Not nearly enough
Today…
…the Supreme Court hears arguments in June Medical Services v Russo, but you knew that. Fully half of you are at a rally right now.
…is National Snack Day – which I will mark by eating my feelings in tiny salty bits all day long, same as they’ve been doing to me.
…in 1933, Frances Perkins was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Labor, becoming the first woman to serve on a White House cabinet.
…in 2005, Martha Stewart was released from prison, which I note only for the poncho.
June Medical Services v Russo
Supreme Court abortion argument gives me scary déjà vu
Amy Hagstrom Miller @ Whole Womans Health, CNN
Medically unnecessary abortion restrictions are clinic shutdown laws, plain and simple.
Louisiana's Act 620 Will Restrict Abortion Access For Black Women
Kristen Clarke @ Lawyers Committee, Essence
The relentless campaign to restrict access to abortion in Louisiana puts the constitutional and civil rights of thousands of Black women on the line, making clear that abortion is a racial justice issue.
When a Fetus Gets Legal Rights, Guess Who Suffers?
Chanel Dubofsky, Lilith Magazine
Let’s start here: reproductive justice is the right to have children or not have them, and to raise the children you have in a safe environment. Reproductive justice, a framework founded by Black women, goes beyond notions of “choice” and “rights” to remind us that without access to reproductive health services, such as prenatal care, abortion and contraception, these services and the laws that make them available may as well not exist. Keep this definition in mind when you’re watching Personhood, the documentary film about what happens when a fertilized egg is given the same rights as—sometimes even more rights than–a fully formed human being, making the person carrying that egg vulnerable to a barrage of laws which take any opportunity to punish her.
Having an Abortion Was Devastating Enough. Louisiana's Laws Made It Even Worse
Kimberly O'Brien, Newsweek
Restrictions on abortion access—known as targeted regulation of abortion providers, or TRAP, laws—greatly limited my ability to exercise my right to abortion. In fact, Texas and Louisiana have both implemented so many restrictions that if my situation were to occur today, I would not have the option to terminate in either state.
Upholding the Louisiana Abortion Law Would Shred the Supreme Court's Credibility on the Constitution-and on Race
Shira Scheindlin @ Lawyers Committee, Newsweek
Also important, however, is a closer look at the undue burden test in this case. Who is it that will suffer disproportionately if the Louisiana law is upheld? The evidence in this case reveals, beyond doubt, that the victims of this law—should it be permitted to take effect—are poor Black women. These women are not members of Congress, their voices are not often heard in the public discourse, and they do not contribute heavily to political campaigns. But I, and many others, have beseeched the Court to hear them as they will suffer most from an adverse ruling.
The Heartbeat Bills Were Never the Real Threat to Abortion
Mary Ziegler, New York Times
Casey identified an important government interest in protecting fetal life throughout pregnancy but still saved abortion rights in the name of equality for women. Savvy abortion foes believe the fastest way to undercut that ruling is to show that abortion makes women anything but equal. In the face of failure in the Supreme Court, skepticism from the medical establishment and resistance from grass-roots activists, leading anti-abortion groups have stuck to their guns. In June Medical Services v. Russo, we may start to see whether they made a smart bet.
The threat to Roe v. Wade goes beyond individual cases.
Dahlia Lithwick, Slate
The anti-choice wing at the court desperately wants us to believe that the only issue around which women should rally and organize and march this year is whether the words “Roe v. Wade is overturned” show up in the body of the final June Medical decision. But there are a million ways in which abortion, contraception, abortion funding, and women’s reproductive care are under threat by the states and the federal government, and June Medical is a part of that story but hardly all of it. What happens in Louisiana is vital, indeed, but it’s a skirmish in a larger war.
AP: Supreme Court takes up first big abortion case of Trump era
CNN: Supreme Court hears first major abortion case with strong 5-4 conservative majority
CNN: Future of Roe v. Wade in spotlight as Supreme Court considers Louisiana abortion access case
Daily Beast: Here’s What’s at Stake if Supreme Court Upholds Louisiana Abortion Law
Democracy Now: SCOTUS to Decide First Major Abortion Case Since Trump’s Conservative Justices Joined Bench
Ms.: Louisiana Could Become the First State Without Abortion Access
NBC: After shift to the right under Trump, Supreme Court to hear major abortion case
New York Times: A New Supreme Court Hears Its First Big Abortion Case
NPR: Beginning Of The End For Roe V. Wade? Supreme Court Mulls Louisiana Abortion Law
Salon: Legal abortion is gone for many women, but the problem is about to get exponentially worse
Not(June Medical) Abortion
Fine, Let’s Just Ban Masturbation, Too: Female Legislators’ Recent Strategy for Fighting Abortion Laws
Carter Sherman, VICE
Over the last few years, lawmakers who support abortion rights have adopted an off-the-wall tactic to strike back at extreme abortion restrictions: introducing bills that would limit men’s reproductive rights. By exposing the apparent absurdity of regulating masturbation — and even vasectomies and Viagra — these legislators are hoping to make the conservatives who back near-total abortion bans look like hypocrites.
Instagram Rejected a Face Filter Showing a Crown of Abortion Pills
Marie Solis, VICE
Instagram is blocking an abortion rights filter from its platform, stating that the selfie filter—which places a crown of abortion pill packs on users' heads—is a violation of its policies. The filter displays the words "liberate abortion pills" and the crown releases pills when users open their mouths. An Instagram spokesperson confirmed that the filter was blocked and said any non-sponsored content promoting pharmaceutical medical products is banned from the platform.
Abortion bans criminalize doctors. For black physicians, the risks are even higher.
Adia Harvey Wingfield, Vox
[Heartbeat bills and TRAP laws] stand to disproportionately affect pregnant people who are low-income and/or of color. But left out of the conversation is that they put black health care providers in danger, too, by risking criminal prosecution for those who perform these abortions.
And how ‘bout this data point: only about 4% of practicing physicians and 9% of nurses are Black. I wouldn’t have guessed the numbers were that low. That is absurd.
How ‘Religious Liberty’ Is Threatening Women’s Lives
Nancy LeTourneau, Washington Monthly
The first thing to know about the connection is that 1 in 6 hospital beds in the U.S. is now in a Catholic-run medical facility, with that number exceeding 40% in some states. All of those facilities operate under something called Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs), which are based on Catholic teachings and prohibit staff from performing abortions—even when a woman is having complications due to a miscarriage.
Idaho bill aimed at abortion funding heads to Senate
Keith Ridler, Associated Press
A bill in Idaho that would ban any public money from going to organizations that provide abortions headed to the Senate on Tuesday. The House voted 52-17 to approve the measure that is expected by both backers and opponents to be challenged in federal court if it becomes law.
Ohio bill would ban abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned
Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer
A Southwest Ohio lawmaker wants to be prepared to abolish abortion in Ohio if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
Mississippi seeks abortion ban for race, sex, genetic error
Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press
Mississippi's Republican-led Legislature is trying to restrict the reasons women may seek abortion, after federal courts blocked time limitations that the state tried to put on the procedure the past two years. Abortion would be prohibited if a woman is seeking one because of the race, sex or genetic abnormality of the fetus, under a bill that passed a state House committee Tuesday.
Lawmakers Move Anti-Abortion, Gun Bills Amid Tornado Dig-Out
Jonathan Mattise, Associated Press
As Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee offered updates on overnight tornadoes and toured the deadly wreckage left in his state, lawmakers forged ahead Tuesday to advance the governor's key priorities to restrict abortion and expand gun rights.
The Wall Some Texans Want to Build Against Abortion
Dionne Searcey, New York Times
A small group of women at a recent City Council meeting held hands and offered hushed prayers in an otherwise silent room. Everyone was waiting for the council members to decide whether their community would become the next “sanctuary city for the unborn.”No one was trying to build an abortion clinic in the Texas community of Lindale, population 6,000. But they wanted to keep it that way.
The intended outcome of the abortion fight
Christopher Smart, Salt Lake Tribune
The debate on abortion continues to divide us here in Utah and across the country, exactly as intended.
LGBTQ
NBC News Exit Poll: Young and liberal, LGBTs are 10% of today’s electorate
Andrew Blankstein, NBC News
One out of every 10 people voting in today’s presidential primaries identifies as LGBT, according to the NBC News Exit Poll conducted in 12 of the 14 Super Tuesday states. Reflecting changing generational attitudes about sexuality and gender identity, LGBT Democratic voters are substantially younger than today’s electorate as a whole. A third of LGBT people voting on Super Tuesday are younger than 30 years old, while 65% of the LGBT voters today are under 45.
In addition to political engagement among younger people, I wonder how much the ‘80s AIDs crisis informs these numbers. There’s a whole cohort of older gay men we just don’t have.
Trans marathoner Megan Youngren makes history at U.S. Olympic trials
Karleigh Webb, Outsports
The first trans woman athlete to compete in the 2020 Olympic trials didn’t make Team USA, but did make an impact.
Harvard Law School Receives Backlash Against Religious Freedom Clinic
Kelsey Griffin, The Harvard Crimson
Harvard Law School students allege administrators have been insufficiently transparent regarding the development of its new Religious Freedom Clinic, expressing concerns about its potential to enable LGBTQ discrimination.
Virginia Becomes the First Southern State to Ban Conversion Therapy
Kate Sosin, NewNowNext
On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill banning conversion therapy for minors in the state. Virginia is the first southern state to ban the debunked and deeply dangerous practice. It is the 20th state in the country to outlaw conversion therapy, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Over the objections of religious groups, Virginia is poised to mandate nondiscriminatory care for transgender patients
Kate Masters, The Virginia Mercury
The Senate Commerce and Labor committee voted 12-2 on Monday to report a bill from Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, that would ban health insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage based on a patient’s gender identity or transgender status. The legislation, which passed the House 54-41, is expected to clear the Senate in a similarly party-line vote.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Medicaid expansion tied to fewer maternal deaths, study finds
Jacqueline Howard, CNN
A major part of the ACA — Medicaid expansion — may be linked to lower rates of women dying in pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery, a new study suggests. From 2006–2017, states that expanded Medicaid were significantly associated with lower rates of maternal death by about 7 deaths per 100,000 live births, relative to states that did not expand.
Lets Be Honest About How The Maternal Health Crisis Affects Black Women
Stacey Stewart @ March of Dimes, WCKX-FM (Columbus, OH)
The United States is in the midst of a maternal and infant health crisis. Every 12 hours a woman dies due to complications resulting from pregnancy and every two hours, we lose a baby. Women of color reading this post won’t be surprised to learn this problem doesn’t affect all American women equally.
Workplace Equality
The real reason Chris Matthews had to go
Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post
Matthews' casual sexism wasn’t at the heart of why he had to go. One of the most prominent and well-paid hosts in the cable-news game didn’t listen, didn’t do his homework and treated politics as a game in which noisy confrontation was a necessity. The problem was less about greenroom boorishness and far more about what you could see and hear on the air — especially in recent weeks, but also going back a long way.
A Timeline Of Chris Matthews’ Sexist Comments About Women
Sarah Midkiff, Refinery29
Chris Matthews, and the confusion about paying women 'compliments'
Alia Dastagir, USA Today
Experts on sexual violence and gender say as much as men seek hard lines and definitive markers on what constitutes inappropriate behavior at work, context matters.
This Super Tuesday, Ms. Has Eyes on the Gender Gap-Past and Present
Kathy Spillar, Ms. Magazine
As election season gets firmly underway, women’s votes are set to shape the outcome of the 2020 national elections and set the course for the nation’s agenda. Since the 1980s, a distinct gender gap has shaped the nation’s political and policy agenda, voting patterns and more. It will undoubtedly continue to play a larger and larger role in future elections—including, of course, those in 2020.
More women are now out-earning their husbands — and emotions can be big
Aimee Picchi, USA Today
With women now comprising more than half of the U.S. workforce, it’s perhaps no surprise that another seismic shift is happening in American homes: a growing share of women are now their families’ breadwinners. About half of women say they out-earn or make the same amount as their husbands or partners, according to a new survey from TD Ameritrade.
Virus Concerns Part of Paid Leave Debate in New Hampshire
Holly Ramer, U.S. News & World Report
Concerns over coronavirus crept into New Hampshire’s long-running debate over paid family and medical leave Tuesday when Senate lawmakers heard testimony on two competing bills.