"We are your bad conscience."
Today…
in 1943, the leaders of Germany’s White Rose resistance were arrested. They would be put to death four days later. I imagine most of you are familiar, but if not, I encourage you to read their story: The Secret Student Group That Stood Up to the Nazis.
was the birthday of Audre Lorde (1931) and Toni Morrison (1934).
is National Drink Wine Day, officially, though I know some of us bring a little National Drink Wine Day magic into every day.
This story is beyond appalling. Of all the procedures not to require patient consent for… She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway. Emphasis below is my hair bursting into flames.
Across many U.S. states and medical institutions, physicians are not required to obtain explicit consent for the procedure. Sometimes the exams are conducted — by doctors or doctors-in-training — while women are under anesthesia for gynecological and other operations. Often the exams are deemed medically necessary, but in some cases they are done solely for the educational benefit of medical trainees.
If you’re finding this newsletter helpful, informative, all the good things, I hope you’ll take a moment and share.
Abortion
A nervous wait at Louisiana abortion clinic at center of U.S. Supreme Court fight
Lawrence Hurley, Reuters
A 27-year-old woman from southern Arkansas waited nervously at the Hope Medical Group for Women after traveling two hours for a medical procedure that is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in certain parts of the United States: an abortion.
What to Know About Giving Yourself an Abortion
Marie Solis, VICE
Abortions happened before it was legal to get one, and, should it ever become illegal again, they will happen then too—many of them outside of clinics, without direct medical supervision. But doing your own abortion in 2020 looks a lot different than it did pre-Roe v. Wade.
Republicans Push Anti-Choice Constitutional Amendments to Circumvent Courts: Spotlight on the States
Dennis Carter, Rewire.News
This week, we take a look at an anti-choice constitutional amendment advancing in Iowa, a “personhood” amendment introduced in Wisconsin, Wyoming Republicans’ near-total abortion ban, and a “born alive” bill in West Virginia.
Abortion-Rights Supporters Fear Loss Of Access If Adventist Saves Hospital
Amy Littlefield, Kaiser Health News
For more than two years, physician assistant Dawn Hofberg fought to bring access to abortions back to California’s Mendocino Coast, a picturesque stretch of shoreline about three hours north of San Francisco and 90 minutes from the nearest facility offering abortions. Now she and others worry that the community’s newly-won abortion access could be in peril.
LGBTQ
Push for LGBTQ nondiscrimination policy emerges in Tucker, Georgia
Patrick Saunders, Project Q Atlanta
Several LGBTQ appointees to boards and commissions in Tucker want to make the city the latest in metro Atlanta to adopt a broad LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance. But one of the appointees said that Tucker Mayor Frank Auman and the city council are “intentionally holding up” the ordinance. The measure would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in private employment, housing and public accommodations.
Gay educators ‘voluntarily resigned,’ Catholic school says. WA community is outraged
Maddie Capron, The Olympian
A Catholic high school in Washington is receiving backlash after two gay educators reportedly “voluntarily resigned” last week. Kennedy Catholic High School officials claim the resignations were voluntary, but many people in the community say they were forced out because of their sexuality.
Birth Control
The Men Who Want Women To Be Baby-Making Machines
Vicky Spratt, Refinery29
What is women’s role in society? That's a provocative question. Quite rightly, it probably makes you feel slightly defensive. It might make you think about women in the workplace, the glass ceiling, the gender pay gap, #MeToo or a litany of other barriers to equality. But it’s a very serious question today. Across the world right now, this question is being posed by populist right-wing politicians.
Reproductive Health & Justice
She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway.
Emma Goldberg, The New York Times
Across many U.S. states and medical institutions, physicians are not required to obtain explicit consent for the procedure. Sometimes the exams are conducted — by doctors or doctors-in-training — while women are under anesthesia for gynecological and other operations. Often the exams are deemed medically necessary, but in some cases they are done solely for the educational benefit of medical trainees.
After A Rise In Mothers Dying In Childbirth, Texas Came Up With A Plan. Here's How It's Going.
Ashley Lopez, KUT-FM (Austin, TX)
An effort to make hospitals safer for women giving birth in Texas has been underway for more than a year now. Doctors and hospital administrators say Texas AIM, which was launched in the summer of 2018, has led to big shifts in how medical staff treat women facing medical complications while having a baby.
Local woman, grassroots orgs working toward menstrual equity
Leanna Scachetti, WDBJ-TV (Roanoke, Va.)
Lyndsey Mills is single-handedly leading a drive she calls "Pads for Poverty." She's collecting feminine hygiene products for locals, transgender men included, and plans to distribute them to the Family Promise of the Roanoke Valley, Straight Street and local schools.
Workplace Equality
The Staggering Truth About The 86-Year Pay Gap & How To Solve The Crisis
Renee Goyeneche, Forbes
The statistics are clear: the gender pay gap is real. It’s pervasive. And it isn’t going anywhere. Current projections estimate the wage gap will close in 2106, 86 years from now. That means at the current incremental rate of improvement, four more generations of women will have to fight to gain equal wages before the numbers finally equalize. Our daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters will still be fighting this same battle unless the status quo changes.
In A Leaked Memo, The Recording Academy Says It's Investigating Sexual Harassment & Corruption Claims
Shannon Carlin, Refinery29
A pair of leaked memos reveal the Recording Academy is investigating sexual harassment allegations made by former president and CEO Deborah Dugan. The documents also reveal that they are looking into Dugan’s claims that the Grammys are rigged.
Opinion | Gender pay gap threatens Hoosier women's economic stability
Naomi Farahan, The Herald Bulletin
Indiana legislators must act now to secure Hoosier women’s economic stability. On average, women in Indiana make 74 cents for their male peers’ dollar. For black women in Indiana, the number is 58 cents on the dollar. For Latina women, it’s 53 cents: the threat of financial instability is especially pressing for women of color. As a recent Indiana University graduate and a soon-to-be law student, this topic is especially important to me.
House Democrats Again Push For Paid Family Leave For All Working Minnesotans
Esme Murphy, WCCO-TV (Minneapolis, MN)
Minnesota lawmakers are talking about a plan to give paid family leave to all working Minnesotans. House Democrats passed a similar measure last year, but it went nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate. It’s possible this year could see the same outcome, but there are a few key differences.
As A Female Politician, I Spent 20 Years Keeping Quiet About Sexism. Now I'm Speaking Out.
Former NJ State Senator Barbara Buono, HuffPost
While fear and embarrassment kept me from speaking out in real time, after reading the most recent accounts by New Jersey women ― many of whom I know and deeply respect ― exposing the ongoing toxic workplace culture of sexual harassment and assault in the body politic, I feel compelled to raise my voice now. I regret remaining silent this long.
Women are increasingly leading in high-skills jobs; so why isn’t the wage gap closing?
Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret News
Women’s wages are growing faster than men’s, the result of women increasingly filling high-skill occupations that prize social and fundamental skills. This growth has also led to a narrowing of the gender pay gap, from 33 cents on the dollar in 1980 to 15 cents in 2018, according to a recent study from Pew Research Center.