What Idaho Did When You Weren’t Looking

February 11, 2025

February 12, 2025

Hey there, Meteor readers,

The U.S. has now officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Given everything else going on, this may seem like a small and petty thing. But, for me at least, the stench of colonialism on this move is so strong it’s smothering. Erasure is erasure is erasure, no matter how big or small.

In today’s newsletter, we look at what states have been doing on abortion while we’ve all been distracted with the White House. Plus, mark your calendars: There’s a mass boycott coming this month.

Names mean something,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Look over there: The new administration has been generating record levels of news and destruction on the federal level. But while we’ve all been untangling the mess that the president is making of our lives, some states have been rolling out extreme anti-abortion measures—with less media attention than you might expect in more normal times. Luckily, Abortion Every Day founder Jessica Valenti has been neatly gathering all of these legislative measures in one place.

So what are states up to?

South Carolina is trying to criminalize everything: Valenti describes the state’s latest anti-abortion bill, The Unborn Child Protection Act (SB 323), as a blueprint for “the future [Republicans] want for American women.” SB 323 is aggressive in its cruelty: It removes exceptions (including for incest) from the state’s existing abortion ban; it makes IUDs and morning-after pills illegal; and it proposes criminal charges against anyone who receives an abortion.

Missouri is trying to wish away its abortion-rights vote: Last fall, a majority of voters moved to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution. But now, a state House committee is blatantly seeking a do-over by putting the issue back on the ballot, but with much stricter terms: The next ballot initiative would ban abortion after 12 weeks, and limit it severely before that. The people of Missouri haven’t changed their minds: The proposal was met with fierce opposition. Still, the new amendment only has to be approved by lawmakers; it doesn’t need petition signatures to get on the ballot.

And Idaho is trying to charge people who have abortions with murder: First, the state introduced a bill that would add mifepristone and misoprostol to the state’s controlled substance list, making it a felony to possess or distribute these common, safe methods. (This move mirrors what’s already happening in Louisiana, Texas, and Indiana.) And then, last week, a state senator introduced a separate bill that would re-classify abortion as homicide—making Idaho the sixth state to consider such a bill.

The fact that six states have introduced legislation that would classify one in four American women as a murderer is, it’s safe to say, big news. Let’s keep treating it that way. And stay vigilant: What is your state doing—or not doing—to protect abortion rights?

AND:

This year’s Super Bowl gave us lots to talk about. But what didn’t make it into the broadcast was a one-man protest during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. During one song, a man named Zül-Qarnaįn Nantambu, who was among the hundreds of performers on stage, stood on top of a car and raised the flags of Palestine and Sudan. He was removed by stadium security and arrested but has since been released without charges. When asked about his motives for the protest by Al Jazeera English, Nantambu replied that his Muslim faith obligated him to speak out against injustice when given the opportunity to do so. The NFL says Nantambu will be banned for life from all stadiums and events for his protest.

(PHOTO BY EMILEE CHINN/GETTY IMAGES)

Yesterday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)—who has introduced a bill banning trans women from Capitol Hill women’s bathrooms, who regularly gives slurred-filled defenses of anti-trans policies, and who vehemently defended accused rapist Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearings—made an alarming speech from the House floor. In it, she shared that four men, one of whom is her ex-fiancé, had once drugged and raped her as well as several other women and girls. She also alleges that in 2023 she found these assaults had been filmed—and that her state’s attorney general, fellow Republican Alan Wilson, has been a “do-nothing attorney general” who treats assault survivors like criminals. A reminder: Every person who has endured sexual assault is deserving of justice, of resources, and of safety. Every single one.
Last week, employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were asked to flag any grants that could be “potentially impacted” by Donald Trump’s executive orders on climate change. Just as at the NSF, staffers at the NOAA were given specific terms to look for, including “climate science,” “climate crisis,” “clean energy,” “environmental quality” and “pollution.” It has not been made clear to the NOAA if grants or programs dealing with these topics will be immediately cut, but current and former staffers are worried about impending “threats to important programs aimed at protecting communities from extreme weather and other climate-related disasters,” as one former NOAA head told The New York Times.
A mass economic boycott is planned for February 28—intended to “disrupt the economy for just one day” to show the power of Black consumers. First suggested by a Black theater director named Anthony Mapp, the boycott asks participants not to shop in person or online at any major retailer (especially not ones that have rolled back DEI like Amazon and Walmart).
Former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has announced she will be running for governor of New Mexico. If elected, the self-described “35th generation New Mexican” would be the first Native American woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. Haaland’s Department of the Interior put out a series of reports detailing the horrors of government-led boarding schools for Native children, prompting a formal apology from Joe Biden last fall.
According to two new studies, women achieved gender parity in the top-grossing films last year. For the first time ever, there were just as many women in lead roles as men, thanks to films like Wicked and The Substance. In worse news, only 25% of these films were led by a person of color, compared to 37% the previous year.