In a sentimental mood
Today…
kicking off at 10am ET, my friends* at Abortion AF are hosting an all-day telethon to support independent abortion providers. (And, full disclosure, current patrons, but I would tell you anyway because the guest list is effing awesome.)
is Oatmeal Cookie Day and Raisin Day but not Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Day.
is International Jazz Day. Because Washington, DC, we’re listening to a little Duke Ellington as I write this.
And now if you’ll excuse me, the 10yo just asked me “Who is Frank Sinatra?” and I need to take stock of my failings an Italian-American mother.
Your thoughts, prayers and shares would be especially appreciated at this challenging time.
Abortion
Minnesota
Suit would block abortions during Minnesota pandemic restrictions
Torey Van Oot | Star Tribune
A coalition of conservative groups and medical providers have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block surgical abortions in Minnesota during the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, targets Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order limiting “nonessential or elective” procedures to conserve personal protective equipment for heathcare workers treating virus-striken patients. Reproductive health care services, including abortion, are exempt from the order.
Bloomberg: Minnesota Clinic Sues to Stop Surgical Abortions in State
Pioneer Press: Minnesota abortion opponents sue over continued access during coronavirus pandemic
Oklahoma
Court denies Oklahoma's latest efforts to ban abortions during pandemic
Chloe Atkins | NBC News
Abortion clinics in Oklahoma can stay open and continue providing care after an appeals court denied the state's latest efforts to ban abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals this week denied the state's request seeking to stay a preliminary injunction.
Pennsylvania
The GOP's Abortion Obsession Sabotaged Pennsylvania's COVID-19 Response
Emily C. Woods & Rafael Diaz | Rewire.News
Pennsylvania Republicans felt it was appropriate to use this crisis as an opportunity to deprive people of their constitutional right to abortion care, pandemic be damned.
Texas
After a Month of Chaos, Abortion Care Returns to Texas
Mary Tuma | The Austin Chronicle
Local providers haven’t returned to work with ease: "We feel anxious, there's a lot of trepidation. We are very excited to provide services again, but we are also pretty terrified that it may go away tomorrow."
The Austin Chronicle: Texas, Abortion, and COVID-19: The Chaos Timeline
LGBTQ
This bi pride flag story is wow.za. Even setting aside the drama of it all, strictly from a comms/branding perspective, I am fascinated. What are you doing. Why.
A group is threatening legal action & demanding payment for use of the bisexual pride flag
Alex Bollinger | LGBTQ Nation
The organization BiNet USA is demanding payment for use of the bisexual pride flag – the pink, purple, and blue striped banner common at LGBTQ Prides all over the world.
Class action suit aims to free all transgender ICE detainees
Tim Fitzsimons | NBC News
A coalition of LGBTQ and immigration activists filed a class action lawsuit last week demanding the immediate release of all transgender detainees in ICE detention, alleging that because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus in these facilities, “ICE’s failures have made detention centers death traps for transgender people in civil immigration detention.”
What will Pride mean during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic?
Katelyn Burns | Vox
Pride organizers say the show will go on — albeit in a much different format. The European Pride Organizers Association and InterPride, a consortium of local Pride organizations in the US and internationally, are organizing a massive, worldwide Pride event to be held exclusively online.
I don’t mean to “look on the bright side” too much here, given global pandemic, but I’ve been pretty impressed and heartened by organizers’ ingenuity in the midst of Alla This. It’s a hell of a job in a good year. But now we’re being forced to rethink and try new things, reach folks in new ways, and I think that a net positive – that I hope we carry with us.
Trans Communities Are Demonstrating Incredible Resilience
Raquel Willis | Medium
Through grassroots efforts, we’ve found abundance among ourselves
Reproductive Health & Justice
Covid's war on women
Ryan Heath & Renuka Rayasam | POLITICO
During this plague year, there is almost never good news, only degrees of bad news. Even so, the pandemic has been different (and worse) for girls and women.
UN: Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead To 7 Million Unintended Pregnancies
Marley Coyne | Forbes
Millions of women will lose access to contraception, face unexpected pregnancies and suffer gender-based violence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a grim report from the UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
Madison teens raising money to donate menstrual products to those in need
Michelle Baik | WMTV-TV (Madison, WI)
Three Madison teens say the coronavirus has heightened the need for menstrual products.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is about to make 3 big rulings on immigration, abortion, and financial reform
Ray Levy-Uyeda | Mic
The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are often left out of regular partisan sniping, but they're absolutely crucial to determining policy in America. The justices are poised to rule on some of the biggest issues of the day this spring, including three seminal cases on immigration, women's rights, and financial reform. Because there's no schedule for when decisions may come, court-watchers will just have to wait by their computers — but in the meantime, we've got a rundown of what to expect
Argument preview: Justices tackle challenge to “conscience” exemptions from birth-control mandate
Amy Howe | SCOTUSblog
In some ways, next week’s consolidated oral argument in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Trump v. Pennsylvania will be like 2016 all over again. In the middle of a presidential election season, the justices will once again weigh in on the battle over the ACA’s birth-control mandate, which generally requires employers to provide their female employees with health insurance that includes access to certain forms of birth control.
Work & Money
‘Motherhood Penalty' May Fuel Workplace Lawsuits in Pandemic
Erin Mulvaney | Bloomberg Law
The “motherhood penalty” has been oft-used to describe persistent gender disparities that working mothers can encounter, as documented by a surge in discrimination lawsuits related to caregiving in recent decades as more women enter the workforce. It’s exacerbated during the pandemic, lawyers and professors say, and could lead to more claims of sex discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, and promotions; pregnancy bias from mothers who must choose between their safety and getting paid; and family leave law violations.
Never do I ever pass up a “motherhood penalty” story… #staysalty
Why long-term flexible work options could be a game changer for women
Courtney Connley | CNBC
Data from Pew Research Center shows that women are more likely than men to adjust their careers for family. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to force millions of employees to work from home, experts predict these flexible work options could be here to stay.
13 ways the coronavirus pandemic could forever change the way we work
Courtney Connley, Abigail Hess & Jennifer Liu | CNBC
CNBC Make It spoke to futurists, employment experts, CEOs, designers and more to find out how the pandemic could forever transform the way we work.
These Are the Essential Women America Needs Right Now
Madison Feller | ELLE
It’s not just a mirror. I checked.
They're chefs and nurses. They're grad students and entrepreneurs. They're abortion care providers and soup kitchen managers. Often underpaid and undervalued, these women have quickly become the most essential workers in America.
Judge approves $14 million settlement in Walmart pregnancy discrimination case
Samantha Schmidt | The Washington Post
A federal judge on Wednesday approved a $14 million settlement in a landmark class-action lawsuit that accused Walmart of discriminating against its pregnant employees by denying them necessary workplace accommodations.
More, More, More
Big-Money Philanthropy Must Support Grassroots Coronavirus Relief
Ana Conner | Teen Vogue
I’ve been reading countless scathing articles about how the federal, state, and local government have failed in their responses to the coronavirus pandemic, and rightfully so. And yet, there’s another sector tasked with supporting the common good that’s escaping critique right now: private foundations.
Why Did the ERA Die? FX’s ‘Mrs. America’ Has Some Answers.
Katha Pollitt | The Nation
Phyllis Schlafly, the subject of a new nine-part mini-series, teaches feminists never to underestimate their political enemies.
Are you watching? I’ve been asked a few times, and no. I watch very little television these days, and almost nothing without the kids. I know, it’s good, It’s Important, Kate Blanchett, Uzo Aduba, oh my God. Still no. I’ll read the think pieces.
U.S. Marriage Rate Drops to a Record Low
Gaby Galvin | U.S. News & World Report
The U.S. marriage rate reached a historic low in 2018, according to federal data spanning more than a century.