#WorkersMemorialDay
Today…
is National Workers Memorial Day (#WorkersMemorialDay), a day of remembrance and action for people injured, sickened or killed on the job. It’s sad… tragic… shameful… how fitting it is this year.
on a brighter note, is National Blueberry Pie Day.
is Great Poetry Reading Day. In all my spare time today, will have to see if I can pull up some good pieces for the kids. Have any recommendations? Tweet at me.
…and while you’re there, you may as well…
Abortion
“An Essential Procedure”: How Abortion Providers Are Persevering Through the Pandemic
Jessica Corbett | In These Times
Since March 18, Maine Family Planning clinics have provided dozens of medication-induced abortions through a new no-test protocol. The protocol uses the standard drugs mifepristone and misoprostol to end pregnancies, but limits in-person contact by allowing patients to skip vaginal ultrasounds, pelvic exams and blood tests typically conducted before and after an abortion.
Abortion by Telemedicine: A Growing Option as Access to Clinics Wanes
Pam Belluck | New York Times
Abortion through telemedicine is a quietly growing phenomenon, driven in part by restrictions from conservative states and the Trump administration that have limited access and increased the distance many women must travel to abortion clinics. Now, the coronavirus pandemic is catapulting demand for telemedicine abortion to a new level.
To Protect Abortion Rights for All, We Must Address the Inequities in Care That Are Killing Us
Dr. Jamila Perritt | Rewire.News
Although the rapidly decreasing access to abortion will have a profound impact on many people, some communities will bear the brunt of these inequities. These same communities have been heavily affected by COVID-19 infection and death. When we look at the inequities in access to abortion care in the context of COVID-19, the intersections of these inequities become magnified.
How the Anti-Abortion Movement Repackaged Its Strategy for a Pandemic
Mary Ziegler | Rewire.News
History shows there's nothing extraordinary about the strategy shaping COVID-19 abortion bans. The bans, like those sanctioned in Texas by Gov. Abbott and in Arkansas by Gov. Hutchinson, rely on claims about the reality of abortion on the ground—falsely charging that abortion patients use up hospital beds and providers hoard personal protective equipment needed to fight the pandemic.
Trump’s comments on Democrats and ‘late-term abortion’
Salvador Rizzo | Washington Post
“Virtually every Democrat candidate has declared their unlimited support for extreme late-term abortion, ripping babies straight from the mother’s womb, right up until the very moment of birth.” — President Trump, at a campaign rally in Charlotte, March 2, 2020
Fact check…
Alabama
Alabama abortion fund expands mission to support financially struggling families
Ahiza Garcia-Hodges, Saphora Smith | NBC News
When the coronavirus hit Alabama, Amanda Reyes [executive director of the Yellowhammer Fund] noticed that many of the state's low-income residents were struggling to buy essential items, from toilet paper to soap and detergent. So she teamed up with a local LGBTQ support group that was also getting requests from people who were struggling financially, to buy and give away supplies. They've dropped off supplies, including bleach and hand sanitizer, with more than 400 families in Selma so far.
Tennessee
Federal court tweaks abortion order, still allows procedures during COVID-19 pandemic
Adam Tamburin | The Tennessean
A federal judge tweaked his order requiring Tennessee to allow abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the state can't temporarily block the procedures for some "categories of patients." The adjusted order, which was required by a federal appeals court, further repudiates the state's efforts to stop abortions as part of its temporary ban on non-emergency medical procedures. Gov.
Texas
Texas Abortion Battle in the Age of Corona: A Timeline
Carrie Baker | Ms. Magazine
Having trouble keeping up with the latest in the battle for abortion access in Texas? Below, we break down the feminist fight for the right to a safe abortion, starting in late March.
'It Wears on Your Soul': COVID Has Created an Abortion Nightmare in Texas
Mary Tuma | VICE
In recent weeks, providers have been forced to cancel hundreds of abortion appointments, then call patients back in, only to send them home once more. Abortion funds are helping manage the fallout.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Republicans Want to Close Abortion Clinics But Not In-Person Elections, Infecting Seven
Ashley Priore | Ms. Magazine
In early April, Wisconsin Republicans attempted to close abortion clinics in the interest of public safety and health—yet, days later, allowed in-person voting centers (with long lines of people not even five feet away from each other) to remain open.
LGBTQ
Anti-LGBTQ extremist busted cruising Grindr looking for a top
Bil Browning | LGBTQ Nation
Anti-LGBTQ extremist Christiaan Otto is known for his inflammatory and demeaning social media posts, but now a group of Facebook users is fighting back, saying the religious zealot is a hypocrite. They say that Otto has been secretly cruising Grindr and they’re publishing what they say is proof of their allegations.
You see what too much time with children has done to my humor…
We’re in a Pandemic So the Feds Plan to Revoke Trans Healthcare Protections
Nico Lang | VICE
In the middle of a pandemic, the Trump administration is moving forward with a proposal that could allow doctors and medical centers to refuse health care to transgender people. On Friday, Politico reported that the Justice Department is preparing to strip trans-inclusive protections from Section 1557 of the ACA, which bars discrimination on the basis of characteristics like national original, age, race, disability status, and sex in federally funded health centers.
Reproductive Health & Justice
How Long Does It Take For Birth Control To Leave Your System?
Lindsay Mack | Romper
The answer depends on what type of birth control you're currently using, because there's one type of BC that can stay around for much longer than the others. In general, most birth control methods don't hang out in the body for very long after you discontinue use.
(Why are these two separate Romper articles?)
Does Taking Birth Control Long Term Affect Fertility? Experts Explain
Jennifer Parris | Romper
Let’s relieve those fertility fears right away. Even if you have been taking birth control since, well, forever, it shouldn’t prevent you from getting pregnant.
Albuquerque looking at the COVID-19 response through an equity lens
Susan Dunlap | NM Political Report
“We’re looking at systemic change that affects communities disproportionately,” said Michelle Melendez, director of Albuquerque’s Office of Equity and Inclusion. “What can local government do differently to change those outcomes?”
Work & Money
This Woman Mechanic Was Fired When Coworkers Watched Her OnlyFans Account At Work
Aliza Pelto | BUST Magazine
At a Honda Dealership in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a skilled woman mechanic was fired from her job after coworkers found her OnlyFans account, watched it at work, and proceeded to sexually harass her in the workplace. Kristen Vaughn, 24-years-old, was set to become the first ever woman Master Technician at the dealership before she was abruptly fired.
Supporting frontline women amid COVID-19
Dana Singiser | The Hill
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one in three jobs held by women have been deemed “essential.” In fact, 72% of grocery store cashiers, 89% of home care workers, and 91% of nurses are women. Meanwhile, women have long performed caretaking duties at home disproportionately, whether for children or elderly parents.
Lives of working moms under quarantine
Madeleine Brand | KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, CA)
With COVID-19 keeping families inside, some “working-from-home” moms have set up offices in their bathrooms or cars to get privacy. Some women are discovering just how unbalanced work and life are right now. California Congresswoman Katie Porter has proposed legislation to help.
Women bear the brunt of the social and economic crisis caused by COVID-19, experts say
Sarah Moreno | Miami Herald
Concern for the family, the education of children, the instability of the economy, and especially unemployment is causing an excessive burden for women, who outnumber men in job loss in almost all sectors, and to a greater extent in hospitality, services, health and education jobs. Data on U.S. employment released in early April indicates that women were the most affected initially by losses in the labor market due to COVID-19.
Know Your Rights: This Pandemic Is a “Women’s Virus”
Genie Harrison | Ms. Magazine
Though COVID-19 appears to be more deadly for men, women bear a unique burden from the disease. More than 70% of healthcare workers in the U.S. are women. Women provide the vast majority of primary care for children and seniors.
‘Member what I said? A 49-year-old woman who works full-time and cares for her mother.
‘Being pregnant changes everything’: The game industry awkwardly grapples with maternity
Stacey Henley | Washington Post
Pregnant women working in the video game industry face extraordinary challenges — above and beyond the usual travails of game development.
‘It Was Just Too Much’: How Remote Learning Is Breaking Parents
Elizabeth Harris | New York Times
With teachers relegated to computer screens, parents have to play teacher’s aide, hall monitor, counselor and cafeteria worker — all while trying to do their own jobs under extraordinary circumstances. Essential workers are in perhaps the toughest spot, especially if they are away from home during school hours, leaving just one parent, or no one at all, at home when students need them most.
If I had to work outside the home in the midst of all this? The amount of nothing my kids would do all day can’t be imagined. These two would accomplish so little, it would affect your kids’ productivity. They would become educational event horizons, absorbing and destroying the motivation of children for miles around.
“Joooiinnn uuuus on House Party…”
More, More, More
Religious freedom attorneys pick their battles amid pandemic
Elana Schor | Associated Press
Columbia University law professor Katherine Franke described [Alliance Defending Freedom’s] lawyers in particular as “very smart” and well-funded. She added that “their longer game” in terms of burnishing protections for religious liberty long-sought by conservatives is bolstered by choosing church clients which “are behaving relatively responsibly” amid the virus.
Activism in the Age of Coronavirus
Christine Grimaldi | DAME Magazine
The COVID-19 pandemic may be keeping activists at home, but they’re keeping up the fight for justice in all its forms. If anything, the novel coronavirus has exposed the failings of government institutions and programs that are supposed to help people but all too often fail them, especially the most vulnerable. Activists are filling the gaps in the interim and laying the foundation for a very different future, if they have anything to do with it.