Today…
is Juneteenth. Of course you know that now that what’s-his-face has “made it very famous.” He exhausts me.
is National Martini Day, so. That helps.
Now would be an excellent time to share, as we’re still waiting on a few huge abortion/repro Supreme Court decisions. Plus, you have to know that one of these days I’m going to start hitting up folks for a few bucks, and I’ll make a deal for existing subscribers. You’re amazing. Are those yoga pants new? They look great.
Lastly, there really is a new moon on Sunday. Glanced it on my calendar and my brain was off to the races.
Abortion
Secret Emails Expose Anti-Abortion Groups' Influence on Public Health Official
Violet Rawlings | Ms. Magazine
Earlier this month, the Campaign for Accountability released communications from Dr. Diane Foley, current deputy assistant secretary for population affairs at HHS. The documents contain correspondence between Foley and anti-abortion organizations—including Focus on the Family, Live Action, Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation—about the promotion of “natural family planning methods” over hormonal and barrier birth control.
Michigan
Michigan board: Take 2nd look at anti-abortion signatures
David Eggert | AP
Michigan’s elections board on Thursday ordered the state to take a second look at whether an anti-abortion group collected enough signatures to put veto-proof legislation before the Republican-led Legislature to ban a second-trimester procedure. Bureau of Elections staff determined this week that a 500-signature sample showed not enough signatures were gathered.
Michigan Live | Michigan ballot drive to ban abortion procedure gets another chance
WKAR-FM | Anti-Abortion Drive Gets 2nd Chance To Show It Has Signatures
Mississippi
Legislature poised to continue streak of passing bills restricting abortions
Bobby Harrison, Erica Hensley | Mississippi Today
The Mississippi Legislature is on the verge of passing a proposal to limit abortion rights for the third consecutive session. On Wednesday, the Senate passed by a 33-11 margin a bill that supporters say is intended to prevent abortions from being performed based on race, gender or potential physical disabilities.
Tennessee
Tennessee lawmakers advance 6-week abortion ban
Kimberlee Kruesi, Jonathan Mattise | AP
Amid nationwide unrest and a global pandemic that wrecked the state budget, Tennessee lawmakers headed to the end of a legislative session early Friday by advancing an anti-abortion proposal that includes some of the strictest restrictions in the country. The passage of the bill shocked Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights activists who had been assured for weeks that the GOP-dominated Senate would not take up the measure.
The Tennessean | Tennessee legislature passes fetal heartbeat bill, ban on abortions for down syndrome
WBIR-TV (Knoxville, TN) Tennessee abortion bill: Law would ban abortion after heartbeat
LGBTQ
For LGBTQ Americans, the Work on Discrimination Isn’t Over
Gabriel Arana | American Prospect
Despite the Supreme Court’s resounding decision this week, full equality will still have to be fought for in courts and in Congress.
Transmissions: On black trans lives and J.K. Rowling
Gwendolyn Ann Smith | Bay Area Reporter
We may, right now, be living through some of the most impactful times for trans and nonbinary people, and the choices we make now may shape the trans community for decades to come.
The Supreme Court decision to grant protections to LGBT workers is an important expansion of the Civil Rights Act
Julie Manning Magid | The Conversation
No federal law barring discrimination against LGBT workers in hiring, promoting and firing existed in this country until this week. Although some may have believed LGBT individuals were protected from discrimination following the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision that found the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples, this was not the case.
The activist behind the Okra Project wants to remind you that Black Trans Lives Matter, too
KC Ifeanyi | Fast Company
Violence against the Black trans community isn’t just an LGBTQ+ issue—and activist Ianne Fields Stewart is here to remind you, in case you forgot.
How could originalism produce a revolution for gay and transgender rights?
Harry Litman | Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court’s holding on Monday in Bostock vs. Clayton County presents a rich puzzle. How could an avowedly originalist court — one committed to interpreting laws according to the “original public meaning” of the text — arrive at such a progressive, even revolutionary result?
When Is It Time to Claim Victory in the Gay Rights Struggle?
Andrew Sullivan | New York Magazine
The last* major obstacle to civil equality for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people was toppled this week — by another Republican-appointed justice, Neil Gorsuch.
*blinks in housing, health care, education…*
For Transgender People, Workplace Discrimination Is a Reality, Supreme Court Ruling or Not
Polly Anna Rocha | Teen Vogue
While a new Supreme Court ruling has offered nondiscrimination protections for trans people — meaning we can file a case if we are fired for being trans — the realities of working while trans remain bleak.
Aligning with liberals on DACA and LGBTQ rights, Chief Justice John Roberts asserts his independence
Richard Wolf | USA Today
The winners at the Supreme Court this week were the nation's LGBTQ community and undocumented immigrants. The losers were conservatives, led by President Donald Trump.
Why organizers are fighting to center black trans lives right now
Joshua Allen | Vox
Black trans lives must be part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement.
Watch this space… 🡓🡓🡓
Even with ruling, workplace still unequal for LGBTQ workers
Catchy Bussewitz, Joseph Pisani | AP
For instance, the federal law doesn’t protect those who work at businesses with fewer than 15 workers. It doesn’t address bathrooms for transgender people. And it’s still an open question whether employers can fire an LGBTQ person for religious reasons. Then there are gaps in employee benefits. Some employers may not pay for medical care for transgender people, or could leave out LGBTQ families.
Supreme Court decision calls HHS’ reversal of LGBTQ protections into question
Elise Reuter | MedCity News
On Friday, the HHS finalized a rule removing protections for patients against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. On Monday, a landmark Supreme Court ruling forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace threw the future of HHS’ rule into question.
Kansas City Star | Mocked, rejected, KC transgender engineer on court ruling: ‘It’s not the finish line’
Pregnancy & Parenting
Coronavirus Halts Fertility Clinics Gradual Growth In U.S
Alice Broster | Forbes
A cut in procedures and new patients may leave an impact on the industry which could be felt for a very long time.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Women with disabilities can't get OB-GYN care. Some clinics are trying to fix that
Meghan Holohan | TODAY
It can be a struggle finding a doctor to provide an annual exam for women with disabilities. But a few clinics are trying to help.
'Listen to Black women': Black women’s health is intersectional justice
Tereneh Idia | PublicSource
As COVID-19 persists, Black women are on the frontlines and forefront, if not on the front pages of newspapers. The systemic racial and gender inequities of this country including in health care are magnified due to the pandemic. In keeping with the etymology of apocalypse, the veil is being lifted and what we see is injustice.
Black patients are less likely to face discrimination from black doctors
Paige Winfield Cunningham | Washington Post
Black Americans are more likely to get better medical care from black doctors and nurses, research shows. But hospitals and physician offices trying to intentionally pair the two can face tricky legal questions.
Work & Money
Survey Reveals That Most Leaders Aren’t Listening To Workplace Discrimination Concerns From Employees
Mark Murphy | Forbes
In the past few weeks, virtually every company has released a public statement that commits to listening to their employees’ concerns about workplace discrimination. But most leaders are not actually listening to employees’ concerns about workplace discrimination. And they’re not truly listening with empathy, and without blame and defensiveness.
Not listening? The hell you say…
Mackenzie Bezos and Melinda Gates Team Up to Offer $30 Million in Grants to Promote Gender Equality
Minda Zetlin | Inc.
Melinda Gates and Mackenzie Bezos are joining forces to provide $30 million in grants to nonprofit groups that help foster gender equality.
Being Black at work right now means doing a lot of extra emotional labor
Joseph Lamour | Mic
While it’s encouraging that “diversity and inclusion” in the workplace is on the rise, what non-Black folks don’t realize that in many industries and many cities, there are still only a few (or one) of us in the office. This leads to some awkward moments around the water cooler when the conversation turns to race. And sometimes, those conversations — even if seemingly innocuous — prove harmful to us and to our work environment as a whole.
Will the Pandemic Reshape Child Care For Good?
Sarah Jones | New York Magazine
When children enter Helana Pennywell’s daycare, she scans each small forehead with a thermometer. If they’re free of fever, they’re welcomed inside, where she sanitizes their belongings and makes sure they wash their faces and hands. She’s lucky: Her day care, which she runs out of her California home, is full. “I’ve noticed an increase in demand from essential workers who need care for their children.”
Despite new law to require paid sick-time for workers, many companies aren’t bound by it
Jason Garcia | Orlando Sentinel
Today, less than half of all private-sector workers in the United States — and potentially as few as one in six — are covered by the temporary law, according to one recent study.
Companies bringing in new leaders to help with race might also be setting them up to fail
Emily Stewart | Vox
Corporate America is scrambling to walk the walk on racial justice, and the people companies enlist to help them do it might face a rough path ahead.
Study Finds Salary History Bans Boost Pay for African-Americans, Women
Amara Omeokwe | Wall Street Journal
As many companies across the U.S. explore ways to promote more racial equality in hiring, new research suggests banning salary history questions for job applicants provides considerable benefits for African-Americans and women.
Behind a paywall, but you know it must be serious if WSJ isn’t spinning it right in the lede.