Today…
is the birthday of Eleanor (Ellie) Smeal (1939–), co-founder and president of the Feminist Majority Foundation (1987) and publisher of Ms. Magazine.
is the anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. On this day in 1965, LBJ signed the bill that basically created the two programs.
is National Chili Dog Day and, lest anyone wants to get at me later for leaving things out, National Cheesecake Day.
Programming note: the kids and I are away next week for the big camping trip that’s become our annual August thing. I kept up my morning newsletter routine when we went for a long weekend last month, but you know what? I haven’t fully taken time off in… two years? It’s possible. Mama tired.
One week without you, think I’ll forget?
Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not going to pull the clips every morning. I am going to indulge myself by sharing stories and pictures from the lake – and the soon-to-be-11yo would like to participate. Basically, we’re going to blog. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d be interested in hearing from us.
I won’t be hurt if you don’t read next week. The tween, I can’t speak for. 😉
Abortion
Landmark Measure to Repeal 'Racist,' Anti-Choice Helms Amendment Hailed as Step to a 'More Equitable World'
Andrea Germanos | Common Dreams
Reproductive rights advocates on Wednesday cheered the introduction of the first-ever legislation to repeal the Helms Amendment, which has prevented millions of women across the globe from accessing safe abortion care. Introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), the "Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act" would rescind the 1973 amendment that blocks U.S. foreign aid funding for abortion and would help support comprehensive reproductive healthcare for women worldwide.
The Guardian | Democrats introduce bill to repeal anti-abortion rule for US overseas aid
Ms. Magazine | First-Ever Legislation to Repeal Helms Amendment: Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act
Refinery29 | These Congresswomen Are Fighting To Repeal The Racist, Sexist Hyde Amendment
U.S. Anti-Abortion Policies Endanger Lives Worldwide. Here's My Plan to End That.
Rewire.News | Rep. Jan Schakowsky
The racist Helms Amendment effectively allows our country to control the health care and bodily autonomy of Black and brown people around the world. If we are serious about racial justice and expanding abortion access for everyone, then we must repeal the Helms Amendment.
GOP attacks on abortion just force women to have them later
Lisa Needham | The American Independent
The Republican obsession with abortion is forcing delays in care. Anti-abortion activists and conservative GOP legislators consistently work to undermine abortion rights. In doing so, they push people to have abortions later in pregnancy.
EXCLUSIVE: How Brett Kavanaugh tried to sidestep abortion and Trump financial docs cases
Joan Biskupic | CNN
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh urged his colleagues in a series of private memos this spring to consider avoiding decisions in major disputes over abortion and Democratic subpoenas for President Donald Trump's financial records, according to multiple sources familiar with the inner workings of the court.
Salon | Brett Kavanaugh urged Supreme Court to avoid decisions on Trump’s tax returns and abortion: report
Anti-abortion activists need to admit the truth: Outlawing abortions doesn't prevent them
Zara Ahmed | NBC News
Anti-abortion advocates working to criminalize abortion in the United States and abroad will always be stymied by a crucial fact: People everywhere want, need and find ways to get abortions. I observed this firsthand while working as a public health adviser in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and now new research from the Guttmacher Institute demonstrates just how misguided and dangerous it is to try to limit abortion access.
California
Criminal case to go forward against two antiabortion activists who recorded conversations
Bob Egelko | San Francisco Chronicle
A San Francisco judge has refused to dismiss criminal charges against two antiabortion activists who secretly entered meetings of abortion providers and recorded conversations, saying a jury should decide the activists’ claims that they were journalists investigating crimes by Planned Parenthood.
Louisiana
One Month From the Big Abortion Rights Win in Louisiana: 'We've Gained Nothing'
Susan Rinkunas | Rewire.News
While June Medical Services v. Russo didn’t result in more clinics having to close, people in the state still face daily tragedies trying to access abortion care.
Nebraska
Proposed abortion restrictions hit snag in Nebraska
Grant Schulte | AP
A proposal to outlaw a common second-trimester abortion procedure in Nebraska hit a snag in the Legislature on Wednesday, leaving its prospects unclear. Opponents used a filibuster to keep the measure from coming to a vote after the allotted three hours of debate, forcing lawmakers to move on to other issues. Supporters now have to show they have a 33-vote super-majority of support necessary to overcome the filibuster at a later date.
LGBTQ
Seven Trans Women Were Killed Over Five Weeks. Each Was Deadnamed by Police and Media
Nico Lang | them.
Between June 9 and July 13, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Riah Milton, Shaki Peters, Bree Black, Merci Mack, Brayla Stone, and Marilyn Cazares lost their lives to violence. All of them were trans women of color, and none were older than 32. But a new report finds that these women had more in common than just their biographical details.
The Advocate | These Are the Trans People Lost to Violence in 2020
them. | Queasha Hardy, 24, Is the Second Black Trans Woman Killed Over 48 Hours This Week
Dems vow to protect trans health, push Equality Act in 2020 platform
Chris Johnson | The Washington Blade
The Democratic Party 2020 platform includes language in support of trans health and the Equality Act. Vows to protect transgender health, pass the Equality Act and undo the anti-LGBTQ policies of the Trump administration are among the LGBTQ highlights of the party platform Democrats have proposed for 2020.
Utah senator calls allowing transgender athletes to compete in their gender identity "offensive"
John Riley | Metro Weekly
Sen. Mike Lee fiercely criticized the president of the NCAA over the collegiate athletic organization’s support for allowing transgender athletes to compete according to the gender with which they identify at a Senate hearing last week.
Media Visibility Gives Push for Transgender Youth to Seek Care
Kristen Monaco | MedPage Today
More media coverage of transgender issues may have encouraged young people to seek specialty care, researchers said. In an analysis of over 5,200 transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents, more individuals were referred to specialist gender clinics in years where more transgender-related media stories ran in the news.
Trans Stars Of FX's 'Pose' Speak Up About Emmy Award Nominations Snubs
Isabelle Lichtenstein | GO
After the 2020 Emmy Award nominations were announced yesterday, Indya Moore and Angelica Ross spoke out about the awards overlooking the Black trans cast and creators of FX’s “Pose.”
Essence | 'Pose' Cast Breaks Silence On Emmy Snubs
NBC | 'Pose' stars speak out against Emmy snubs of Black trans actors
Pennsylvania
Pa. health secretary on transphobic attacks: 'Our children are watching'
Tim Fitzsimons | NBC News
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Tuesday opened her daily coronavirus briefing by personally responding to “the multiple incidents of LGBTQ harassment and specifically transphobia directed at me that have been reported in the press.”
Metro Weekly | Pennsylvania's Dr. Rachel Levine says transphobic attacks against her "perpetuate a spirit of intolerance"
Tennessee
$2M Suit Claims Health Worker Fired for Being Gay, Cites Supreme Court Ruling
Kilian Melloy | Edge Media Network
A Tennessee man has filed suit for $2 million against his former employer, claiming that he was subjected to anti-LGBTQ harassment and then fired right around the time the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination law — specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — protects sexual minorities.
Pandemic Parenting
Will Federal Child Care Support Vanish Again?
Sonya Michel | American Prospect
Will this burst of pandemic-induced child care funding go the way of the World War II aid and disappear once the crisis has passed, or will Congress finally acknowledge that universal child care is an essential component of the American safety net (as it is for most of our peer countries)?
The American Prospect | Democrats Are Running on Universal Child Care-and Winning
Chalkbeat | Three ways America’s current schools crisis could hurt the economy
Opinion: Women are in a terrible new bind
Fatima Goss Graves, Katherine Clark | CNN
As tens of millions of newly unemployed people begin to look for work to replace their disappeared jobs, families are trapped: they need the time and space for the "full-time job" that is a job hunt -- the hours on the internet, the filling out of applications and talking to prospective employers -- and they need to care for their children. This puts women in a bind.
CNN | This single, working mom says remote learning will mean having to choose between her child or job
New Research Shows Covid-19’s Impact On Gender Inequality And Mothers’ Mental Health
Josie Cox | Forbes
“There are signs that the increased workload and conflict between work and family has negatively impacted parents’ mental wellbeing, especially mothers. We need a thorough gendered analysis on the economic impact of the lockdown and more resources and policies are needed to support parents especially mothers' labor market attachments.”
Teachers And Child Care Workers Are Essential, Too
Tracey Welson-Rossman | Forbes
The debate of whether schools and childcare centers should reopen for in-person education or continued online has been growing as the pandemic shows no signs of disappearing. What should be evident is the economic importance of the people who are taking care of and teaching our children.
Newsweek | Fauci Says Teachers Part of Schools Re-opening 'Experiment,' as Bill Gates Shares Trump's Stance
Parenting Is an Exercise in Triage
Kelly Faircloth | Jezebel
I’ve been promising my editor something about childcare during the coronavirus for at least a month. In normal circumstances, after years of blogging, a mid-length opinion piece requires a couple of days, maybe three for something particularly thorny. The difference, of course, is that until March, my toddler went to daycare.
Hey, Kelly?
Coronavirus child-care crisis will set women back a generation
Alicia Sasser Modestino | Washington Post
With day-care centers shuttered or severely restricting enrollment, and school districts opting for remote learning, many women are finding they just can’t make their jobs work during the pandemic. That could have lasting consequences.
84 Percent of Parents Are Uncomfortable With Their Child Going Back to School, New Survey Shows
Quinn Fish | Working Mother
A new survey by Care.com shows that a clear majority of parents are worried about or are uncomfortable with sending kids back to the classroom come fall.
Pregnancy & Parenting
Americans Aren’t Making Babies in Crisis
Peter Coy | Bloomberg News
Pandas and white rhinos aren’t the only creatures that are unsuccessful at mating in captivity. The folk wisdom that humans will copulate when left with nothing else to do—dubbed the blackout babies theory—surfaces regularly in the immediate aftermath of disasters, but the baby boom never materializes.
The pandemic has highlighted a crisis in US maternity care. Its causes are as old as history
Sarah Menkedick | The Correspondent
Modern hospitals have usurped the black midwives who offered holistic care in the home. The trend is more to do with racism, patriarchy and profit than better healthcare.
Birthing Battle | Helping Hands
Chris Lester | Flatland
Because so many women have similar trauma stories … midwives and doulas not only support healthy births but also serve as advocates for mothers of color. Research continues to corroborate the claims that a birth expert helps curb rising maternal and infant mortality rates.
Illinois
South Side’s maternal health desert poses added risks for Black women during pandemic
Curtis Black | The Chicago Reporter
In the past year, the number of hospitals offering maternity service on the South Side of Chicago has dropped from seven to three, including two hospitals that suspended services temporarily to accomodate a crush of COVID-19 patients. And with news that Mercy Hospital plans to close next year, the situation has suddenly become even more dire.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Reckoning With The Feminist, Eugenicist Founder Of Planned Parenthood
Melissa Jeltsen | HuffPost
Margaret Sanger fought for birth control access, but also supported the sterilization of women deemed unfit for society.
Colorado
Gardner puts minorities at risk with silent support of ACA lawsuit
Rep. Janet Buckner | The Sentinel Colorado
Persistent and pernicious inequalities exist within our health care system, and a dangerous Republican-led lawsuit threatens to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act. The ACA is giving people of color advantages they never had before in terms of access to health care.
Work & Money
Working Moms Will Find Covid-19 Layoffs Hard to Fight in Court
Erin Mulvaney | Bloomberg Law News
Many working mothers—now balancing home school, snack breaks, and play time—carry a heavier child care burden than fathers during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to layoffs and terminations that would be difficult to challenge in court.
How the Pandemic Is Changing the World of ‘Work-Life Balance’
Breanna T Bradham | Bloomberg News
U.S. companies known to treat workers right pivot to a new reality, offering perks employees may want to keep when the virus recedes.
Working In A Male-Dominated Medical Practice Can Cost Female Physicians $90,000-Or More
Maggie McGrath | Forbes
According to Medscape’s 2020 compensation study, there is a 25% wage differential between male and female primary care physicians and a 31% gap among specialists. And according to a new study out of Harvard Medical School Thursday morning, there’s a factor that is exacerbating the existing gaps: medical practices with more than 50% male physicians on staff.
USWNT told to wait until 2021 for jury trial
Graham Hays | ESPN
Any trial on the remaining claims in the lawsuit brought against U.S. Soccer by members of the United States women's national team may not take place until next year. A federal district court in California released a scheduling notice Wednesday that it is currently unable to conduct jury trials due to "the unavailability of jurors during this pandemic."Judge R. Gary Klausner therefore delayed the trial scheduled to begin Sept. 15 until Jan. 26, 2021.
Envisioning a More Inclusive ‘Future of Work’
Charles Chear | Next City
Since COVID-19 forced millions of people to work from home, discussions about the future of work has become ever more popular. Several questions are being asked by workers, researchers and policymakers. What does it mean to work with our children around? How does it affect our ability to concentrate and our productivity? How do we manage our time at home?
Washington, DC
Wage gap robs black women in D.C. of almost $2 million over lifetime, analysis finds
Samantha Schmidt | Washington Post
In the nation’s capital, a black woman makes 51 cents for every dollar a white man makes. … Over the course of a 40-year career, a black woman in the District is estimated to lose $1.98 million because of the wage gap, according to an analysis by the National Women’s Law Center.
Brag: I was the first person at the Law Center to start sending these individual pitches, breaking out the wage gap by location and race/ethnicity. Before this, wage gap data went out as one, three-page press release. The results were huge. (And still my boss despised me, but that’s a story for another day. #StaySalty)
More, More, More
The Go-Go’s Made History 38 Years Ago. There’s Still More to Their Story.
Lindsay Zoladz | New York Times
A new documentary about the Los Angeles band explores the punk roots that came before its pop sheen, and the power dynamics that led to its split.
Me next week…
An Oral History Of How Barbie Lost The Presidency Yet Again
Danielle Kurtzleben | NPR
On July 28, 2020, Mattel announced it would be releasing its seventh presidential Barbie. They have released one in nearly every cycle since 1992, but of course, America has yet to see Barbie in the Oval Office. But for the first time this year, Mattel gave her a campaign team. Candidate Barbie 2020 came with a campaign manager, a fundraiser, and one (1) voter. There was renewed hope in the Barbie camp that this could be the year she won.
No comms person because she’s not to be played with.
Sexist data hold back the world's Covid-19 response
Melinda Gates | STAT
How many women have died of Covid-19? How many women have lost their jobs in the economic crisis it created? And how many have had to stop working because schools and day cares have closed and now have to take on unforeseen and added child care responsibilities? I don’t know the full answer to any of these questions. No one does. When it comes to the pandemic and its effect on women, too often we just don’t have the numbers.