I read the news today, oh boy
Today…
is Monday, but aren’t they all.
is - according to the Supreme Court’s own calendar - an opinion day. SCOTUSblog, orders start at 9:30am ET, decisions would start just after 10:00am.
is the start of Pride Month, and 50th anniversary of the NYC Pride March. I can’t begin to capture the scope of it all here, but…
in 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band was released in the U.S.
It’s going to be a long week. Be safe. ♡
Abortion
What Norma McCorvey Believed Matters
Mary Ziegler | The Atlantic
Norma McCorvey—and making sense of her—remains central to the abortion debate, and the reason is obvious: Her story has come to stand in for the greater question of whether abortion is good for women—a question the Supreme Court is likely to rule on by the end of next month.
The Supreme Court Might Be About to Make It Nearly Impossible to Stop Anti-Abortion Laws
Carter Sherman | VICE
The Supreme Court is expecting to rule in the coming weeks on the biggest abortion case of the Trump era. Technically, the case asks whether Louisiana doctors must possess admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, a requirement that would force all but one clinic in the state to close. But Louisiana has also raised the stakes very, very high for the rest of the nation: If the Supreme Court sides with Louisiana, abortion providers may completely lose the right to sue on their patients’ behalf.
Missouri
Ruling means Missouri's last abortion clinic stays open
Jim Salter, Summer Ballentine | AP
Missouri’s only abortion clinic will be able to keep operating after a state government administrator decided Friday that the health department was wrong not to renew the license of the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis.
CBS | Missouri's last abortion clinic can stay open, commissioner rules
NPR | Missouri's Only Clinic That Provides Abortions Allowed To Remain Open
St. Louis Post-Dispatch | State loses bid to shut down Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis
VICE | The Last Abortion Clinic in Missouri Just Won Its Battle to Stay Open
Washington Post | Missouri’s last abortion clinic will stay open after ruling ends contentious year-long legal battle
LGBTQ
Black LGBTQ+ Leaders and Allies Address the Rage Against Racism
The Advocate
On social media, Black LGBTQ+ leaders and straight allies have shared their thoughts on the situation and how to address the systemic racism in this country.
70+ LGBTQ+ Organizations Demand Action Against Racism
Trudy Ring | Out
More than 70 LGBTQ+ organizations have signed on to an open letter calling for action to combat racism and racial violence in light of several recent horrific incidents against Black Americans. “‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,'” the letter begins
There Is Never a Perfect Time To Celebrate Pride
Amber Leventry | Romper
Without the public marches and festivals, some will say Pride has been cancelled … but Pride will never be cancelled. What folks don’t know or perhaps have forgotten is that Pride celebrations were born from riots, violence, secrets, and pain. If anyone can see the value of finding joy and the need to fly our flags higher and kiss the ones we love even in the middle of hardship, it is the queer community.
Same-Sex Spouses Win Equal Access to Social Security Survivor Benefits
Trudy Ring | The Advocate
A federal court ruled Wednesday that the Social Security Administration must consider claims for survivor’s benefits by same-sex spouses who were unable to be married for at least nine months because of state marriage bans.
Instinct Magazine | Gay Couple’s 43 Years Together Had Been Deemed Insufficient For Survivor Benefits
Same-sex marriages have contributed $3.8 billion to the US economy
Bil Browning | LGBTQ Nation
Same-sex marriages have contributed $3.8 billion to the US economy since the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that legalized marriage equality nationwide.
Out Magazine | Gay Weddings Have Boosted US Economy by $4 Billion Since 2015
Upworthy | They were right: Gay marriage 'changed everything.' Well, by adding $3.7 billion to the economy.
The Coronavirus Thrives on Hate
Patrick Lee | The Nation
Homophobia may help tip South Korea back into its Covid-19 crisis. It may also keep America deeply mired in its own public health disaster.
Arizona
Bills seek to limit puberty blockers, other treatment for transgender youth
KTAR-FM (Phoenix, AZ)
In at least a dozen states, including South Dakota, Florida and Ohio, bills were introduced this year to make it harder for transgender minors to get medical treatment such as puberty blockers and other hormone therapies.
Connecticut
US: Transgender sports inclusion violates others’ rights
Pat Eaton-Robb | AP
Connecticut’s policy allowing transgender girls to compete as girls in high school sports violates the civil rights of athletes who have always identified as female, the U.S. Education Department has determined in a decision that could force the state to change course to keep federal funding and influence others to do the same.
LGBTQ Nation | The Trump administration wants to cut education funding to transgender-inclusive states
Metro Weekly | Connecticut trans athlete policy violates Title IX, says Education Department
Florida
What To Know About Tony McDade, A Black Trans Man Killed By Police In Florida
Elly Belle | Refinery29
Amidst protests in Minneapolis over the murder of George Floyd, another person has been killed by police. This week, a Black transgender man named Tony McDade was shot in Tallahassee, Florida by a police officer with the Tallahassee Police Department. McDade was killed on Wednesday, May 27 outside Holton Street Apartments.
LGBTQ Nation | Cops fatally shot a Black transgender man without warning & keep calling him a woman
Metro Weekly | Black transgender man fatally shot by Tallahassee police
Pregnancy & Parenting
Mothers are still doing most of the parenting during a pandemic
Katie Hunt | CNN
Mothers are only able to do one hour of uninterrupted work for every three hours done by dads, according to new research from the UK that also found mothers taking on more chores and spending more time with children in homes where there is both a working mother and father.
As states reopen, medical experts recommend pregnant women stay vigilant against COVID-19
Jayne O'Donnell | USA Today
A new study of pregnant patients with COVID-19 found higher rates of injury and blood clots in the placenta due to inadequate blood flow from the mother. But even the Northwestern University Medicine researchers who conducted the study say their research on 16 patients isn't conclusive enough to suggest pregnant women ought to take greater social distancing and hygiene precautions than should be routine by now.
Reproductive Health & Justice
There Needs To Be Investment In Sexual & Reproductive Telehealthcare, Says Policy Institute
Alice Broster | Forbes
Center for American Progress has argued that states must fund telehealthcare to improve sexual and reproductive care during and after Covid-19. Focusing on key areas such as contraceptive and maternal care and medical abortion, the organization has said more money needs to be invested in virtual medicine in order to support patients “particularly women, young people, people of color, low-income individuals and immigrants.”
Are We Really Going To Run Out Of Condoms?
Franki Cookney | Forbes
Our demand for condoms has diminished in quarantine—at least in Europe and the U.S. But, as Chris Purdy, CEO of family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention charity DKT International, said in April, it isn’t just the manufacture of condoms that’s been affected by the pandemic. Everything from problems sourcing the requisite components to freight, shipping, quarantine requirements and increased oversight on imports has led to delays. In many countries this could lead to shortages even when product availability is high.
Health Workers Around the World Are Calling for Period Products to Be Considered Essential PPE
Leah Rodriguez | Global Citizen
“Among the different avenues of creating a safe working space, we cannot turn a blind eye on the need for menstrual health management for female frontline health care providers, along with personal protective equipment,” UNFPA said in a statement.
The Long, Continued Fight to #FreeThePill
Carrie Baker | Ms. Magazine
The birth control pill is already available over the counter in many countries around the world. Reproductive rights advocates in the U.S. are campaigning to make the pill more accessible and affordable.
Tennessee
Tennessee group's billboard campaign hits hot topics
AP
A Tennessee sexual and reproductive health advocacy group is launching a billboard and digital ad campaign intended to show how COVID-19 has exposed inequality, according to a news release. A billboard image released to media by Healthy & Free Tennessee reads, “End mass incarceration. Make parenthood and abortion accessible for everyone.
Work & Money
Will Covid make women retreat at work?
Elizabeth Ralph | POLITICO
First came the layoffs and the furloughs and the extra unpaid work — the pandemic-era burdens that women have been carrying more than men for months. We’ve seen this in report after report; one of the newest, released this week, shows mothers in Britain are 47% more likely than fathers to have permanently lost or quit their jobs since February, and 14% more likely to have been furloughed.
America Never Valued Care Workers. Then a Pandemic Hit.
Bryce Covert | The Nation
Now everyone knows teachers, child care providers, and health aides are essential workers. Will that finally get them the pay and protections they deserve?
More, More, More
The Tricky Exceptionalism of 'Fellow White Women'
Emily Alford | Jezebel
The problem with “My fellow white women” isn’t that white women are speaking out against racism on social media, it’s that the phrase too often performs allyship and reaps rewards from that performance with no risk to the writer, who likely already knows her audience agrees.
'Karens' try to make unequal power structures work for them
Monica Hesse | Washington Post
The police don’t exist to protect only white women, and they don’t pose a threat to only black men. But you don’t even have to look past the news of this week to see the grave risks black men face in encounters with law enforcement — and how easily excessive force can be rationalized when there’s no video. White women can access that power via a phone call. And that, too, can become poisonous.
My ‘Mrs. America’ Knowledge Gap: Not Just A Period Piece, How The ERA Is Making Headlines Today
Nicole Stawiarski | Thought Catalog
Even as someone who has an active interest in learning about feminism, I still have huge knowledge gaps. I’m not afraid to admit them, and I’m not afraid to take the steps needed to fill them in. However, Mrs. America makes me upset that some of these gaps are there in the first place.
Mrs. America: The show’s many brands of feminism, discussed and dissected
Emily VanDerWerff, Allegra Frank, Constance Grady | Vox
Views on feminism have shifted greatly since the 1970s era depicted in this series, so I — Vox critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff — asked my colleagues, associate culture editor Allegra Frank and culture writer Constance Grady, to join me for a chat about the many feminist worlds of Mrs. America and of the present day.
This overworked group is burning out from COVID-19: Family caregivers
Alessandra Malito | MarketWatch
Family caregivers have always had stressful jobs, caring for their loved ones while trying to handle their own personal affairs, but COVID-19 has made it even harder.
Gender Bias In Predictive Algorithms: How Applied AI Research Can Help Us Build A More Equitable Future
Annie Brown | Forbes
As technology is built by humans, it of course will mimic our prejudices. Perhaps more worrisome, and less understood is how technological biases can not only reinforce but further exacerbate societal malices such as racism and sexism.