Today…
is National Chocolate Mousse Day! And I just picked up heavy whipping cream yesterday.
For planning, Monday kicks off National Public Health Week (#NPHW), April 6-12. Proposed theme…
I was chided (again) last night by a friend about being awkward when it comes to self-promotion. “Do you think a man would feel that way? No. He’d be everywhere, going ‘You should read this, I wrote it with my dick.’”
You should share this. I typed it using only my very clean hands.
Abortion
Abortion Bans Would Force Women To Travel Hundreds More Miles For Care
Melissa Jeltsen | HuffPost
As more states move to temporarily ban abortion, ostensibly to preserve medical supplies for the coronavirus pandemic, a new report reveals how much further women will be forced to travel for care at a time when leaving home is deeply discouraged.
Amid coronavirus outbreak some red states move to restrict abortion, spurring legal fight
Jennifer Haberkorn | Los Angeles Times
While several states and the federal government have discouraged nonessential medical procedures like cosmetic surgery and elective dental work, six states — Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas — went a step further, prohibiting abortion, unless to protect the life or health of the woman.
Republicans Are Using the Coronavirus to Kill Off Abortion Rights
Elie Mystal | The Nation
From Texas to Ohio, GOP governors have begun banning abortion during the COVID crisis, creating a precedent that might be too good for conservative judges to pass up.
A new abortion debate rages as coronavirus cripples the US
Ephrat Livni | Quartz
The pandemic puts a new and complicated gloss on the controversial topic, one that only emphasizes the ideological divides that have fueled a half-century-long nationwide fight.
New Mexico
As pandemic continues, abortion groups feel greater strain
Susan Dunlap | NM Political Report
Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who supports reproductive health care, has allowed abortion clinics to remain open in New Mexico during the public health emergency. But abortion access has become more challenging in many areas of the country and that affects New Mexico, according to advocates.
Texas
Abortion patients in Texas now travel more than 20 times further to receive care amid coronavirus ban, study says
Kate Smith | CBS News
The average patient seeking an abortion in Texas must now travel more than 20 times further than usual because of the state's temporary ban on the procedure, according to a new study from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights research organization. For some, it puts the procedure out of reach entirely.
Texas Lawmakers Deem Abortion 'Non-Essential,' But Church 'Essential'
Ms. Magazine
On the same day that the appeals court allowed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on all abortion procedures to remain during COVID-19 emergency measures, Abbott declared church services an “essential service” that may continue during the pandemic.
In Texas, Oklahoma, Women Turned Away Because of Coronavirus Abortion Bans
Sarah McCammon | NPR
Reproductive rights groups say hundreds of patients have been turned away in Texas and Oklahoma. Becca Walker, a counselor at Southwestern Women's Surgery Center in Dallas, said many patients "panic" when they hear the news that their procedures are being cancelled. She said some patients are particularly afraid of being pregnant during a pandemic.
'Sadness Beyond Tears' as COVID-19 Abortion Ban Brings Chaos to Texas Clinics
Paige Alexandria | Rewire.News
Flyers with information about out-of-state abortion care, practical support organizations for patients, and abortion funds are typically given to patients who are over the gestational limit to have an abortion in Texas, but because of Tuesday’s ruling, the counselor’s clinic provided all patients with this information.
West Virginia
Morrisey: Order to reduce abortions, be upheld in court
Anthony Izaguirre | Associated Press
West Virginia’s attorney general on Thursday said a ban on elective medical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic will reduce abortions but will be upheld in an eventual legal challenge. The executive order, which went into effect this week, mirrors directives in other Republican-controlled states that been temporarily blocked by federal judges.
Point of personal privilege? Don’t sleep on West Virginia. Its poverty and unemployment rates are among the highest in the county. It’s so rural. And I worry that abortion bans are slowly rolling out there without a whole lot of attention being paid. (Having grown up just over the river in Ohio, West Virginia is like a state cousin. I care.)
Wisconsin
Republicans urge state health officials to temporarily close abortion clinics
Briana Reilly | Cap Times
Legislative Republicans are calling on the state's top health official to shutter abortion services across Wisconsin amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary action, 31 lawmakers argued in a letter Thursday, would bolster safety and ensure abortion providers aren't needlessly "using precious medical resources that are needed elsewhere to save Wisconsinites."
LGBTQ
FDA Makes It Easier for Gay Men to Donate Blood During COVID-19 -- But Won't Lift the Ban
EJ Dickson | Rolling Stone
For years, men who have sex with men have protested against FDA guidelines preventing them from donating blood, arguing that the policy is discriminatory. In the midst of a blood shortage brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the FDA has issued a reversal of the policy — sort of. On Thursday, the FDA issued revised guidelines recommending a three-month deferral before gay men donate blood, as opposed to the year-long ban that had previously been in effect.
AP: US eases blood donation limits for gay men due to shortage
Metro Weekly: FDA lowers deferral period for donating blood to 3 months for gay and bisexual men
NBC: FDA reduces restrictions on gay blood donors amid 'urgent need'
The New Civil Rights Movement: FDA Changes Gay Blood Ban From 12 to 3 Months of No Sex Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
New York Times: FDA Relaxes Blood Donation Guidelines for Gay Men and Others
NPR: FDA Loosens Restrictions On Gay Blood Donors Amid 'Urgent Need' Caused By Coronavirus
POZ: FDA Eases Its Ban on Blood Donations From Gay and Bi Men
The Root: Restrictions on Gay Men Donating Blood Eased by FDA
them.: FDA Revises Blood Donation Policy for Gay Men Amid COVID-19 Crisis
USA Today: FDA eases restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men during coronavirus pandemic
U.S. News & World Report: Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Blood Donor Restrictions Eased for Gays
Scientists can’t use coronavirus antibodies from gay men to find a cure for COVID-19
Bil Browning | LGBTQ Nation
Scientists are scrambling to find a treatment for COVID-19 infection, but they’re being forced to exclude gay men who have the valuable antibodies to fight the disease. Until the ban is lifted, efforts to find a potential cure or vaccine remain hampered.
Pregnancy & Parenting
How COVID-19 Affects Pregnancy, Birth, and Breastfeeding
Zawn Villines | Daily Kos
What do we know about pregnancy and COVID-19? The truth is, not much. While news reports and doctors may make confident assertions to pregnant women, the reality is there is almost no research on how this affects pregnancy. Here is what we do know so far.
Strained hospitals and isolation: how coronavirus made giving birth even harder
Lucia Graves | The Guardian
Nearly a million women are expected to give birth in the next three months and doctors’ offices are being flooded with phone calls from concerned patients, unsure of whether to continue with prenatal appointments (doctors generally say yes), what plans they should make for delivery, and what would happen in the event they come down with Covid-19.
Workplace Equality
Coronavirus sick leave: Who can't count on getting paid
Sarah O'Brien | CNBC
Larger companies, which may or may not already offer paid time off, are not subject to the legislation. The new law won’t reach all workers at the nation’s smaller businesses, either. It allows companies to exclude certain workers in the health-care industry, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees will be able to seek an exemption from at least part of the rules.
HuffPost: Trump's Labor Department Takes A Hacksaw To Coronavirus Paid Sick Leave
New York Times: Trump Administration Scales Back Paid Leave in Coronavirus Relief Law
How Economic Fallout From The Coronavirus May Disproportionately Affect Women
Jennifer Barrett | Forbes
Women across the country and the income spectrum are feeling the pressure to make it all work—children at home instead of school, jobs upended or offices moved home, shelter-in-place and social distancing mandates. We’re the ones expected to pick up the slack—again. This, even though many women are now the breadwinners in the family, whether it’s because we’re earning more than our spouses or because we are single parents.
12 surprising women from history who paved the road to equal pay
Ellen Cranley | Business Insider
Women in politics, entertainment, and social justice who have contributed to the decades of pay parity's progress so far — many of whom you probably didn't learn about in school, and some who might surprise you.