(SRN NEWS) – Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey issued a slew of executive orders on his first full day as West Virginia’s chief executive, including one enabling families to receive religious exemptions from school vaccinations. Another order terminates all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives from state-run institutions, something Morrisey vowed to do during his campaign. Efforts to end […]
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(SRN NEWS) – Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey issued a slew of executive orders on his first full day as West Virginia’s chief executive, including one enabling families to receive religious exemptions from school vaccinations. Another order terminates all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives from state-run institutions, something Morrisey vowed to do during his campaign. Efforts to end DEI are expected to expand in Republican-led states under President Trump, who has vowed to rid the federal government of similar programs.
Lawmakers in Virginia will take up numerous bills during this year’s short legislative session and one of them will concern abortion. A constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion is the number one priority for Democrats who hold a slim one-seat majority in both chambers. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto pen looms large, however. In the 2024 session he killed a record number of bills that had passed the General Assembly. Several states have added abortion to their constitutions since the repeal of Roe versus Wade.
New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy says he’s planning to build up a supply of abortion pills ahead of President Trump’s second administration. New Jersey joins other Democratic-led states, including Massachusetts and California, in stockpiling mifepristone, one of two drugs used in combination to end pregnancies. Last summer the Supreme Court preserved access to that pill, which is used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions. Drugs have become the primary way that a majority of women end their pregnancies in the U.S.
A lawsuit has been filed to challenge a new Alabama law that bans Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at universities. The plaintiffs claim that the statute places restrictions on educators’ speech and classroom lessons. The Alabama measure, which took effect last fall, is part of a wave of proposals from Republican lawmakers across the country taking aim at programs promoting the LGBT lifestyle and other left-wing causes in the schools. An outcry from parents and some teachers prompted state legislators to take action.