving us back in the right direction by giving children and families access to the health care they need to thrive. CLASP is grateful to Representative Jayapal and Senator Booker for their leadership in promoting a vision that supports health care for all,” said Wendy Cervantes, Director, Immigration and Immigrant Families, CLASP.
“A community’s health and well-being depend on ensuring all of us have access to the affordable health care we need, regardless of immigration status. The HEAL Act would remove harmful barriers to care for millions and benefit all of us. At a time when immigrant communities across the country are facing a barrage of attacks, we commend Representative Jayapal for continuing to champion a vision and policies that help everyone in our communities,” said Kica Matos, President, National Immigration Law Center.
The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act will:
Restore enrollment to full-benefit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to all federally authorized immigrants who are otherwise eligible by removing the 5-year waiting period and outdated list of “qualified immigrants” for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility;
Remove discriminatory Medicare restrictions based on length of stay in the U.S. for many lawful permanent residents (LPR);
End the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces
Ensure access to public and affordable coverage for Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients;
Create a state option to expand Medicaid and CHIP to immigrants regardless of immigration status.
