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This week the political cartoon “Doonesbury” is focusing its comic strip on the ultrasound laws that have recently emerged.  The first strip, out yesterday, depicts a woman seeking an abortion being directed to the “Shaming Room” to wait for a consultation with a state legislator.

Some newspapers have decided to not run the “Doonesbury” strip this week while others have placed it in the editorial pages instead of the comics section.  Not surprisingly, the list of papers not running the cartoon are mostly those in states with anti-choice laws.  There have been many different “justifications” for this decision, all of which are pretty ridiculous as Jamil Smith points out.

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of “Doonesbury”, defended the strip and blasted Republicans over recent legislation imposing women’s rights.  Through email, he wrote that the undermining of healthcare rights happening across the country is “appalling”.  Furthermore, Trudeau states,

This is lunacy, and lunacy, of course, is in my wheelhouse.

If your local newspaper is not running “Doonesbury” this week, you can tell the Center of Reproductive Rights who is compiling a list.  Or you can send a letter of thanks to your newspaper for running it.  You can also check out the strip online.

Recommended Reading:
Newspapers censor “Doonesbury” strips about abortion news [Feministing]
Author defends “Doonesbury” abortion strip [Reuters]
Doonesbury strip on Texas abortion law dropped by some US newspapers [The Guardian]