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(First column, 9th story, link)
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Alarm is growing over the treatment and deteriorating health of eight pro-Palestinian activists jailed in the United Kingdom who are on hunger strike to protest their detention. The activists remain imprisoned as they await trial over charges linked to their work with Palestine Action, which the British government has banned under its Terrorism Act over direct action protests against Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Several of the activists who began their hunger strike in early November are now in "a critical stage" and facing grave health risks or death, according to Dr. James Smith, a doctor supporting the hunger strikers. "This is an extremely critical moment, and, frankly speaking, it defies comprehension that members of the government have refused even to meet with the hunger strikers in an attempt to resolve this situation."
We also speak with Francesca Nadin, a spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine, which is supporting the jailed activists. She says the harsh treatment of the hunger strikers is part of a "coordinated witch hunt that reflects the wider repression of the pro-Palestine movement" in the U.K. and around the world. "The people that have taken part in this hunger strike feel like they have no other choice left to them but to take this into their own hands," Nadin says.
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The Trump administration on Thursday announced new measures to target hospitals and doctors providing care to trans youth. Under the new rules unveiled by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads Medicaid and Medicare, the government would strip federal funding for any hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care. The new rules were announced a day after the House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill that aims to criminalize providing gender-affirming medical care for any transgender person under 18 and subject providers to hefty fines and prison time.
"This is a drastic departure from any concern about science, concern about parents and their rights," says Chase Strangio, co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project. "It is putting hospitals in an impossible situation, and just another example of this administration undermining and threatening all of our health and welfare."
We also speak with Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist who works with transgender youth in New York City. He says the families he works with are "terrified right now," but vows to continue his work. "I refuse to stop providing this care, knowing that I could potentially face 10 years in prison and a felony charge. I'm willing to go down that route, if necessary."
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