The Missouri Health Department Was Tracking Women’s Periods

Missouri's state health director admitted this week to tracking the menstrual cycles of women who visited Planned Parenthood in St. Louis. Dr. Randall Williams kept a spreadsheet of patient data to identify those who had undergone failed abortions, and said that the investigation into Planned Parenthood began when the state found evidence of a failed abortion that wasn’t logged with the state, which collects complication reports. The state eventually found four patients who had to return to Planned Parenthood to complete a successful abortion, which led the department to withhold the St. Louis clinic’s license. Williams, a former OBGYN, said that the investigation helped expose issues at the clinic. “Because we now talked to clinicians that took care of those patients, we are very, very far along on feeling (we can improve) that care with some new policies that we can collaborate with them to implement,” Williams said. Planned Parenthood officials claimed the state “cherry-picked” four cases from the 4,782 abortions they performed in 2017. Democratic state Rep. Crystal Quade, the Missouri House minority leader, questioned why the spreadsheet of procedure outcomes needed to include the date of the patient’s last menstrual period, and asked Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, to immediately investigate whether patient privacy was compromised. “State law requires the health department director to be 'of recognized character and integrity.' This unsettling behavior calls into question whether Doctor Williams meets that high standard,” she said. Yamelsie Rodriguez, the head of the St. Louis Planned Parenthood, said the spreadsheet was deeply disturbing. “This is government overreach at its worst. It shadows the Trump administration’s history of tracking the periods of refugee girls under the government’s care. This is outrageous and disgusting,” she said. [Kansas City Star; TIME; The Hill]

NORTH CAROLINA MAPS | The Superior Court of North Carolina blocked the state’s current congressional map from being used in the 2020 elections, due to the high likelihood that plaintiffs could show “extreme partisan gerrymander[ing]” in the state that favored Republicans. The ruling comes two months after the court also struck down state legislative districts over partisan gerrymandering. Republican state legislators admitted that the map was drawn to help Republicans maintain 10 of the state’s 13 congressional seats, but argued that wasn’t unlawful. State Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican, said that the ruling wasn’t surprising. “With judges deciding behind closed doors how many Members of Congress from each party is acceptable, judicial elections have become the most consequential in America,” he said. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who led the lawsuit against Republicans in the state, said that they have abused their power for years. “For nearly a decade, Republicans have forced the people of North Carolina to vote in districts that were manipulated for their own partisan advantage. Now—finally—the era of Republican gerrymandering in the state is coming to an end,” he said. [Associated Press; Washington Post]

TEACHERS STRIKE | After 15 days, the Chicago teachers strike is over. The Chicago Teachers Union approved a tentative deal on Wednesday, but the union said that teachers will not return to work until Mayor Lori Lightfoot agreed to add days at the end of the school year to make up for the time on strike, and to pay them for those days. Students have so far missed 11 days of school. On Thursday, Lightfoot agreed to add five days back to the school year. “The teachers will be back in class, the students will be back in class tomorrow," she said. The agreed-upon deal includes a 16% pay raise for teachers over five years, $35 million to reduce class sizes, and the addition of 209 social workers and 250 nurses by 2023, which would put one of each in every school. CTU President Jesse Sharkey said that teachers are pleased with the deal. “Over the past two weeks we have obtained gains that are meaningful for students that will make schools better for years to come. The commitment[s] ... wouldn’t have been accomplished if we hadn’t walked the picket lines.” [WGN; Chicago Tribune; CBS Chicago]

HATE CRIMES | A package of bills designed to strengthen hate crime laws has been introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature. The legislation would extend hate crimes to cover LGBTQ people and those with disabilities, train law enforcement to identify hate crimes, and increase penalties for those who commit them. State Rep. Dan Frankel, a Democrat, said he sponsored the bill because the Tree of Life synagogue shooting happened in his district last year. “An attack on an individual or group because of who they are or who they love victimizes both the immediate target of the crime and their larger community. It’s an attack on these groups’ sense of security and their connection to the world around them. The penalties that these perpetrators suffer should reflect both crimes—those against individual victims and the broader targeted community,” he said. Wasi Mohammed, former executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, said the bills help to fix gaps in state law. "The prevention, the education, and the punishment legislated through this package are crucial for us taking a step towards making Pennsylvania a better place," he said. [Trib Live; WESA]

MEMORIAL | Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that the city will erect a memorial outside city hall in remembrance of the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders, a string of almost 30 homicides from 1979-1981. The memorial will include a green space and an exhibit at the city’s airport. Bottoms said it was important for the city to remember the victims. “Even people on my team had never heard of this part of Atlanta’s history. And for us to now have this for the entire world to see I think is significant,” she said. [George Public Broadcasting]