July 2.0
Today…
is NOT a Supreme Court day, how novel!
is the birthday of novelist and playwright Josefina Niggli (1910-1983). Born in Mexico and raised in North Carolina, Wikipedia notes “she was the first and, for a time, the only Mexican American writing in English on Mexican themes.”
That face would not be out of place at any of my family reunions. 🙂
is National French Fries Day. I will happily share my fries if you will share my newsletter.
Abortion
Federal judge blocks new requirement for abortion coverage payments under Obamacare
Caroline Kelly | CNN
A federal judge on Friday blocked a new federal regulation that would have required insurers on the Obamacare exchanges that cover abortions to issue separate bills for that coverage.
AP | Judge tosses Trump rule on billing for abortion coverage
Salon | Federal court strikes down Trump's rule targeting abortion access
San Francisco Chronicle | Trump administration barred from requiring separate bill for abortion insurance services
🠲 The pro-choice movement is in tatters. Planned Parenthood is part of the problem
Jessa Crispin | The Guardian
It’s often the national organization that makes the headlines with its celebrity supporters and its adversarial relationship with Washington. But it’s local Planned Parenthood clinics – often incredibly underfunded – who do the work, offering health screenings, birth control, reproductive services and abortion in often difficult environments. Plus, Planned Parenthood’s brand recognition often draws support and dollars away from non-affiliated local clinics operating in rural regions without institutional support.
The Supreme Court’s Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights
Rachel Rebouché | The Nation
The procedure can be crucial to a person’s health and livelihood. When striking down restrictions, the justices should acknowledge that.
Abortion pill restricted by FDA for decades has better safety record than penicillin and Viagra
Angela Hill, Karen Rodriguez | USA Today
The Food and Drug Administration has made Mifeprex, also known as the “abortion pill,” one of the most restricted drugs. Despite having a better safety record than penicillin or Viagra, it’s more restricted than opioids like fentanyl.
Arizona
The Supreme Court’s Abortion Rights Win Might Not Help Providers Like Me
DeShawn Taylor | Rewire.News
As a Black abortion provider in Arizona, I am no stranger to abortion restrictions—or the vitriol and racism that comes with it. I ask the people of Arizona to demand that our elected officials repeal the archaic laws still on the books and ensure that Arizonans will always have abortion care when they need it.
LGBTQ
Your Tax Dollars Are Supporting Anti-LGBTQ+ Organizations
Trudy Ring | The Advocate
The Paycheck Protection Program, established to help small businesses keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 crisis, is giving government support to religion — and in some cases funding hatred of LGBTQ+ people.
Black Trans Lives Must Be Front and Center
Kali Holloway | The Nation
Racist policing is particularly devastating for Black trans and gender-nonconforming people.
Instagram Finally Issues a Complete Ban on Conversion Therapy Content
Shoshana Wodinsky | Gizmodo
While the platform has condemned ads for conversion therapy services for a while and has community guidelines calling out any posts that attack Instagrammers based on their “sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,” until now, some posts promoting conversion therapy weren’t seen as falling under that umbrella. But as of today, any content linked to the practice is getting a blanket ban across the platform.
Recent SCOTUS Decisions On Religion Open Up New Questions
Tom Gjelten | NPR
The Supreme Court says LGBTQ persons have civil rights, but new rulings also gives religious institutions more freedom from the government. Critics see an erosion of church-state separation.
Trump administration sued over rescission of transgender health care protections
Michael K. Lavers | The Washington Blade
Several advocacy groups on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to remove transgender protections from the Affordable Care Act.
Valentina Sampaio Is First Trans Model in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Daniel Reynolds | The Advocate
Valentina Sampaio has made a splash in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The 23-year-old Brazilian model is the first transgender woman to be featured in the magazine.
E! News | Valentina Sampaio Hopes to Inspire Transgender Youth With History-Making SI Swimsuit Announcement
Jezebel | Sports Illustrated Model Valentina Sampaio Calls Attention to Violence Against Trans Women
Illinois
Activists demand Chicago’s LGBTQ neighborhood change its name
Bil Browning | LGBTQ Nation
Chicago’s Boystown may get a new name if community activists get their way. The city’s LGBTQ neighborhood is the only one with a gendered name in America.
Oh my God. I was today years old when I realized Boystown is a neighborhood in Chicago.
Maryland
Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass introduces LGBTQ Bill of Rights
John Riley | Metro Weekly
A Montgomery County Councilmember has introduced an LGBTQ Bill of Rights to strengthen and expand legal protections for LGBTQ residents in the county.
Oregon
Oregon court ruling is another win for nonbinary people
Casey Quinlan | The American Independent
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled this week that all circuit court judges must grant an X gender marker for nonbinary people who request it in legal documents as long as they take all of the necessary legal steps to register for the change.
Tennessee
Nonprofit hopes to build 20 'tiny homes' for Black transgender women
Julie Compton | NBC News
Memphis-based My Sistah's House is one of several trans-run groups working to create long-term housing solutions for Black trans people in the South.
Pregnancy & Parenting
Pregnancy Discrimination In The Workplace Affects Mother And Baby Health
Bryan Robinson | Forbes
Although pregnancy discrimination is illegal in the workplace, it still occurs and new evidence finds that it affects the health of both mother and baby.
Black Women, Women of Color Will Be Disproportionately Affected by SCOTUS's Ruling on Birth Control
Chelsey Sanchez | Harper's Bazaar
As with most matters of institutionally backed repressions, the people who will be disproportionately affected by the Supreme Court's decision are Black, minorities, or those who come from low-income backgrounds.
🠲 What’s Missing in the Effort to Stop Maternal Deaths
Austin Frakt | New York Times
According to the best data available, as summarized in a report by the CDC, the U.S. could prevent two-thirds of maternal deaths during or within a year of pregnancy. Policies and practices to do so are well understood; we just haven’t employed them.
This Isn’t Sustainable for Working Parents
Joe Pinsker | Route Fifty
During the pandemic, with schools and day-care centers closed or operating at reduced capacity, many parents’ careers—particularly mothers’ careers—are getting deprioritized.
New York Times | Big New Obstacle for Economic Recovery: Child Care Crisis
Teen birth rates decline another year, CDC report finds, but Black and Hispanic rates see less significant change
Adrianna Rodriguez, Jayne O'Donnell | USA Today
Overall teenage birth rates have fallen across the country, but women’s health care providers are concerned about the sharp disparities between white teenagers and teenagers of color.
Missouri
Missouri's annual report on maternal morbidity calls for more action
Joe Gamm | Jefferson City News Tribune
The rate of maternal mortality in Missouri appears to be declining, according to an annual report from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. However, efforts to understand the problem bring to the surface complex societal issues of rampant obesity, health inequity and the ongoing opioid epidemic, according to the Missouri Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review.
Reproductive Health & Justice
🠲 Attention All Women: Trump Is Coming for Your Health Care
Kathleen Sebelius | New York Times
In the middle of America’s most catastrophic public health crisis, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the entire ACA. This is dangerous for many reasons — but for women, it’s devastating. They would be stripped of the protections they have had in the decade since passage of the law, known as Obamacare.
Sure, Birth Control Does More Than Prevent Pregnancy. Why Do You Care What I Use it For?
Alaina Demopoulos | The Daily Beast
The SCOTUS ruling has many pointing out that birth control treats hormonal conditions as well as prevents pregnancies. But the reason a woman uses birth control shouldn’t matter.
There’s A Big Period Knowlege Gap, Says Study
Alice Broster | Forbes
While your menstrual cycle is a constant for much of your adult life it can change from month to month and dramatically over your lifetime so knowing what’s “normal” is so important. However, a survey has found that there’s a serious period knowledge gap in the U.S.
Covid-19 Is Making It Harder For Women And Children To Access Vital Health Care Services
Misha Gajewski | Forbes
Mothers, newborns, young children and adolescents are losing 20% of their health and social services because of the pandemic, according to a new report from a panel senior global health experts.
Racism in care leads to health disparities, doctors and other experts say as they push for change
Tonya Russell | Washington Post
The protests over the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police have turned attention to other American institutions, including health care, where some members of the profession are calling for transformation of a system they say results in poorer health for black Americans because of deep-rooted racism.
Women's Republic | America's Healthcare System Is Failing Black Women
Illinois
U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on birth control doesn't affect Illinois' insurance mandates
Rebecca Anzel | Capitol News Illinois
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that could make it more difficult for women to access birth control will not affect Illinois law, state officials and advocacy groups say.
Work & Money
I'm a lawyer who has investigated thousands of cases of workplace discrimination. Here's how to go beyond anti-racist rhetoric and actually create and equitable workplace.
Kia Roberts | Business Insider
Companies can implement real change by educating on unacceptable behavior, conducting effective investigations, and enforcing actual consequences for bad actors.
Gender gap in COVID-19 unemployment may exacerbate gender inequality
Binah Schatsky | Daily Northwestern
Is COVID-19 widening the gender gap? New research showing that women are being disproportionately targeted by the COVID-19 economic downturn indicates this may be the case.
Coronavirus Likely To Widen Gender Gap in Retirement
Carmen Niethammer | Forbes
Many workers, especially women, are at risk of not achieving a financially secure retirement. This was an issue of concern prior to the pandemic which has now been magnified.
New Republican push for paid family leave in coronavirus stimulus package
Francesca Chambers | McClatchy
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said he will repackage his paid family leave proposal as a five-year pilot program in the hopes that it will pass Congress this month as part of the coronavirus stimulus legislation. Cassidy said parents have been strained during the pandemic and that the paid family leave proposal could help ease some of their burdens.
‘I Don’t Want to Go Back’: Many Teachers Are Fearful and Angry Over Pressure to Return
Dana Goldstein, Eliza Shapiro | New York Times
Teachers say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students physically distanced and prevent further spread of the virus have not been answered.
🠲 For Black Women In Media, A “Dream Job” Is A Myth
Kathleen Newman-Bremang | Refinery29
There have been too many Black women in media (and outside of it) who have had their dreams deterred because of the bigotry of their colleagues and managers.
More, More, More
Supreme Court End-of-Term Wraps
Associated Press | Mark Sherman & Jessica Gresko | Thomas spoke, Roberts ruled in unusual Supreme Court term
FiveThirtyEight | Amelia Thomson- DeVeaux | The Supreme Court’s Big Rulings Were Surprisingly Mainstream This Year
The Hill | John Kruzel | Roberts court tempers conservative expectations
Los Angeles Times | David Savage | Chief Justice Roberts, in full control, steers the Supreme Court to a surprising term
NBC | Pete Williams | More than ever, this is John Roberts' Supreme Court
New York Times | Peter Baker | How a Conservative Supreme Court and Trump's Appointees Declared Their Independence
New York Times | Adam Liptak | In a Term Full of Major Cases, the Supreme Court Tacked to the Center
NPR | Nina Totenberg & Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred | A Powerful Chief And Unexpected Splits: 6 Takeaways From The Supreme Court Term
Reuters | Lawrence Hurley & Jan Wolfe | U.S. Supreme Court defied Trump at key moments in blockbuster term
Slate | Leah Litman | It wasn’t Roberts that changed this term, it was the cases SCOTUS heard.
Vox | Ian Millhiser | Why did liberals win so many cases before a conservative Supreme Court?
Washington Post | Robert Barnes | With wave of major rulings, Roberts, Supreme Court emerge as powerful counterweight to Trump, Congress
Washington Post | Leah Litman | Think this was a liberal term at the Supreme Court? You probably missed some cases.
Montana
Equal Rights Amendment: It’s time
Nancy Leifer & Nancy Maxson | Missoulian
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said in 2011: “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.” This will not change until we amend the U.S. Constitution with the ERA.