Deliver Us From Georgia

Reproductive Health

Deliver Us From Georgia

What’s going on: A group of midwives just sued Georgia over laws that block many of them from practicing. The state requires midwives with nursing licenses to only work through physicians’ channels and doesn’t allow those without degrees to practice at all. The result: In a state with one of the highest maternal mortality rates, midwives now face one of the country’s most restrictive environments. The midwives argue the laws violate the state’s constitution, limit options, and harm patients’ safety in post-Roe Georgia. The lack of access also tends to impact people of color and lower-income families more. In response to the suit, the state’s attorney general’s office said they were unable to comment due to litigation. Similar cases have been filed in Mississippi and Alabama.

The bigger picture: Over a third of Georgia’s counties are technically maternity care deserts, with no OBs or birthing facilities. And midwives say they could help close that gap if the state would let them. Fifteen other states require midwives to partner with physicians, but critics argue it adds costs and unnecessary red tape. Midwives are already trained to refer patients to hospitals when complications arise, and research shows that the care they provide generally improves birthing outcomes. Perhaps that’s why so many European nations have embraced them (as anyone who’s seen Call the Midwife knows). As one plaintiff told NBC News: “If you are invested in solving the problem of maternal mortality and infant mortality, it doesn’t really make any sense that you’re not leveraging all of the providers that you can.”

Related: Death Doulas Share Seven Truths About the Final Transition (The Washington Post Gift Link)

The News in 6

🗞️ President Donald Trump and Iran rejected a proposed ceasefire draft. That’s as the clock ticks on a deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.

🗞️ We did not expect photos of Artemis II’s moon flyby to make us this emotional — and astronaut Christina Koch’s touching message really did us in. 

🗞️ An AI-generated photo duped Republican lawmakers — and that’s not even the worst part.

🗞️ A longtime ally of President Trump might get a pass from the Supreme Court over his role in the Jan 6 insurrection.

🗞️ WNBA star Angel Reese just got a new team. And let’s just say, she’s ready to live the Dream.

🗞️ That’s a wrap on March Madness after Michigan clinched a win. That pregame playlist must’ve gone hard.

Care

The New Paid Parental Leave Playbook  

What’s going on: At first glance, Pennsylvania and Nebraska don’t seem to have much in common. But they’re both in the middle of new bipartisan pushes over paid parental leave. Since the US still hasn’t passed a federal family leave program, states and parents are left to fill in the gaps. To date, only 13 states and DC mandate paid family leave of some kind, and coverage can vary — especially as it relates to income. So how’d it get this bad? For more than 30 years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said they support paid family leave, but little actually changes. Bills intended to support parents get too big, the price tag climbs, and lawmakers lose their nerve when the math (and politics) get too tough.

So, what’s it going to take?: Some experts suggest US lawmakers on both sides abandon the one-size-fits-all approach and opt for smaller guarantees — like a basic federal guarantee for new parents — and build from there. That’s how roughly 190 other countries did it. This also isn’t a question of whether paid leave works — it does. Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Paid leave studies have shown lower infant death rates, fewer hospitalizations, and more on-time vaccinations. When dads take paid leave, kids do better in school, and moms’ mental health improves. Some state programs have shown little impact on employee costs and productivity. Imagine that.

Related: Why Wages Stalled and What One Economist Says Could Actually Fix Them (The New Yorker)

Education

There's a New Standardized Test — but Should Your Child Take It?

What’s going on: Most of us suffered through the SATs and ACTs in high school (bonus points if you still remember your score). While students still tackle these, a new standardized test has entered the chat: the Classic Learning Test (CLT). Like the SAT and ACT, it has math and verbal sections, but that’s where the similarities end. It doesn’t allow calculators (our personal hell), and offers an at-home testing option. But the real talker is its verbal section: The passages largely focus on Western philosophers and writers and include religious texts from Christian theologians and priests. Despite the inclusion of writers like Karl Marx and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, CLT is largely based on the “Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” which the test’s creator hopes is “front and center.” Conservatives and the Trump administration fully support it.

Is this the new SAT?: Before you google “CLT prep near me,” keep in mind that most schools don’t accept it, and the SAT is still prom queen. More than 350 colleges — most of which are private Christian schools — accept the CLT. (Didn’t we all agree that standardized tests suck?) But there’s a push from state Republican lawmakers for more schools to accept it: Indiana now legally requires public state universities to consider CLT scores, and North Carolina’s university system (including Michael Jordan’s alma mater) is open to the new test. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming will also take a CLT score for state scholarships. Even the Pentagon accepts it. Still, many education leaders are hesitant, citing limited data on whether the test accurately measures student ability.

Related: Trump Wants To Cut the Education Department’s Budget Down Even More (EdWeek)

Quick Hits

💪 The key to living longer has been behind you this whole time. Get it? 

😬 We need to have a word with whoever decided it was the right time for Netflix to release this limited series right now. 

🛍️ Rumor has it that Gen Z is trying to thrift clothes from this Y2K mall staple. Time to dig in our closets and make them all jealous.

🧐 There is one fruit dietitians want you to eat every single day. See you at the farmers market. 

🎤 Sabrina Carpenter’s new music video may inspire the shorts trend of spring. We’d wear them to Pretty Girl Avenue.

On Our Calendar

Things to jot down today…

🗓️ Georgia’s special congressional runoff is underway, as Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clayton Fuller face off to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene.

🗓️ It’s National Beer Day. Do with that what you will.

Psst…For more dates worth knowing this week, check out the Skimm+ calendar.

Know It All

Which state is home to the best tipper?

Skimm'd by: Rashaan Ayesh, Mallory Simon, Molly Longman, Maria del Carmen Corpus, and Kylie McConville. Fact-checked by Sara Tardiff.