Supermoon!
Today…
is last week of session in Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Utah and Washington (assuming no one goes into special session).
is the full moon for March - called the Worm Moon because spring - and the first “supermoon” of the year.
is National Workplace Napping Day, the first weekday after daylight savings time. I think I’m celebrating as I’m typing this.
Abortion
'Last clinic' standing? Critics fear abortion case before Supreme Court could have nationwide impact on abortion facilities
Cho Park, Kristofer Rios & Allie Yang, ABC News
Kathaleen Pittman still can’t believe that she and her little abortion clinic from Shreveport, Louisiana, has a case before the highest court in the nation. “Had anybody told me three years ago we would be preparing to go before the court this week, I would have thought they were crazy. I mean, we had precedent on our side, or so we thought,” Pittman said.
A Test for Abortion Rights
Michael Barbaro, New York Times / The Daily
A case before the Supreme Court is the first big test of abortion rights since President Trump created a conservative majority among the justices. We traveled to the Louisiana health clinic at the center of the case to ask what was at stake in the decision.
The Right’s New Strategy to Fight Abortion Takes Aim at Doctors
Dahlia Lithwick, Slate
The attack on reproductive rights is borrowing from one of Roe’s original strategies, and weaknesses.
Analysis | Argentina is about to debate legalizing abortion — despite being a very Catholic country
Mariela Daby & Mason Moseley, Washington Post
With the opening of a new legislative session on March 1, Argentine President Alberto Fernández announced his plan to introduce a bill in the lower house of Congress that would legalize abortion in the country. If the bill passes, it would make Argentina only the second democratic country in Latin America — the heart of modern Catholicism — to legalize abortion, after Uruguay in 2012. Abortion has become a hot issue in Argentina, after decades of being treated as politically untouchable.
Kansas GOP leader's Medicaid expansion move roils Statehouse
John Hanna, AP
Jim Denning once symbolized what for Medicaid expansion supporters was wrong with the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature. Now, the Kansas Senate majority leader is an expansion champion who’s under fire from some GOP lawmakers he’s supposed to be leading for working with the state’s Democratic governor. Denning recently faced criticism from Republicans for appearing at events with Gov. Laura Kelly to promote an expansion plan that she and Denning drafted.
Utah House passes new requirements for abortion providers
Lindsay Whitehurst, AP
Abortion clinics would be required to cremate fetal remains and women would have to get an ultrasound before the procedure under proposals that passed the Utah House this week, over objections that the new rules would erode access to abortion. The ultrasound bill would require a technician to display images and make the fetal heartbeat audible for each woman. Republican sponsor Rep. Steve Christiansen said those steps could make a woman choose not to have an abortion.
Equal Rights Amendment
An Equal Rights Amendment for women is our best hope to safeguard legal protections
Lisa Rabasca Roepe, Boston Globe
Although women have had the right to vote for 100 years, thanks to the 19th Amendment, that hasn’t stopped state legislatures and Congress from chipping away at our freedoms. Last year alone, nine states passed laws that restrict abortion, some prohibiting it after six to eight weeks of pregnancy, which is about how long it takes most women to realize they’re pregnant in the first place.
The push for an Equal Rights Amendment in Minnesota
Nina Moini, MPR News
Advocates for a proposed ERA to the state constitution hope to bring the question before voters on the November ballot. The constitutional amendment would state that women and men have equal rights under the law.
LGBTQ
Lesbian, bisexual and trans women health inequalities investigated
Paisley Gilmour, Cosmopolitan
As the nurse conducting her smear test went through the routine questions, Lily* nervously awaited The Big One. But the question never came. Lying on the bed, legs spread, Lily cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I’m a lesbian, by the way. I thought you might need to know.”Taken aback, the nurse swiftly put down the speculum that was in her hand. “Oh,” she laughed. “I’ll use the smaller one then… and lots of lube.”This might seem like a harmless, slightly inappropriate remark.
Opinion | Transphobia Is Everywhere in Britain
Juliet Jacques, New York Times
To many, the sight of a center-left party failing to support trans rights without equivocation must be baffling — not least to American Democrats, whose party, divided in many ways, is firmly united in its support for trans and nonbinary people. But really, it’s no surprise. Transphobia, constantly amplified by the country’s mainstream media, is a respectable bigotry in Britain, shared by parts of the left as well as the right.
Disney's LGBTQIA+ Inclusivity Feels Like False Advertising
Amber Leventry, Scary Mommy
We can give Disney accolades for doing the right thing by portraying a gay character and by allowing that character to be voiced by a member of the queer community, but we should also be holding them to higher standards. Disney can do better in terms of providing true LGBTQIA+ representation, and we should be demanding that they do so.
Mormon students protest BYU stance on same-sex behavior
Brady McCombs, ABC News
Several hundred BYU students protested Friday afternoon outside church headquarters in Salt Lake City to show their displeasure with a letter this week that clarified that “same-sex romantic behavior” is not allowed on campus.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Gender Equity Is Useless Without Racial Equity
Janice Gassam, Forbes
Any person that calls themselves a feminist must understand the concept of intersectionality and how different types of discrimination can interact to create unique experiences for women. What is often an undiscussed issue is that being a woman does not absolve you from prejudice or being a beneficiary of White privilege—White women can still protect and uphold systems of oppression. The importance of having a diverse group of women in positions of leadership cannot be overstated; the lack of diverse female representation can negatively impact an organization. One of the best recent examples of this can be found by examining the events that transpired with the Women’s March. Many have complained about the leadership of the march, which consisted of mostly White and cisgender women. Any movement focused on women’s empowerment and liberation cannot neglect the inescapable impact of race in our society.
Opinion | There’s No Planning for Childbirth
Rosemary Counter, New York Times
While women have no doubt been planning for birth as best they can since the beginning of time, in the early 1980s doctors and their patients started committing plans to paper. The ever-increasing medicalization of birth had collided with a second-wave feminist concern that pregnant women were losing their agency in a male-dominated medical field, and the new “birth plan” was an unlikely makeshift truce. But like all other contract-requiring arrangements, the birth plan implies a conflict just waiting to happen.
Analysis | The U.S. hasn’t signed the world’s foremost women’s rights treaty. Activists have gotten local versions passed instead.
Heidi Nichols Haddad, Washington Post
On International Women’s Day, how is the United States doing on women’s rights? That question could be answered in many ways, pointing to anything from Harvey Weinstein’s recent conviction for sexual assault to how a diverse Democratic field of presidential candidates narrowed to a race between two white men. But let’s look at a different, less celebrated arena: local governments. In the past several years, Honolulu, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Berkeley and the counties of Miami-Dade and Santa Clara have put binding gender equality laws on the books.
Workplace Equality
US Soccer, women's players at odds over `equal pay' offer
Ronald Blum, AP
The U.S. Soccer Federation says it has offered the women’s national team equal pay to male counterparts for matches under USSF control but maintains the women want bonuses for tournaments such as the World Cup to match those of the men. The women disputed the USSF account, saying the federation proposed to match rates the men had under their labor deal that expired in December 2018 and the USSF offer was for only for a portion of the women under contract.
More at Washington Post: U.S. women’s national team wins again as its fight for equal pay rages on
The Importance Of Creating A Modern And Effective Parental Leave Policy
Robert Cerone, Forbes
Your company culture has to keep up with the times, and the times call for establishing flexible guidelines that serve your business goals and your employees’ needs. One of the most important questions in employee benefits is how much paid parental leave to give.
Women’s work: 12 stories of female success and struggle in male-dominated fields | Perspective
Chris Crisman, Philadelphia Inquirer
Today, young girls are told they can be anything they want when they grow up. Yet the unique challenges that women face in the workplace, whether in the boardroom or the barnyard, have never been more publicly discussed and scrutinized.
Pregnancy Discrimination Is Still A Glaring Problem, New Report Shows
Jen McGuire, Romper
It's not surprising, unfortunately, but new research shows that pregnancy discrimination is still a big problem we need to address. In fact, a survey released Friday by Workhuman Research Institute found that pregnant woman are struggling to get hired. Specifically, the report, called "The State Of Humanity At Work," found that 36% of women surveyed reported that they were passed over for a job because they were pregnant.
Opinion: Paid family and medical leave levels playing field for families of color
Brenda Lawrence & Debra L. Ness, Detroit News
This week, all eyes are on Michigan as voters cast ballots in the Democratic presidential primary. With Detroit’s substantial African American voting bloc, it’s critical that candidates vying for the White House explain how they will advance racial justice, tackle persistent health and economic disparities, and strengthen the financial security of Black families here and across the country.
New Mexico Adds Workplace Protection for Pregnancy, New Moms
U.S. News & World Report
New safeguards against workplace discrimination for pregnant women and new mothers at small businesses have been signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The signing of the bill Friday adds a new protected class to employment discrimination law in New Mexico. Federal law already prohibits workplace discrimination based on pregnancy for employers of 15 or more workers.
International Women's Day
Mexican women to 'disappear' for a day to protest violence
Maria Verza, AP
Don’t go out. Don’t shop. Don’t go to school. Don’t consume. The urging from women’s activists is clear, but it remains unclear whether Mexico will really go a day without women on Monday. After a year of increasingly heated and frequent protests over gender violence in Mexico, the call for women to strike has captured growing interest in recent weeks.
Mexican Women Are Protesting the Femicide Epidemic With a Massive National Strike
Molly McLaughlin, Teen Vogue
The year 2019 was a watershed for the Mexican women’s movement. In August the case of a teenager who claimed she had been raped by four police officers sparked a wave of protests that became known as the Glitter Revolution. Two months later, female students at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City helped lead a strike in response to reports of pervasive sexual violence at the institution.
There's So Much About The Pussyhat's Origins Story That You Don't Know
El Hunt, Bustle
Ever wondered about the origins of the Extinction Rebellion’s logo or how the pussyhat became synonymous with the Women’s March overnight? Consider this your starting point. First and foremost, protest is about people taking to the streets and mobilising against injustice – but the art, logos and objects that come to represent these uprisings are often striking.
Flowers, Strikes, and Tear Gas: How International Women's Day Is Recognized Around the World
Madison Feller, ELLE
It's an understatement to say that this world was not built for women. It's evident in the leaders we choose, in the violence we see, and in the political and social structures that have been built, and propagated, in order to keep women down. But this Sunday, International Women's Day, is meant to be an outlier. IWD is a global holiday to celebrate women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements and act as a much-needed call for gender parity.
The Best Way to Celebrate International Women’s Day? By Making Yourself Money
Sallie Krawcheck, Glamour
For the past several years, I’ve spent every March 8 scrolling through Instagram, watching all the #IWD posts from women, for women, about women roll in. Year after year, the celebration of International Women’s Day gets more creative and urgent. I love the Instas. I really, really do. I love seeing women celebrate each other. But there’s something else I’d like us all to do to mark this occasion —something that I’m not seeing enough of in my feed. I want dollar signs.
The fight to close the time gap for women
Sallie Krawcheck, The Hill
March 8 is International Women’s Day. Though it’s been observed for over a century, it has become more popular and more political in the United States in recent years. It’s apt that this year International Women’s Day coincides with daylight savings time, the day we all lose an hour, because the relationship of women to time is a primary cause of gender inequality.
What Exactly Is International Women's Day, Anyway?
Andrea González-Ramírez, Refinery29
International Women's Day is a kickass celebration where we remember what women all over the world have done in pursuit of equal rights, and honor those who have broken the glass ceiling. It's a day full of events for and by women, which makes it extra special, whether you're celebrating in the U.S. or abroad.
International Women's Day
Emma Batha, Thomson Reuters Foundation
In focus: an equal world is an enabled world.
The future of feminism
Jessica Machado & Karen Turner, Vox
There has been much debate about what wave of feminism we are currently in (and whether any of that even matters). Have we officially moved past the riot-grrrl third and its disruption to the disruption of gender norms? Did we squarely enter a fourth, with the rise of Donald Trump and Me Too — the grip of the patriarchy personified and the rallying against it, both of which exposed how much more we had to learn from Kimberlé Crenshaw’s lessons of intersectionality?