Support. I think whats happening is that you see Many Republican leaders in red states really trying to amp up the volume, so to speak, on lgbtq rights and really trying to claw back some of those rights across the country. John and for our hidden histories series, how pioneering chemist Stephanie Kwolek followed her passion and invented a revolutionary fiber with widespread applications. Major funding for the pbs news weekend has been provided by consumer cellular. This is sam. How may i help you . With consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. Thats kind of our thing. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporatn for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. John good evening. Im john yang. Today is Prime MinisterBenjamin Young to who benjamin netanyahus,s prosecution of the war with hamas, and his plans for a military ground operation in rafa netanyahu said International Pressure would not deter him from carrying out the assault, and pressing for total victory. The Prime Minister approved plans for the operation last week after meeting with his war cabinet. It comes as President Biden says the high death toll from fighting in gaza is hurting israel, and as chuck schumer, the top ranking jewish u. S. Official and a strong supporter of israel said netanyahu has lost his way and said there should be new israeli elections. Today on cnns state of the Union Netanyahu fired back. I think what he said is inappropriate. Its inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the leadership. John toxin search for an agreement and the israeli and a palestinian print is served from israel are set to resume in qatar. In russia, polls have closed after three days of voting and early returns show president Vladimir Putin with nearly 88 of the vote as he seeks a fifth sixyear term. Antikremlin demonstrators lined up outside polling places at noon. The hours set by supporters of Alexei Navalny for a mass protest. Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks in the Moscow Region and beyond. Shelling in the russian border city killed at least two people and injured a dozen more. 26yearold man has been charged with murder in pennsylvania and carjacking and weapons violations in new jersey. In connection with yesterdayss shooting death of the mans family in two different locations. His capture and in a hours long standoff with police at a trenton, new jersey home. The man helped shut down a st. Patricks day parade and an Amusement Park and lead to a shelterinplace order. The shootings were the result of a domestic situation. There has been another volcano eruption in southern iceland, prompting iraqi way should and a declaration of a state of emergency. It is the latest in a series of eruptions since december. A twomile fissure sent to lofa on two major roads and a nearby small town and pot and popular geothermal area was evacuated. Barriers protecting residential areas are holding forow. Still to come, it is behind a decline of support for lgbtq rights. And the life, career, and achievements of scientists and chemist, stephanie pollock. This is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour weeknights on pbs. John every year, more than 3. 6 million babies are born in the united states. According to kf of health news, more than half a million of them, 16 , are delivered in catholic run hospitals. In most cases, there are no complications and the birth is like one in any hospital. If there is an emergency, pregnant people can find themselves between caught find themselves between the religiousbased policies. They found that for nearly 800,000 americans, there is little choice. They have only catholic or catholic affiliated breath hospitals within an hours drive. Kff Health ReporterRachana Pradhan is here. You talked to a lot of women who had complications while being treated in catholic run hospitals. What did they tell you and is there a story that emblematic that is emblematic to you . Rachana absolutely. Talking to clinicians that treat patients and these hospitals where the ones who shared incredible stories with us. One in particular involves a Nurse Midwife who spoke with me who used to work we used to do delivers at a Catholic Hospital in maryland. She encounred a woman who showed up at this hospital because her water had broken before her fetus was viable. The baby would not survive outside of the womab. Womb. This patient expressed a desire to terminate the pregnancy, because she knew there was little chance of survival. What happened as this Nurse Midwife told us, the doctor said that they could not do anything because there were still detectable fetal heart tones. And so their hands were totally tied. That is not often what would happen in a nonCatholic Hospital and goes against accepted medical standards for treating that kind of pregnancy complication. John what are some of the sort of the range of medical choices that clinicians and Health Care Providers would want to make or have wanted to make, at a catholic General Hospital that have not been allowed to because of the hospitals policies. Rachana i think in particular, what we found, based on talking to clinicians, reading research, and also talking to patients, are that these very, fraught and difficult situations in which, someones pregnancy goes awry, in which a complication happens, its quite serious and could obviously threaten the viability of that baby, in situations like that. These ethical and religious directives that apply to Catholic Health care facilities. Essentially, what they say is that these hospitals are prohibited or limited in doing certain procedures that the Catholic Church finds to be immoral. So, over urging lee what overarchingly, what this can affect is care during pregnancy complications. It can affect Birth Control, the availability of Birth Control at these facilities and in situations like i just talked about, it ans that the pregnancy terminations may not be offered. Because these Catholic Health care standards, the baby is still alive. And so that would constitute an abortion. And they are obviously opposed to abortions. John do these hospitals have any policies on referrals, referrals to other facilities that might be able to do those things . Rachana yes. So the Catholic Health directives do address referrals. And this doesnt only apply to pregnancy terminations, but other types of care too, namely procedures that can, prevent pregnancy. So both from men and women, frankly, vasectomies or lets say a woman who wants to get her fallopian tubes removed because she does not want to have any more children. Theyre also restrictedrom making referrals because in the eyes of the u. S. Conference of catholic bishops, which is the organization that crafts these directives, and the church, a physician referring for a procedure or care that they have deemed immoral, that also goes too far. It can limit the ability for a patient to receive care at another facility, or at the very least, they have to take it much more upon themselves to figure out where they might be able to go. Because the Catholic Health care facility cannot get so involved. John do the Church Leaders like the diocese and archbishops, did they have a role in the medical policies of hospitals . Rachana the ethical and religioudirectives are really broad guidelines. And what we learned is that depending on a particular bishop of a particular diocese, sometimes policies will apply more strictly in certain places than others. And so i think thats actually at least based on the conversations we have with clinicians. I think thats actually part of the frustration is that these things are not black and white, and they can change depending on who essentially is in charge. And the bishs obviously have a role in this. Theyre not based on what we learned, they are not the ones who are making these difficult calls in certain situations to provide health care. But they are responsible for overseeing enforcement of the directives broadly. John what do Catholic Hospitals say or how do they respond to reacted to your reporting . Rachana well, the Catholic Health association, who we spoke with for our story before it published, they say that the erds as they are known, do not prevent physicians from providing medically indicated care. Especially in these situations involving very serious, potentlly life threatening pregnancy complications. And they also took issue with our story after it came out, they released a statement that said that, it perpetuates myths about Catholic Health care. I will say that we stand by our reporting. As you noted, we worked on this for nearly two years and talked to many, many, many people, including patients, doctors, nurse practitioners, midwives and others who have really studied this field a lot and could very clearly state what the impacts are on patients. John for women who feel that they were not treated properly or didnt receive the proper medical treatment, at these hospitals, is there any Legal Recourse for them . Rachana broadly speaking, most of the states in the country we found have liability shields for hospitals when they refuse to perform certain types of care because of moral or religious objection. And those laws exist all over the u. S. , and they apply to at least some hospitals in every not every state, but really the vast majority. Four other for other types of medicine, for a whole host of procedures, you could potentially take up a medical malpractice case against an individual provider or a hospital. But in these situations, basically what state law says in these states is that the hospitals are shielded from being held liable in these types of situations. John Rachana Pradhan of kff health news. Thank you very much. Rachana thank you, john, for having me. John for the last few decades, the story of lgbtq rights in america has been one of increasing public support. But now a new survey finds for the first time in years a slight decline in that support. William brangham takes a closer look. William throughout 2023, the Public Religion Research institute interviewed over 22,000 adults for what it calls its American Values atlas. Last week, the organization released its findings on views about lgbtq rights in the u. S. The survey showed for the first time support fell for key policies regarding lgbtq rights. Backing first samesex marriage dropped two percentage points. Support for nondiscrimination protections dropped four points. And opposition to people refusing Services Based on religious grounds dropped five points. To help us understand this data, we are joined by ceo of prri, melissa document. You have been doing the survey for years. And this being the first time you have seen a downward tick in those numbers. How do you explain that . Melissa we were somewhat surprised to see after several years of increasing support among americans for lgbtq rights, that we saw a decline. I think if you look under the hood, so to speak, and look at the data more closely, it is largely driven by Party Polarization. So much deeper declines among republicans, in terms of their support for these issues. Whereas democrats tended to stay stable. Think what is happening is you see Many Republican leaders in red states trying to amp up the volume on lgbtq rights, and trying to claw back those rights. Across the country. I think that has had a spillover effect in terms of the attitudes of republicans especially, on issues with respect to lgbtq rights. William in your survey, you are talking to people who affiliate with a particular religion and nonreligious people. Melissa thats right. Our surveys are done among americans nationally. One great thing is we also have enough data to look at opinions in all 50 states. We get a snapshot of all americans, including people of faith and people who are unaffiliated. Think it is important to bear in mind that despite these declines we have seen, the vast majority of people of faith continue to support the rights of lgbtq americans with respect to samesex marriage and nondiscrimination laws. William for someone w may look at this and think, a 2 decline or a 5 decline is not that substantial, why does this stand out to you . Melissa i think it stands out because with respect to lgbtq rights generally, there has been a growing increase in support among americans. Part of that is a reflection of the fact that more americans, especially younger americans, are identifying as lgbtq. Younger americans have friendsbs are lgbtq, they have colleagues. There has been this assumption that as we become more accepting of lgbtq americans and our daily lives that it would lend itself to people being more supportive of protecting the rights of lgbtq americans. This data shows you that is not an assumption that is true. Is something important to monitor and keep aware of. William is it perhaps possible that as people start to identify more publicly, and assert their rights and take a more prominent place in society, that we could be seeing the traces of a backlash here . Melissa i think that is exactly what you are saying. One of the we analyze in the report is we look at the relationship between christian nationalist abuse and support of lgbtq rights. Americans who have a tendency to support Christian Nationalism is let bashar less likely to support lgbtq americans, because of the idea of homosexuality and being queer to begin with. There is that important relationship there that we have to keep in mind. William can you talk about other below the top lines, are there data points that were of interest to you . Melissa we were surprised and our findings that younger americans have trended downward with respect for support. If you look at the data, we find roughly one in five americans age 18 to 29 identify as lgbtq. That has happened over the last couple of years as there has been a slight decline among younger americans. The assumption was because younger americans are more likely to identify as queer, that we would have younger americans being more supportive. You have to look under the hood. It is Party Polarization driving down support among younger americans for samesex marriage. One number stands out to us. If you look at Young Americans attitudes about samesex marriage, in 2020, among republicans, two thirds supported samesex marriage rights. In last year age 18 to 29, it is less than half. That is a big crater of support. There is an assumption among political analysts that younger republicans would moderate the party with respect to things like lgbtq rights or abortion rights or climate change. What we are finding in this data is younger republicans are conservative socially. John so interesting william so interesting. For people who are lgbtq or work to help solidify their rights, what does this survey tell you about what work lies ahead for them . Melissa the survey data points, as we like to say, the canary in the coal mine idea. You cant assume such rights will be held a perpetuity or increase. And you cant assume because the vast majority of americans support these rights, that those rights will not be legally protected. Especially in wake of the dobbs decision. There is indication the rights of samesex marriage will be on the line. Will have legal challenges from conservative groups who will be fighting to roll back those rights. I think this is a good reminder that those rights should not be taken for granted, that it will take political organizing, and that elections have consequences. John that is the ceo of prri, inc. You so much for being here. Melissa thank you. John the fiber kevlar is stronger than steel, and its revolutionized everything from body armor for the military and police to sports equipment. Its inventor is the subject of tonights hidden histories for womens history month. Heres ali rogin. Ali skis, brake pads, racing sales, spacesuits, and perhaps most famously, the bulletproof vest. These products and many others are made with kevlar, a strong, lightweight fiber invented by researcher Stephanie Kwolek in 1965. It all began when dupont chemicals asked researchers to ke a fiber that could withstand extreme conditions. The solution was very, very fluid. I mean, it was almost like had the consistency of water. Ali Synthetic Fibers start in liquid form and are spun into a strand. Stephanie so when i asked the technologist to, you know, help me with the spinning, he refused. Because he said, this will never spin. Its too fluid. It probably has particulate matter in it because its cloudy and so forth. Ali but kwolek was convinced it would work and persuaded him to givet a try. Stephanie well, the results came back and they were sort of unbelievable. Ali the fiber was lightweight, heat resistant, and five times stronger than steel. Stephanie there of course was immediate excitement, because, everybody realized the potential of this discovery. Ali but kwolek did not set out to become an inventor. Growing up outside pittsburgh, she considered fashion, inspired by her mother who sewed. Later, as a bright student, she thought about teaching. By the time she started college in the midst of world war two, she was determined to go to medical school. She chose to major in chemistry at carnegie tech, now called Carnegie Mellon university. But when she graduated, her plans changed again. Stephanie since i could not afford to go to medical school at that time, i had to go out and seek employment. Ali she got several job offers, but one stood out for its interesting work and for paying men and women the same starting wage. Stephanie and so i took the job with the dupont company. The only problem was that i became so enamored of the work that i totally lost interest in medical school. Ali when she started, duponts Research Laboratory was in the middle of a race to discover fibers that would revolutionize not just fashion, but war and space travel. Just a few years earlier the company had created the first synthetic fiber, nylon. No baggy knees or deformed wrinkles during the life of a nylon stocking. Ali that fibers success, and wartime rationing of natural materials like silk and rubber, set off an intense competition between Companies Like dupont and monsanto. Stephanie there was tremendous interest in new fibers and new ways to make fibers. Ali over the next two decades, the group created the methods and techniques that would be used to make spandex. That is one small step for man. Ali new polyester and acrylic fabrics. These curtas are made of dacron polyester fiber. Ali and the Flame Resistant nomex. But there was another stiffer, stronger fiber waiting to be discovered, kevlar. In 1964, kwoleks Research Group was tasked with finding a fiber to make durable, lightweight tires to improve fuel efficiency in cars. Stephanie it got to be a race. But it was a very, very, very secretive race. So very few people outside of our laboratory knew, you know, what was going on. But it still was a lot of fun, particularly if you won. Ali and they did. Kwolek cracked the problem in 1965, discovering a version of the polymer that could be spun up into a fiber. Fiber b, as it was known internally, became kevlar, the basis for a whole family of products. Kwolek spent the rest of her career at dupont. She mentored other women in her field and worked to introduce young people to science, writing letters and giving lectures. Stephanie i really did not think of the bulletproof vest. We had dr. Joe rivers who at that time was already looking for fibers to use in making bulletproof vests. And i remember the first time i spun the 14 b he came over and said if you can possibly spare a tiny bit of the fiber i would like to tested it and see if itll be useful in a bulletproof vest. Ali he was named on a total of 28 patents and won several awards for her work, including the National Medal of technology. Kwolek was inducted into the National Inventors hall of fame in 1995. At the time, she was only the fourth female inductee. But to kwolek, her crowning achievement was making kevlar possible. Stephanie i was fortunate enough to do something that would be of benefit to mankind. Its been an extremely satisfying discovery. I dont think theres anything like saving someones life to ing you satisfaction and happiness. Ali kwolek died in 2014 at the age of 90, but her greatest invention is still saving lives today. For previous news weekend, iannelli rogin. I am ali rogin. John on the pbs newshour instagram right now, hear what Oklahoma State representative Mauree Turner had to say to more than 100 students and lgbtq supporters, following the death of a 16yearold transgender student. All that and more is on our newshour instagram. And that is pbs news weekend for this sunday. On monday, the latest in our series americas safety net examines the challenges millions of americans face getting housing choice vouchers. Im john yang. For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. Have a good week. Major funding for the pbs news weekend has been provided by and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. ] youre watching pbs. [sandra] striving for the golden ticket. My top dream school, harvard. My dream school is duke. Yale university. Georgetown university. The first to go to college to make it