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Today…
is the start of National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend. What else you need you know. Thin Mints! Get some!
marks the end of a whole first month of newslettering! So listen, do me a favor? If you’re finding this interesting, valuable, all the good things, tell your people.
Abortion
Are These The Final Days of Legal Abortion? (video)
Jordan Smith & Travis Mannon, The Intercept
Just over three years after the Supreme Court ruled that an anti-abortion law was illegal, the court is again being asked to weigh in on the very same law.
High Court Revisits Abortion Law Akin To One Struck Down In 2016
Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court is set to hear an abortion case that may sound familiar. That’s because the state restriction in question is almost identical to one the court overturned in 2016. At the heart of the current case, June Medical Services LLC et al. v. Russo, is a Louisiana law passed in 2014 that requires doctors who perform abortions in the state to have “admitting privileges” at a hospital no more than 30 miles from the clinic where the abortion is performed.
More Doctors Are Going to Become Mouthpieces for Anti-Choice Politicians. You Can Thank The Supreme Court.
Imani Gandy, Rewire.News
Anti-choice lawmakers will continue dressing up cruelty toward pregnant people as benevolence, following the Kentucky legislature's lead.
Colorado sues Trump administration over mandate that insurance companies send separate bill for abortion coverage
Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun
Colorado has joined six other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over a rule requiring insurance companies to send a second, separate bill for abortion and other reproductive health coverage.
Indiana House OKs plan encouraging women completing pill-induced abortions to return remains
Dan Carden, KPC News
Both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly have now approved legislation requiring women completing a pill-induced abortion at home to be told they can return the embryonic remains to their abortion clinic or hospital for disposal through burial or cremation. The Republican-controlled House voted 77-13 Thursday to return Senate Bill 299 to the Republican-controlled Senate for a final decision — likely next week — on sending the proposal to Republican Gov. Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law.
I Had an Abortion In One of the Worst States for Abortion
Claire Lampen, VICE
Abortion access is imperiled in South Dakota. A large state with an expansive rural population, it has just one abortion clinic: a Planned Parenthood located in Sioux Falls. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 98 percent of South Dakota counties lack access to a clinic, and 76 percent of women live in those counties. Fewer than 300 abortions were performed in the state between 2018 and 2019, while at least 200 South Dakotans crossed state lines to access providers elsewhere.
This 26-Year-Old Is Poised to Oust an Anti-Abortion, Pro-Gun Democrat
Leila Ettachfini, VICE
Democratic congressional hopeful Jessica Cisneros knows her opponent, incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), in a way that few candidates ever get to: she once worked for him. In 2014, Cisneros, then 21 years old and attending the University of Austin at Texas, was Cuellar’s intern in Washington D.C., where she worked 9 to 5 every day in his office for several months. Years later, the experience not only contributed to her decision to run, she said it also served as a guide for how not to lead.
Virginia lawmakers pass bills easing abortion restrictions
Sarah Rankin, AP
Abortion restrictions that were enacted when Republicans controlled Virginia’s General Assembly are being undone in legislation approved by the Democrats who are now in charge. The House on Thursday gave final passage to a bill that would roll back provisions including a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion and a requirement that women seeking an abortion undergo an ultrasound and counseling.
Abortions increase in Wisconsin for second straight year
AP
The number of abortions performed in Wisconsin increased for a second straight year in 2018 after eight years of declines, the latest report from the state Department of Health Services shows. Abortions increased 7% in 2018 over 2017, the report said. There were 6,042 abortions in Wisconsin in 2018, up from 5,640 the year before. That’s nearly double the rate of increase between 2016 and 2017 when abortions went up 3.7%.
LGBTQ
No conflict between true religious liberty and LGBTQ rights
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, The Hill
Religious liberty is cherished by all Americans as a foundational element of what our country values. Sadly, the Trump administration has distorted and weaponized religious liberty to attack the LGBTQ community. House Democrats are providing much-needed accountability today as the House Oversight Committee convenes for a hearing on the topic. But progressives should be wary of buying into the Trump administration’s and religious right’s framing of the issue. It’s not about religion.
378,000 Trans People Could Face Voter Disenfranchisement in November
Kate Sosin, NewNowNext
In an election where LGBTQ voter turnout could decide the presidency, a new report is suggesting that as many a third of transgender voters could face barriers to voting in November.
Congressional hearing spotlights use of religious liberty against LGBTQ people
Chris Johnson, Washington Blade
The use of religious liberty — a right afforded fundamental protection in the United States — to assault LGBTQ rights was the focus of a congressional hearing Thursday drawing attention to faith-based adoption agencies denying child placement into LGBTQ homes.
Chairman Dumps Bill Banning Transgender Healthcare In Idaho After Emotional Testimony
James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio
After three hours of tearful testimony this week, a bill that would’ve outlawed transgender healthcare for minors in Idaho is effectively dead for the session. Click 'play' to hear the audio version of this story. House Judiciary and Rules Committee Chairman Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell) sent a letter to the bill’s sponsor Wednesday, saying he would not hold a vote on the proposal. That’s not because he doesn’t agree with it.
Idaho House defies federal court order to pass anti-transgender birth certificate bill
Cynthia Sewell, Idaho Statesman
In defiance of a federal court order, the Idaho House passed legislation making it illegal for transgender people to change gender markers on their Idaho birth certificates. Under House bill 509, introduced by Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, a birth certificate can only be amended within one year of its filing.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Instead of restricting abortion rights, improve protections for pregnant people
Diana Philip, Baltimore Sun
You probably have noticed lately increasing attention about abortion rights in our country – mostly about attempts to restrict those rights. The Trump/Pence administration has signaled repeatedly its intentions to subvert Roe v. Wade through federal policies, regulations and court appointments, while encouraging local officials and state legislators to introduce measures to stop abortion care access.
Medicaid Medical Directors Have A Front Row Seat To The Maternal Mortality Crisis. Here’s What They’re Focused On
Health Affairs
Maternal mortality and morbidity have garnered recent attention in the face of growing disparities in perinatal outcomes across minority and at-risk, low-income populations. Medicaid programs, the primary source of health care for these populations, are poised to lead the charge in grappling with this striking crisis.
Black mothers are dying. So they're turning to Black doulas.
Janel Martinez, Well+Good
A supportive member of a birthing team, a doula—a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and educational support to an expectant mother throughout the pregnancy, during labor, and in the weeks following the birth—works to improve health outcomes.
Blueprint Aims to Improve Health of Michigan’s Moms, Babies
Public News Service
Like many states, Michigan struggles with dismal infant and maternal mortality rates. However, a new report provides a blueprint for ways to help turn the tide.
Far too many Fort Worth women are dying after childbirth. Here’s what we can do
Teresa Wagner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Too many new mothers and infants are dying in Texas. Shockingly, the U.S. is the only developed country in the world where maternal death rates — deaths while pregnant or within one year after giving birth — are rising. In the public health region that includes Tarrant County, maternal deaths happened at a rate of 25.4 per 100,000 live births, higher than the state rate of 25.2 deaths.
Washington House committee passes mandatory sex ed bill
Drew Mikkelsen, KING-TV (Seattle, WA)
House committee members approved a bill Thursday to make sex and health education mandatory in state schools, starting in Kindergarten. The bill now heads to the House floor for an potential vote of the entire House of Representatives.
Workplace Equality
In gender discrimination, social class matters a great deal
Catherine Harnois & Matthew Andersson, The Conversation
Research shows that sexism takes a large toll on women’s health, but women work at a variety of jobs where hours, expectations and cultures vary widely. While the Weinstein verdict may acknowledge the injustice of criminal sexual acts – and by extension, acknowledge the entire #MeToo movement – holding him to account took the efforts of more than 80 women, multiple investigative journalists and significant resources to pay attorney’s fees. For women without such resources, successfully challenging sexism can be much more difficult.
Hairstyle Anti-Discrimination Bills Pending in 21 States
E. Meaghan Clayton, National Law Review
Bills addressing hairstyle discrimination are now pending in 21 statehouses around the country, with several municipalities considering their own legislation. With companion bills already pending in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, a version of California's CROWN Act is likely to become law in a jurisdiction near you soon.
Women in medicine: unite (or at least stop repressing each other)
Dr. Bonnie Y. Chien, STAT
The #MeToo and #NeedHerScience movements have inspired women to take a stand against sexism in health care. What I see missing from the movements are women in medicine confronting their own discrimination toward other women.
American Airlines must make changes to sick-leave policy flight attendants called sexist
Kyle Arnold, Dallas Morning News
American Airlines must make major changes to the sick-leave policy that the union representing flight attendants called sexist and unfair, an arbitration board ruled Thursday. The ruling will make it harder for American Airlines to penalize flight attendants under a program that started in fall 2018. Flight attendants said they were accumulating penalty points that could easily lead to being fired, even though pilots have no such system.