Bill to block Planned Parenthood in schools raises questions

JUNEAU — Lawmakers will consider a bill that a legislative attorney says could violate provisions of the state and U.S. constitutions.

Republican Sen. Mike Dunleavy’s SB 191 would restrict representatives of abortion services providers from providing instruction of any kind in public schools. It lays out penalties for violations for teachers, doctors and abortion services providers who violate the restrictions.

The Senate Education Committee is set to hear the bill on Thursday.

Legislative attorney Kate Glover says the measure could violate the free speech rights of teachers and abortion providers by preventing them from associating. Glover, in a memo requested by Democratic Sen. Berta Gardner, says the bill also raises equal protection questions because it singles out representatives of abortion services providers for differential treatment.

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Jasmine Chavez, a crew member aboard the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, waves to her family during a cell phone conversation after disembarking from the ship at Marine Park on May 10. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
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A young girl plays on the Sheep Creek delta near suction dredges while a cruise ship passes the Gastineau Channel on July 20. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau was built on mining. Can recreational mining at Sheep Creek continue?

Neighborhood concerns about shoreline damage, vegetation regrowth and marine life spur investigation.

Left: Michael Orelove points out to his grandniece, Violet, items inside the 1994 Juneau Time Capsule at the Hurff Ackerman Saunders Federal Building on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Right: Five years later, Jonathon Turlove, Michael’s son, does the same with Violet. (Credits: Michael Penn/Juneau Empire file photo; Jasz Garrett/Juneau Empire)
Family of Michael Orelove reunites to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Juneau Time Capsule

“It’s not just a gift to the future, but to everybody now.”

Sam Wright, an experienced Haines pilot, is among three people that were aboard a plane missing since Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Annette Smith)
Community mourns pilots aboard flight from Juneau to Yakutat lost in the Fairweather mountains

Two of three people aboard small plane that disappeared last Saturday were experienced pilots.

A section of the upper Yukon River flowing through the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve is seen on Sept. 10, 2012. The river flows through Alaska into Canada. (National Park Service photo)
A Canadian gold mine spill raises fears among Alaskans on the Yukon River

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A skier stands atop a hill at Eaglecrest Ski Area. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Two Eaglecrest Ski Area general manager finalists to be interviewed next week

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Anchorage musician Quinn Christopherson sings to the crowd during a performance as part of the final night of the Áak’w Rock music festival at Centennial Hall on Sept. 23, 2023. He is the featured musician at this year’s Climate Fair for a Cool Planet on Saturday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Climate Fair for a Cool Planet expands at Earth’s hottest moment

Annual music and stage play gathering Saturday comes five days after record-high global temperature.

The Silverbow Inn on Second Street with attached restaurant “In Bocca Al Lupo” in the background. The restaurant name refers to an Italian phrase wishing good fortune and translates as “In the mouth of the wolf.” (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Rooted in Community: From bread to bagels to Bocca, the Messerschmidt 1914 building feeds Juneau

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Waters of Anchorage’s Lake Hood and, beyond it, Lake Spenard are seen on Wednesday behind a parked seaplane. The connected lakes, located at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, comprise a busy seaplane center. A study by Alaska Community Action on Toxics published last year found that the two lakes had, by far, the highest levels of PFAS contamination of several Anchorage- and Fairbanks-area waterways the organization tested. Under a bill that became law this week, PFAS-containing firefighting foams that used to be common at airports will no longer be allowed in Alaska. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Bill by Sen. Jesse Kiehl mandating end to use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams becomes law

Law takes effect without governor’s signature, requires switch to PFAS-free foams by Jan. 1

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