Hi, July
Today…
is July? How? Seriously, where is the time going.
is National Chicken Wing Day.
You know I have a thing for Italian wedding receptions. This is every single one, dance floor full of great-aunts tipsy on crème de menthe after they ransacked the cookie table.
No disrespect, of course. They made half those cookies. 😉 🍪
Supreme Court
Espinoza v Montana
The Supreme Court bulldozed the First Amendment's separation of church and state in Espinoza v. Montana.
Mark Joseph Stern | Slate
His stunning 5–4 decision forces states to fund religious schools—and augurs even more radical rulings down the road.
ABC News | Supreme Court boosts religious schools seeking public aid
AlterNet | How the Supreme Court just turned the separation of church and state upside down
USA Today | Supreme Court makes religious school education eligible for public aid
June Medical Svc.
Supreme Court's abortion ruling raises stakes for election
David Crary | Associated Press
Supporters of abortion rights are elated, foes of abortion dismayed and angry, but they agree on one consequence of the Supreme Court’s first major abortion ruling since Trump took office: The upcoming election is crucial to their cause.
Winning June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo Won’t Stop Lawmakers from Coming for Your Reproductive Rights
Fatima Goss Graves | Cosmopolitan
The law is clear. Yet, there I was on Monday morning, anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court’s opinion.
Ms. Magazine | Sarah R. Boonin | June Medical Services: A Precarious Victory
Rewire.News | Jessica Mason Pieklo, Imani Gandy | #TeamLegal Answers Your Questions on the Supreme Court
Rewire.News | Herminia Palacio | How Congress Can Immediately Seize on Monday's Abortion Rights Win
USA Today | Kathaleen Pittman | I run a Louisiana abortion clinic. Despite Supreme Court win, I'm nervous for our future
More Reading on Roberts
American Prospect | Felicia Kornbluh | Still Anti-Abortion, but Can’t Swallow Alternative Facts
The Mary Sue | Kylie Cheung | Let's Hold off on Welcoming SCOTUS to the Resistance
The Nation | Elie Mystal | John Roberts Is Not Your Friend
New York Times | David Leonhardt | How to Make Sense of the Roberts Court
New York Times | Adam Liptak | John Roberts Was Already Chief Justice. But Now It’s His Court.
Rewire.News | Imani Gandy | John Roberts Cares About His Reputation—Not Abortion Rights #ABLC
Salon |Alex V. Henderson | The hidden downside in the Supreme Court’s ruling to protect abortion rights
Abortion
Defund the Pro-Life Movement
Liz Plank | Marie Claire
Why should I celebrate the Supreme Court ruling in favor of me having a right that was already guaranteed by the constitution?
New Research Proves Restricting Abortion Harms Women
Carrie Baker | Ms. Magazine
A new book, “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, A Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion” by Dr. Diana Greene Foster, provides definitive evidence that abortion access strongly enhances women’s health and well-being, whereas denying abortion results in physical and economic harm.
Florida
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs parental consent for abortion into law
Jim Saunders | Tallahassee Democrat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that will require parental consent before minors can have abortions, a long-sought goal of abortion opponents in Florida.
Iowa
Judge halts Iowa's new 24-hour waiting period for abortion
David Pitt | AP
An Iowa judge issued an injunction halting the state’s latest abortion restriction, a 24-hour waiting period, on Tuesday, a day before the measure was set to become law.
KCCI-TV (Des Moines) | Iowa's latest abortion law temporarily blocked by judge
Tennessee
Tennessee’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Hurts Patients & Providers, A Doctor Says
Jennifer Gerson | Bustle
On Saturday, June 20 at 12:30 a.m., Tennessee state legislature passed a bill banning all abortion after a “fetal heartbeat” — technically, just electrical activity, since a fetus’ heart hasn’t yet developed — can be detected, which is usually at six weeks gestational age.
Texas
She tried to get an abortion during the pandemic. Her state wouldn’t allow it
Kyle Almond, Benazir Wehelie | CNN
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, many states put a temporary ban on elective surgeries and medical procedures deemed nonessential. For several states, that included abortion.
Virginia
Virginia’s new laws on LGBT rights, guns and abortion reflect state’s political makeover.
Laura Vozzella, Ovetta Wiggins | Washington Post
Restrictions on guns tighten in Virginia on Wednesday while those governing abortion, marijuana and voting loosen under a raft of laws adopted earlier this year in a newly blue state Capitol.
LGBTQ
The AFL-CIO must fight for trans lives inside & outside the labor union movement
Richard Trumka | LGBTQ Nation
At this crossroads in history, the labor movement will stand shoulder to shoulder with Black transgender workers and affirm through our actions that Black Trans Lives Matter.
“We Are Members Of A Family Unlike Any Other”: Black Trans Community Members Send Message Of Resilience For Pride Month
Charise Frazier | MadameNoire.com
Daniella Carter, a Black trans woman and content creator from Queens, recently partnered with GLAAD to debut a new video discussing the need to center the voices of Black trans and non-binary community members in the midst of today’s current political and social environment, in honor of Pride Month.
How the rainbow flag is evolving to embrace everyone
Matthew Terrell | Mic
Many members of the LGBTQ community have called for the update of the rainbow flag for the sake of representation.
Advocates Hope The Supreme Court's LGBTQ Ruling Will Help Them Overturn The Military Transgender Ban
Stephanie Colombini | North Carolina Public Radio
The recent Supreme Court decision on LGBTQ job discrimination doesn't directly affect the military's transgender service ban, but people opposed to the ban say it may help their own court fight.
Idaho Banned Trans Athletes From Women's Sports. Lindsay Hecox is Fighting Back
Julie Kliegman | Sports Illustrated
By suing the state, Lindsay Hecox, who hopes to run for Boise State, has found herself on the leading edge of the battle for transgender rights—and become the face of a court case that could have nationwide implications.
Stonewall Inn Receives $250,000 Donation to Avoid Permanent Closure
Claire Shaffer | Rolling Stone
The Stonewall Inn in New York, site of the landmark 1969 riots that paved the way for the modern LGBTQ rights movement, will remain open through the pandemic thanks to a $250,000 donation.
Pregnancy & Parenting
Child Care Is Infrastructure
Helen Lewis | The Atlantic
The idea of child care as women’s (unpaid) work holds the issue back in political discussions.
Working parents face a child care crisis as schools reopen
Erica Pandey | Axios
With coronavirus cases spiking and no end in sight, schools and day care centers may not fully reopen in the fall, triggering a massive child care crisis for millions of American workers.
How Women Changed Their Minds About Having Kids During The Pandemic
Jennifer Gerson | Bustle
Despite millennials being firmly in their family-building years, fewer 25- to 39-year-olds are having kids than ever, thanks to factors like the 2008 financial crisis, a lack of paid family leave or affordable child care, and a lot of anxiety about the state of the world. Now, they can list “living through a pandemic” among the issues impacting whether or not they want to have children.
USA Today | Coronavirus baby boom may actually be a 'baby bust' as experts see spike in birth control orders
Coronavirus May More Severely Affect Pregnant People, According To Research
Alice Broster | Forbes
A report by the CDC has found that pregnant people infected by Covid-19 are more likely to suffer complications. The organization detailed that pregnant people are more likely to be hospitalized, need ICU care and more likely to receive mechanical ventilation.
Black. Pregnant. And COVID-19 positive.
Gabrielle Frank, Rheana Murray | TODAY
Black women already face high maternal mortality rates. The coronavirus pandemic could make that worse.
Pregnancy during a pandemic: birth workers, mothers navigate COVID-19
Samantha Willis | The Virginia Mercury
The uncertain nature of COVID-19 has challenged doulas and other birth workers to innovate in providing support to mothers and infants, inside and outside of hospital settings.
Massachusetts
’Every mother counts’: Massachusetts House passes bill to study racial disparities in maternal health
Steph Solis | MassLive.com
The legislation, H. 4818, would create a commission to study maternal health and specifically the underlying drivers of racial disparities of maternal mortality, which refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy or within one year of a pregnancy ending.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Reproductive justice advocates across the South doing ‘radical work’ in the abortion access movement
Tina Vasquez | Prism
For people seeking abortion care in the American South, the future so many fear is already a reality, and has been for a long time. Just as the U.S.-Mexico borderlands operate as a “Constitution-free zone” where the Constitution technically applies but is subverted and debased, the American South operates in practice as a Roe-free zone.
Short-term health care insurance: How Trump let insurance providers sell bad health plans
Dylan Scott | Vox
Contraception is often excluded, according to the House investigation, and at least one short-term insurer refuses to cover preventive services for women like Pap smears and pelvic exams. All of those services are mandatory for ACA plans.
Missouri
Missouri high court says state must pay Planned Parenthood
Summer Ballentine | AP
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that lawmakers violated the state constitution when they tried to end all government funding of Planned Parenthood.
Kansas City Star | Missouri Supreme Court rules on state appeal to keep Medicaid from Planned Parenthood
KWMU-FM (St. Louis, MO) | Missouri Must Pay Planned Parenthood For Treated Medicaid Patients, Court Rules
Work & Money
This is why America's record unemployment is impacting women the most
Emily Pandise, Stephanie Ruhle | MSNBC
As unemployment has soared throughout the coronavirus pandemic, women have been hit especially hard by job loss, according to recent government data.
Black workers matter, so end forced arbitration
Jean Hyams, Hilary Hammell | The Washington Post
There are a number of things companies should do to address systemic racism in corporate America, but one thing most businesses must do is stop actively shielding themselves from accountability in court for race discrimination in their workplaces.
More, More, More
Conference of Mayors joins fight to implement Equal Rights Amendment
Laura Cassels | Florida Phoenix
A national push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment nearly 50 years after it was proposed by Congress grew stronger Monday with a legal boost from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and pro-ERA organizations in Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
How Women in Big Law Are Stepping Into the Court Fight Over the Equal Rights Amendment
Jacqueline Thomsen | National Law Journal
Female attorneys like Loretta Lynch and Jeannie Rhee of Paul Weiss and Beth Brinkmann with Covington & Burling are filing amicus briefs in a Democratic lawsuit seeking to force the addition of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.