"We are not all born at once, but by bits"
Today…
is the birthday of writer Mary Hunter Austin (1868–1934). Seriously, take a few minutes to read, her story is a roller coaster, and why don’t we know her name? She divorced and struck out on her own when such things weren’t really done. She wandered the desert and “with promiscuous curiosity, explored a diversity of topics, from water issues in the West to the mistreatment of Native Americans. Much of her writing reflects the currents of her own life. One recurring theme investigates how women can escape the straitjackets of cultural expectations.”
She doesn’t look especially happy. No, she doesn’t. She was soundly rejected by her mother and always a little lost. “Her needs and tastes differed so drastically from those of her siblings and mother that she thought of herself as two separate people: ‘I-Mary,’ a confident young woman embraced by the world, and ‘Mary-by-herself,’ an outcast, isolated from society and from her kin.”
And that, my friends, is how I turn an early morning start into an 8am scramble. It’s a skill.
Abortion
The Supreme Court is already considering another threat to abortion rights
Ian Millhiser | Vox
If the Trump administration gets its way in FDA v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Supreme Court could force many patients seeking abortions to undergo unnecessary surgeries, despite the fact that those patients could safely terminate their pregnancy with medication — and that’s assuming that these individuals are able to find a doctor to perform the surgery in the first place.
Physicians tell justices not to disturb lower-court ruling that eased access to abortion pill during pandemic
Amy Howe | SCOTUSblog
Lawyers for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to leave in place a lower-court order that allows patients, during the coronavirus pandemic, to avoid a requirement that they visit a medical office in order to obtain a pill used to induce abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.
Bloomberg Law | SCOTUS Urged to Deny FDA Relief in Abortion Pill Fight
Illinois
Billboards Will Highlight That Abortion Is Covered By Medicaid In Illinois
Natalie Y. Moore | WBEZ-FM
A new abortion billboard campaign launches this week in Chicago’s suburbs and Illinois reminding the public that abortion is covered under Medicaid in the state.
North Carolina
This Pro-Choice Lawsuit Is Unlike Any Other: A GIFsplanation
Imani Gandy | Rewire.News
Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit in North Carolina last Thursday and it’s a big deal. I’m excited. Let me explain why.
Texas
Cedar Park council member wants city to consider anti-abortion ordinance
Claire Osborn | Austin American-Statesman
Cedar Park Council Member Tim Kelly has asked for a proposed ordinance that bans abortions in the city to be placed on the council’s next agenda. Mayor Corbin Van Arsdale said Tuesday night in an email that he wasn’t aware of any abortion providers in Cedar Park.
LGBTQ
Ed Dept decision on trans student-athletes could have broader implications
Naaz Modan | Education Dive
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights updated its decision on a string of sex discrimination complaints brought against six Connecticut school districts and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, saying it serves as "a formal statement of OCR’s interpretation of Title IX."
🠲 An appeals court ruling is an important victory for Gavin Grimm and other transgender students
Editorial Board | Washington Post
In ruling that the boy’s constitutional rights were violated, the court struck a blow for good sense and common decency that ought to spare other transgender students from the kind of cruelty experienced by Mr. Grimm.
Dictionary.com Revamps LGBTQ+, Race, And Mental Health Language In Biggest Update Ever
Isabelle Lichtenstein | GoMag
Talk about queering language! Dictionary.com announced last week that it will be adding 650 new words to its catalog as well as revising definitions of over 11,000 existing words, According to the website, the update is the largest ever undertaken by the company and is meant to reflect the changing language around sexual orientation, gender, race, mental health, and more.
Michigan
Republican Group Slams Gay Candidate as 'Pedo Sex Poet'
Trudy Ring | The Advocate
Republicans are using homophobic tropes against gay Michigan congressional candidate Jon Hoadley, calling him a “pedo sex poet,” according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
New York
New York police union calls gay Bronx Council Member Ritchie Torres a 'first-class whore'
John Riley | Metro Weekly
The union representing New York City’s police sergeants has been heavily criticized after calling gay Bronx Council Member Ritchie Torres a “first-class whore.” It came after Torres, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 15th Congressional District seat this fall, called for an investigation into an alleged slowdown by police in response to gun crime.
Pennsylvania
'LGBTQ people are here': Pennsylvania's transgender health secretary on visibility
Meghan Holohan | NBC News
The coronavirus epidemic has cast a spotlight on Pennsylvania's secretary of health, Dr. Rachel Levine. During her frequent press briefings, the former educator at Penn State Hershey Medical Center explains complex scientific information in a user-friendly way. Her calm presence has quelled Pennsylvania residents, while her mere presence in the media has instilled hope for the LGBTQ community.
Texas
Texas is revising its sex education standards, but they'll likely remain silent on LGBTQ issues
Aliyya Swaby | Texas Tribune
The Republican-dominated State Board of Education is taking up the first revision of sex ed curriculum in more than 20 years. LGBTQ students say they're being excluded again.
Pregnancy & Parenting
Pregnancy & Maternal Health
Pregnancy-related death is a national crisis. Medicaid expansion could help address that.
Shefali Luthra | The 19th
Expanding access to Medicaid could dramatically improve pregnant people’s access to health care and address some of the factors driving the nation’s disparity in pregnancy-related and postpartum deaths, according to new research published in the journal Health Affairs.
Without an 'ounce of empathy': Their stories show the dangers of being Black and pregnant
Swapna Ramaswamy | The Journal News
Kyana Brathwaite, a registered nurse, said she’s seen instances of racism throughout her career as a nurse and experienced it while pregnant. “She treated me as if I was a piece of cattle,” she said about her doctor.
Pregnancy should not be a life-threatening illness
Editorial Board | Bangor Daily News
In the United States, too often, pregnancy and childbirth are life-threatening events. The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among the world’s richest countries. This is unacceptable.
Avoiding Pregnancy
That COVID-19 baby boom might be more of a bust
Bethany Ao | Detroit News
As COVID-19 drags on, economists and epidemiologists don't really know how the pandemic will affect birth rates.
Too Late, Now What
Working parents face backlash
Kathryn Vasel | CNN
The pandemic has put a strain on workers across the board -- and now things appear to be getting a bit tense, especially in Silicon Valley.
How to Identify a Family-Friendly Employer
Suzanne Brown | Harvard Business Review
Learning how the company has supported other parents will help you understand if its actions and culture align with what you want and need.
COVID-19, the New School Year, and Working Parents
Delaney M. Busch, Jennifer B. Rubin, Michael S. Arnold | The National Law Review
The issues facing employers is clear: a business (or the mission of a non-profit) is to continue operations as productively as possible in light of the reality that the workforce simply cannot produce results in the same pre-pandemic manner.
Survey: Parents stressed, anxious about sending children back to school
Sheryl Estrada | Education Dive
Working parents considering back-to-school plans for their children seek flexibility from their employers, but some aren't receiving it, according to an Aug. 14 Monster survey which found that 27% of parents did not agree when asked if their company supported them during back-to-school season.
What It’s Really Like For Working Parents At Home With Kids During Pandemic
Karen Borta | KTXA-TV (Ft Worth, TX)
“I finished those talking points you asked for…?”
COVID-19 Has Nearly Destroyed the Childcare Industry—and It Might Be Too Late to Save It
Abby Vesoulis | Time Magazine
Across the industry, enrollment has plummeted by two-thirds. Without significant government investment, and soon, 40% of childcare programs surveyed by NAEYC—and half of those that are minority-owned—will shutter. Permanently.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Achieving Gender Equality in Utah Will Require Better Attention to Women's Health
Sasha Poma | Daily Utah Chronicle
For the third year in a row, Utah recently ranked the worst state in the nation for women’s equality. And, sadly, most people weren’t surprised.
Work & Money
Semenya loses at Swiss supreme court over testosterone rules
Graham Dunbar, Gerald Imray | AP
Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya lost her long legal battle Tuesday against track and field’s rules that limit female runners’ naturally high testosterone levels. The 71-page ruling means Semenya cannot defend her Olympic 800-meter title at the Tokyo Games next year — or compete at any top meets in distances from 400 meters to the mile — unless she agrees to lower her testosterone level through medication or surgery.
More from Axios, CNN, BBC, OutSports, New York Times, Washington Post
The Oscars announce new representation and inclusion requirements for Best Picture eligibility
Li Cohen | CBS News
The Oscars have come under fire the past few years for lacking in diverse nominees across its categories. On Tuesday, however, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that movies will now have to meet new representation and inclusion standards in order to be eligible to be nominated for Best Picture — one of the "Big Five" categories of the annual event — which may make #OscarsSoWhite a trend of the past.
More from ABC News, The Advocate, A.V. Club, Deadline Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Rolling Stone, Variety, The Wrap,
An Era Of EEOC Activism Ends With A Whimper
Patricia G. Barnes | Forbes
A period of EEOC activism appeared to come to a close last week when the EEOC, now chaired by Trump appointee and former corporate attorney Janet Dhillon, issued a sparse press release. The press release announced the EEOC had issued an “opinion letter” that, upon inspection, revealed a major entrenchment for the federal agency that enforces most of the nation’s federal civil rights laws.
National Law Review | Rare Opinion Letter Clarifies Limitations on EEOC’s Authority to Bring Title VII “Pattern and Practice” Lawsuits
61% Of Women Are Planning A Major Career Change Post-Pandemic, New Survey Shows
Brianna Wiest | Forbes
While the long-term impact of COVID-19 and the associated economic fallout has yet to be fully seen, the record number of individuals furloughed and unemployed have found ample time to self-reflect. It seems many are finding this unprecedented experience an opportune time to make change.
At Working Mother's Top Firms for Women, Female Equity Partner Gains Were Slight
Dylan Jackson | American Lawyer
Progress toward gender equality in the equity partner ranks has been slow industrywide. But for the 60 law firms recognized by Working Mother magazine as the best law firms for women this year, it has at least been steady.
#MeToon: How Courageous Feminists United to Reshape the Animation Community
Carolyn Elerding | Ms. Magazine
#MeToon has not only advanced strategies for resisting the prevalence of sexual harassment in Hollywood, but also demonstrated how allies such as trade unions can actively promote social equality. Together, women and their allies drew a line—in bold—and the animation industry seems to be getting the picture.
More, More, More
Gloria Steinem Is Nowhere Near Done With Being an Activist
David Marchese | The New York Times
And while her own story may have reached depiction-in-prestige-entertainment phase, Steinem, who is 86, is fully aware that both her work and the country’s work remain unfinished. “The progress we’ve made is not sufficient,” she says. “But there is an advantage to being old. I have a role to play in the movement by saying, ‘Here’s when it was worse.’”
Report on Fatal Police Shootings of Women Finds Black Women Disproportionately Killed by Law Enforcement
Anne Branigin | The Root
Since 2015, nearly 250 women across America have been shot and killed by police. Despite comprising just 13% of the population of women in the United States, Black women accounted for 20% of the killings, a new analysis finds.
The banality of evocation: Remembering a feminist movement that hasn’t ended
Erin Thompson | Salon
As statues topple across the country, the Pioneers Monument is a test case for the future of public art in America. On the surface, it's exactly what protesters have been demanding: a more diverse set of honorees who better reflect our country's history and experience. But critics fear that the monument actually reinforces the dominant narrative of white feminism and, in the process, obscures both historical pain and continuing injustice.