Author: Feminist Newswire

The Feminist Newswire has provided a daily feminist perspective on national, global, and campus news stories since 1995. You can receive a weekly feminist news digest when you subscribe here.

Chinese Political Advisor Proposes New Law to Expand Women’s Reproductive Rights

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A delegate to China’s top political advisory body proposed a law to allow unmarried women access to reproductive health care such as in vitro fertilization and egg freezing.

If passed, the new rule will overturn existing laws that ban unmarried women and couples who exceed the legal limit of children from using assisted reproductive technology at the country’s hospitals. There are no laws that restrict men from freezing their sperm.

The fight to expand reproductive rights for women have been ongoing for years and became especially powerful after China abolished its one-child policy in 2015. Conversations around unmarried women’s right to freeze their eggs came into the spotlight after a woman first sued in December 2019.

Teresa Xu, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, sued a Beijing hospital after doctors refused to help her freeze her eggs because she could not produce a marriage certificate. The current policies fail to keep up with the times, according to Xu.

“Updating the policies is long overdue and they do not reflect the changing times,” Xu wrote.

Xu sued the hospital on the basis of “infringement of an individual’s rights,” arguing that the policy diminishes the reproductive rights to which a woman is entitled. While the suit is unlikely to succeed given the hospital was only following rules made by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the public attention is bringing issues of gender equality for the forefront.

“It’s already half the battle to be able to take the case to court and be at the center of public attention,” Xu’s lawyer said.

Peng Jing, the delegate who proposed the change, argued that it was necessary to uphold the principle of gender equality, a principle the CCP claims to be built upon. She also points out that the lack of legal services can lead to patients turning to illegal clinics, which cause elevated health risks.

Women’s reproductive rights activists have welcomed the proposal and optimistic for the incremental changes it can bring. Zhan Yingying, a reproductive rights advocate, is eager to see government’s response.

“I think there will be some changes, maybe it won’t come at once, but we’re seeing how we are gradually influencing them,” Zhan said.

Sources: South China Morning Post 05/22/20; South China Morning Post 12/23/19; Above the Law 01/15/20

Trump Administration Demands UN Remove “Reproductive Health” From Pandemic Response

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The Trump administration sent a letter to the United Nations on Monday urging the UN to remove references to reproductive health and abortion in its COVID-19 humanitarian response plan.

The letter was sent from John Barsa, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The letter urges the UN to eliminate all mentions of “sexual and reproductive health” and to drop abortion as a priority in COVID-19 response.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the UN launched a $2 billion response plan in March to support vulnerable countries and marginalized communities. The plan was expanded to $6.7 billion in early May. The May report recognizes that the coronavirus disproportionately affects women and girls, and disrupts access to reproductive health services.

Barsa’s letter is the latest iteration of the United States’ attempt to condition international aid on commitments from organizations to exclude abortion. Since 1985, an inconsistently enforced policy made family planning organizations only eligible for U.S. funding if they did not perform or promote abortions. The Trump administration expanded the policy to apply to all global health assistance, including maternal health programs and HIV/AIDS prevention.

The Trump administration’s letter drew wide criticism from human rights activists. People always have a right to safe abortion, according to Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Centre.

“No matter what the US government says, abortion is a fundamental human right and reproductive care is always essential, including during a pandemic,” she said. Barsa’s demands are “a disgraceful and dangerous attack on essential health services at the worst possible time.”

The demands to the UN come as reproductive rights in the United States are under siege during the pandemic. Many states have labeled abortion services “nonessential” and some have placed drastic restrictions on abortion.

The Trump administration should not use the coronavirus as an excuse to undermine women’s rights globally, according to Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity.

“USAID should be ashamed for its outlandish attempt to use coronavirus as a means of dismantling a long-standing sexual and reproductive health rights framework from the UN’s pandemic response,” she said.

Sources: CNN 05/19/20; The Hill 05/19/20; The Independent 05/19/20, United Nations 05/07/20.

 

Former Roe V. Wade Plaintiff Admits Pro-Life Stance Was An Act

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Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff from the Roe v. Wade (1973) case, has once again publicly changed her stance in support of abortion, and also admitted that she only came out against abortion after being paid by anti-abortion groups.

These statements come to light in the documentary “AKA Jane Roe”—directed by Nick Sweeney and filmed just before her death in 2017—where McCorvey admits that she was paid to speak out against abortion, in her self-described “deathbed confession.”  The filmmakers uncovered documents that show McCorvey received about $456,911 in “benevolent gifts” from anti-abortion groups.

The Roe decision states that “inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion.”

According to CBS News, “McCorvey, the face of the abortion-rights movement at the time, came out against abortion in 1995 after purportedly finding religion at the hands of an evangelical minister. She went on to publicly participate in anti-abortion rights protests for the next two decades, and even published a memoir in 1998 explaining her decision to change sides.”

For decades, McCorvey turning against abortion was a symbolic victory for pro-life groups, and according to reporting from LA Times Staff Writer Meredith Blake, “For the remainder of her life, McCorvey worked to overturn the law that bore her name.”

“I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they’d put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That’s what I’d say,” McCorvey admits in the film. “It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress.”

Blake also notes that “Sweeney says his goal was not necessarily to stir controversy, but to create a fully realized portrait of a flawed, fascinating woman who changed the course of American history but felt she was used as a pawn by both sides in the debate.”

And finally, in her own words, McCorvey reaffirms her support for reproductive rights, including abortion, in “AKA Jane Roe” by saying that, “if a young woman wants to have an abortion, that’s no skin off [her] ass. That’s why they call it choice.”

Sources: LA Times 5/20; CBS News 5/20; Oyez 5/2020; Daily Beast 5/19/20

Alabama Nonprofit Yellowhammer Fund Buys Abortion Clinic

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Yellowhammer Fund, an Alabama reproductive justice organization, purchased last week the West Alabama Women’s Center abortion clinic. The clinic is one of three abortion clinics left in the state.

In their May 15th announcement, the group stated, ”West Alabama Women’s Center has been a hub for abortion access for nearly three decades, and we want to be sure it remains so for as long as abortion is legal in the state. That is why we have acquired the clinic ourselves, allowing the founder, Gloria Gray, to finally retire without any concerns that the clinic will fall into the hands of abortion opponents or otherwise be closed. We are looking forward to expanding services there and helping Alabamians access a full range of reproductive healthcare services – including trans healthcare – within the next year”

In the last few years, West Alabama Women’s Center has provided more than half of the abortions in the state and served people across the Southeast in areas where anti-abortion laws make access to difficult.

This purchase occurred about a year after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the Human Life Protection Act, which would have banned abortion in Alabama– a law designed to challenge Roe v. Wade in court. Today, Yellowhammer Fund reported, “abortion is still completely available in clinics without fear of prosecution”, as the law was blocked by a federal judge from taking effect while the challenge plays out in court.

Yellowhammer was able to fundraise for the purchase off of the massive nationwide support for the organization after last year’s ban was signed. 

“That’s really fantastic, to be able to say that one year later, after [lawmakers] passed an abortion ban, we now have enough resources to buy a clinic and make not only abortion care more accessible, but comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care more accessible to people in Alabama,” Reyes said. “That’s not something [those lawmakers] were intending to do.”

Sources: Time 5/16/20; Yellowhammer Fund 5/15/20; West Alabama Women’s Center; Mother Jones 5/15/20; Time 5/15/19

U.S. Navy Grants Waiver to Transgender Service Member Despite Trump Ban

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The U.S. Navy granted a waiver for a transgender service member to serve according to her gender identity last Friday, the first of its kind since the military enacted a ban on transgender troops.

The waiver comes after the officer, publicly known only as Jane Doe, sued President Donald Trump over his ban on transgender people serving openly in the military. She will now be allowed to change her gender markers on official documents and adhere to uniform and grooming guidelines accordingly.

The ban on transgender troops was enacted in 2018, reversing Obama-era policies. The new rules allowed transgender people to serve only as the gender of the sex assigned at birth. Transgender military members are allowed to apply for an exemption to the rule that is adjudicated based on individual circumstances.

Many officers who have applied for the waiver is still waiting for a decision, according to Jennifer Levi, the director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates Defendant’s (GLAD) Transgender Rights Project. GLAD represented Jane Doe.

“While we are relieved that our client, a highly qualified Naval officer, will be able to continue her service, there are other equally qualified transgender service members who have sought waivers and are still in limbo, despite being perfectly fit to serve,” Levi said.

Officers who apply for the waiver encounter an opaque process and assume a risk of being discharged. The Department of Defense (DOD) does not publicize a list of required application material or the criteria used to review applications. If a service member’s application includes a diagnosis for gender dysphoria, they can be discharged under current DOD rules, though no active service member has been discharged under this rule.

The waiver requirement places an unfair burden on transgender troops, according to Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and an attorney for Jane Doe.

“There is no basis for treating transgender service members differently by requiring them to seek a waiver that no one else has to obtain in order to continue to serve,” Minter said.

As Jane Doe received the waiver, her lawsuit will likely be ruled moot. However, other transgender members not on active duty still have cases before the courts. These cases may prompt courts to adjudicate the constitutionality of the transgender ban.

Sources: Vox 05/16/20; CNN 05/15/20; NBC 05/16/20.

Women Make Up the Majority of COVID-19 Job Losses in the U.S.

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Though they make up only half the U.S. workforce, women make up 55 percent of those currently unemployed due to COVID-19, effectively erasing the gains made in workplace equality since the recession of 2008.

The current unemployment crisis has been deemed a “she-cession” by C. Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. The rate of women seeking unemployment is at 15.5 percent, the highest rate since the Bureau of Labor Statistics starting reporting employment data by gender in 1948. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for men is at 13 percent.

In the recession of 2007-2009 male-dominated industries like manufacturing and construction were heavily impacted, while the coronavirus crisis has dealt a massive blow to industries like hospitality and tourism, leisure, and healthcare, in which the majority of employees are female. Women of color have been particularly impacted by these layoffs, with unemployment rates for Hispanic women hovering at around 20%. There is concern that when the economy reopens, many women will be unable to find employment as many of the jobs they previously held will be gone for good.

“There’s not going to be 100 percent job replacement,” stated Mason. “Some will be gone forever. That will have a long-term impact on women workers.”

Women are also doing the majority of unpaid labor during the pandemic. They are providing childcare, doing household chores, and homeschooling, regardless of whether they are working or not. A recent survey by the New York Times found that 80 percent of women report doing the majority of homeschooling during the pandemic, and 70 percent reporting they are doing the majority of housework such as cooking and cleaning.

“Whether or not women are able to remain in the workforce and retain their jobs is going to be directly tied to the kind of support we give them,” said C. Nicole Mason. “If the schools don’t come back and we open the economy and women are expected to go back to work but there’s no childcare, then obviously the women who can are going to make some hard choices about whether they can go back to work.”

Sources: The Boston Globe 5/19/20; Ms. Magazine 5/15/20; The New York Times 5/8/20

Afghan Women: “We Shouldn’t Have To Ask That Babies And Mothers Not Be Killed”

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In an Op-ed published on NPR, three Afghan women’s rights leaders once again raised their voices against the ongoing atrocities committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the Op-ed, Mary Akrami, Mahbooba Seraj, and Wazhma Frogh share their concerns and frustrations especially on the crimes committed against the Afghan women at a maternity hospital last week in Kabul. Twenty-four people were killed in this attack, including 14 pregnant and new mothers, women in labor, and two newborn babies.

The Op-ed make one simple demand: “We are asking that our children and newborn babies not be killed in their beds, in schools or in maternity wards, never once having drawn a breath in safety. Our children are being born into this violence and dying in this violence.”

In the Op-ed, they call on global leaders and institutions, “who have power and influence — the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the heads of state of the European Union, NATO and President Trump — to stop allowing Afghan lives to be used as pawns at the negotiating table. The time for posturing and pontification is over.”

Afghan women have repeatedly asked for a ceasefire especially during the month of Ramadan and once again ask global leaders that, “We urgently ask that you come together and do everything in your power to push for an immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan.”

These women leaders call the current peace process a “farce,” because of the ongoing “brutality and killings” of people across the country from the maternity wards to funeral processions.

Since the signing of the so-called peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban, the Taliban has conducted “over 3,800” attacks against the Afghan civilians and the Afghan government. The Afghan Interior Minister, General Massoud Andarabi said that the Taliban, “…cannot avoid blame for its “crimes” simply by not claiming attacks. In response to the increase in attacks, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered security forces to “offensive operations.”

Early in May, Afghan women leaders also penned an open letter to the mother of the ruler of Qatar for her help in urging the Taliban for a ceasefire and an end to the violence in Afghanistan.

In the letter, the Afghan Women’s Network reiterated the need for some calm and an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” because of the rapid spread of Covid-19 as well as the month of Ramadan. The Afghan Women’s Network is an umbrella organization that has thousands of Afghan women members from across Afghanistan. AWN has been active in raising the Afghan women’s voices for equal participation of women in the peace efforts as well as demanding a ceasefire on multiple occasions.

The Afghan Women’s Network addressed the letter to Sheikha Mosa bin Nasser, the mother of the Emir of Qatar for two reasons: the government of Qatar has been hosting the Taliban’s official office for many years now and that Qatar has joined the call from the UN-Secretary General and other global leaders in the “Rise for All” campaign. The campaign calls for urgent action in response to Covid-19 to save lives around the world. Afghan women asked the Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, “Nothing would save more lives in Afghanistan now than heeding the call for a ceasefire, urged by the Organization of Islamic Conference, the UN and the EU.”

In the letter, the Afghan women said that “since the Taliban representatives currently reside in Doha, Qatar, we urge your Highness to call on them to declare a temporary ceasefire for at least the remainder of the [month of] Ramadan and to bring an end to the ongoing bloodshed of Afghans.”

 

Sources: BBC, Tolonews, NPR 5/16/20; Afghan Women’s Network 5/2/20

Global Feminist Organizations Release Policy Priorities for COVID-19 Response

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More than 400 feminist organizations and 700 individuals across the globe released a joint statement today outlining how governments can bolster equality in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement calls on governments to uphold human rights standards in its pandemic response and center marginalized communities that have been disproportionally affected by the disease. The outlined policy proposals focus on nine areas of focus: food security, healthcare, education, social inequality, water and sanitation, economic inequality, violence against women, access to information, and abuse of power.

The signatories recognize that the pandemic imposes additional burdens on already vulnerable populations as support systems are compromised, people lose income, and stress increases. Especially for women, the unequal distribution of domestic responsibilities is now threatening their ability to work or attend school. Increased isolation and quarantine measures also place women and children at greater risk of domestic violence.

The document urges governments around the world to provide accessible resources to marginalized communities. The proposed measures include increasing financial support, disseminating of information in accessible formats and languages, securing public services, and collecting disaggregated data on the pandemic’s effects on women.

While guidelines in the statement can inform government actions, the statement does not replace the need for engaging women and other marginalized communities in decision-making processes.

Sources: www.feministcovidresponse.com

Women in Kashmir Avoid Community Bunkers Fearing Sexual Assault

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Even as cross-border shelling intensifies in Kashmir, women and girls stay away from bunkers where sexual assault is prevalent.

While the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan has long been disputed, conflict along the de facto border has escalated in recent months. When alarms sound, many people rush to privately owned community bunkers. However, some women and girls are staying in their homes, fearing rampant sexual assault in the cramped bunkers.

Mehnaz, one of the women staying home, experienced assault when she was in a bunker last summer. The ongoing shelling prevented people from noticing her assault, she said.

“One of the men began touching me,” Mehnaz said, “It was dark and all the parents were concerned about the shelling. No one was paying attention.”

She could not report her assault in fears that her molester, who owned the bunker, would bar her family from the bunker if she said anything.

Bunkers are far from the only place Kashmiri women experience assault. A culture of misogyny and assault has long been prevalent and worsened after the Indian government occupied the region last summer, according to Ather Zia, a Kashmiri activist and gender studies professor.

“Mass rapes, harassments, and attacks on their men, home and hearth—a fact of Kashmiri women’s lives even before now—have only been exacerbated,” she said.

The gender-based violence in bunkers is not a new phenomenon, either. One woman’s daughter was raped in a bunker in 1998 and became pregnant before being forced to marry her rapist. She later died in childbirth. The mother now vows to never take her children to a shared bunker again.

The prevalence of assault in bunkers comes in part from unbalanced power dynamics of bunker ownership. Because the Pakistani government has not built enough bunkers, wealthy families pay for their own, which poorer neighbors rely on. This reliance further discourages women from reporting, even as they already face cultural stigma around experiencing assault.

To remedy the lack of bunkers, the Pakistani military launched an initiative last summer to build more bunkers for residents. It has built around 70 as of last August, a far cry from meeting the needs of the more than 100,000 families that live along the contested border.

Sources: The New York Times 05/15/2020; Women’s Media Center 09/25/2019; Anadolu Agency 08/30/2019.

Family of Breonna Taylor Sues Police Department for Wrongful Death

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On March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky, police entered the home of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, after midnight and opened fire, killing her. Taylor’s family is now filing a lawsuit against the officers for wrongful death, excessive force, and gross negligence. The police had a warrant to search Taylor’s apartment but were searching for a man who lived in a different part of the city, and who had been apprehended by the police department the day before.

According to the family’s lawsuit, the police officers “entered Breonna’s home without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers. The Defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life”. Taylor was shot eight times.

One of the lawyers representing Taylor’s mother is Benjamin Crump, who also represents the family of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was murdered by two white men in Georgia in February. 

Crump stated, “they executed this innocent woman because they botched the search warrant execution…They had the main person that they were trying to get in their custody, so why use a battering ram to bust her door down and then go in there and execute her?”

Crump reported that though there are many differences between the cases of Arbery and Taylor, both of whom were Black, in both cases widespread attention came months after the victim was killed. In the case of Arbery, it was not until a graphic video gained viral attention on social media that his murderers were arrested and charged. 

Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, “has been charged with the attempted murder of a police officer” after returning fire on an officer and shooting him in the leg, believing that the officers were intruders. Walker had called 911 when he saw the police enter, as they were dressed in plain clothes and arrived in unmarked cars, and he believed that he and Taylor “were in significant, imminent danger”.

Although parties are disputing whether or not the police knocked before entering, the use of “no-knock” warrants created calamitous results in the past. Last year, the Houston Police Department announced that it would largely end the practice when two civilians were killed and four police officers injured in one raid. 

 

Sources: New York Times 5/14/20; CBS News 5/15/20; Feminist Newswire 5/11/20; New York Times 2/29/19

 

U.S. is the Largest Exporter of Coronavirus Due to Continuing Deportations

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ICE is actively deporting both untested and positive-testing immigrants to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which are not equipped to deal with major outbreaks of the virus.

ICE is continuing deportations to Haiti and recently knowingly put five deportees who had tested positive for Covid-19 on a packed flight, endangering fellow passengers, the flight crew, and the entire population of Haiti. Deporting people who have tested positive for the coronavirus violates both domestic and international public health guidelines meant to prevent the virus from spreading.

Haiti only has about 200 cases of Covid-19, but due to deportations from the U.S. is at risk for an outbreak and cannot handle any more cases; Haiti has 200 ventilators for its population of 11 million people. Haiti, like other countries receiving deportees from the U.S., have fragile health care systems and minimal social safety nets that would make a coronavirus outbreak catastrophic there. Trump declared the spread of coronavirus a national emergency on March 12, but between March 15 and April 24, ICE sent dozens of flights to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The U.S. has deported people to nine other countries since February.

In Guatemala, coronavirus is wreaking havoc, particularly on the Indigenous Guatemalan population. There are over 200 cases in there, and deportees from the U.S. account for approximately 19% of the country’s total coronavirus cases. Guatemala received more deportees as recently as last week and more than 100 of them tested positive. The Trump administration is set to deport more migrants to Honduras soon.

According to ICE, 788 detainees have tested positive out of the 1,593 tested. There are more than 29,000 people in ICE custody, so the total number of coronavirus cases amongst detainees is not currently known. Human rights organizations are accusing ICE of inadequately testing detainees as well as “deporting the virus.”

Asylum seekers have been turned away at the U.S. border, but deportations have not been put on hold in the time of coronavirus. Migrants seeking asylum have been deemed too dangerous for America by Trump but deporting untested and positive-testing deportees to other countries has not.

Sources: Vox 05/12/20, Al Jazeera 05/13/20

ACLU and Other Groups File Lawsuit to Block New Title IX Rules

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Survivor advocacy groups filed a suit yesterday to block Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s new Title IX rules that weaken protections for survivors.

The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and another law firm, argue that the new rules make it harder for survivors to report sexual assault and harassment. The plaintiffs hope to block the rules from taking place starting Aug. 14.

DeVos released the final rules on May 6 despite schools being already overwhelmed with the current pandemic. Before the release, three Senators and 18 state attorneys general had urged the Department of Education (DOE) to delay the release.

Devos’s rules limit the definition of sexual harassment, allowing students to file Title IX claims only when harassment is so severe that is impedes their access to education. New rules also requires survivors be cross-examined by advisers of the accused, a potentially traumatic experience for survivors. The DOE estimates that four-year colleges and universities will investigate one-third fewer reports.

The plaintiffs are specifically suing over provisions that limit the definition of sexual harassment, limit the geographical location in which schools are required to investigate harassment and assault, allow school officials not to report sexual misconduct, and allow schools to use a higher standard of proof for Title IX claims.

The new rules are detrimental to survivors, who are often women and girls, according to Ria Mar, director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project.

“Betsy DeVos has created a double standard that is devastating for survivors of sexual harassment and assault, who are overwhelmingly women and girls. We are suing to make sure this double standard never takes effect,” Mar said.

When the DOE previously revealed draft rules, the department received feedback from colleges and universities across the country criticizing the rules. However, if the lawsuit does not successfully block the rules before the Aug. 14 deadline, universities must comply or risk losing federal funding.

The DOE’s new Title IX regulations can be damaging to students’ access to a safe learning environment, according to Ashley Sawyer, policy director of Girls for Gender Equity.

“The new Title IX regulations are a blatant threat to the years of work to create safe, supportive academic environments for students across the gender spectrum,” Sawyer said.

Sources: ACLU 05/14/2020; NBC News 05/06/2020; Inside Higher Ed 05/14/2020

South Korean LGBTQ Community Faces Increased Homophobia After COVID-19 Outbreak

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The LGBTQ community in South Korea is facing increased homophobia after a recent outbreak of COVID-19 was linked to gay nightclubs in Seoul.

In early May, the government announced that a man who had visited multiple night clubs on May 2 tested positive for the coronavirus. More than 100 cases of the virus has since been linked to the clubs, causing Seoul officials to temporarily close all bars and clubs.

The area of the clubs is known for its gay clubs and LGBTQ-friendly environment. When local media reported on the cases, they emphasized the sexual orientation of the person who first tested positive.

Even before the virus, South Korea had a low acceptance of the queer community, leading people to hide their sexual orientation in fear of discrimination. LGBTQ events were often subject to harassment and closure.

After the new cluster of cases was reported, people took to social media to blame gay clubgoers for reviving the virus. Some gay people also received threats on the gay dating app Grindr. Gay people now fear they may be outed if they get tested or practice self-quarantine.

The fear of homophobia has complicated South Korea’s contact tracing protocols, an important factor in its success of containing the coronavirus. After the initial case was confirmed, officials tried to contact people through the information they were required to provide at clubs. Some contact information, however, was false or incomplete as people sought to avoid linking themselves to gay clubs.

In response to fears of outing, South Korean non-profits came together to establish an anonymous testing program to protect people from stigma. Hong Seok-chun, the first openly gay celebrity, also encouraged people to get tested.

“Now is the time to be brave,” Hong wrote in an Instagram post. “I, better than anyone, know the worries over outing, but right now what’s most important is the health and safety of our families and society.”

Yoon Tae-ho, a health ministry official, now aware of the detrimental effects of discrimination, spoke out against leaking information about coronavirus patients.

“Leaking personal information of confirmed patients or spreading baseless rumors not only harms other but could be criminally punished,” he warned.

Sources: Time 05/14/2020; CNN 05/11/2020; Forbes 05/12/2020; Human Rights Watch 05/13/2020.

Record Number of Female House Candidates File to Run in 2020

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490 women are running for seats in the House of Representatives in 2020, the highest number in US history, found the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The previous record was 476 in 2018. In ten congressional districts, both candidates in the general election will be women.

“In 2018, amidst the excitement of a record-breaking year for women candidates, we often asked whether we were in the middle of a one-time spike in candidacies driven by unique circumstances or if we were seeing the emergence of a new normal,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh. “This is a sign that the momentum isn’t letting up.”

Though the majority of 2020’s female House candidates are Democrats, the growth in total number of women running comes from Republicans. 195 women have filed to run as Republicans, crushing the previous record of 133 in 2010. In contrast, the number of female Democratic candidates is down to 295 from 356 in 2018. With filing deadlines yet to pass in 14 states, those totals are likely to rise.

“We are particularly encouraged to see Republican women stepping up and seeking office—we’ll never get to parity without women on both sides of the aisle running and winning,” said Walsh.

2018 also set a record for the most women ever elected to the House, with 102 Congresswomen being elected in the midterms. Even after that historic election, women still make up just under 25 percent of the House.

There are 26 women currently serving in the Senate, another record high. 48 women are running for Senate seats in 2020, a slight drop from 53 in 2018.

Sources: CBS News 5/13/20; ABC News 5/12/20

New Report Shows Gaps in Coverage for Abortions in Employer Insurance Plans

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Ten percent of people on employer-sponsored health insurance work at firms that have opted to exclude abortion coverage from its health plans, a Kaiser Family Foundation reported revealed on Tuesday.

As the most popular source of health insurance, employer-sponsored plans cover 153 million Americans. For more than 15 million people whose plans do not cover abortion, out-of-pocket costs for an abortion, which average $500 and can be up to thousands. This cost is prohibitive for a third of people on employer-sponsored plans.

The study randomly sampled more than 2,000 non-federal public and private employers and asked each firm if it asked its insurance provider to exclude abortion coverage from its plan. Of the firms that did not intentionally exclude abortion coverage, coverage may still be limited or non-existent. In 11 states, abortion coverage is banned for state-regulated private plans. In states where coverage is not banned, some employers place limits, such as gestational age or method or abortion, on when abortion is covered.

Additionally, the study does not include the 20 million federal employees and their dependents whose plans are restricted by the Hyde Amendment, which only allows federal funding for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

Despite millions of Americans already missing abortion coverage in their health plans, that number can increase as Congress debates abortion coverage in its next coronavirus relief plan.

As nearly 27 million people have lost their employer-sponsored insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress is considering subsidizing the COBRA continuation. COBRA allows for unemployed workers to stay on their previous employer’s insurance plan by paying the full premium, which is often costly.

While Republicans are open to the proposal, they insist the relief bill must include the Hyde Amendment or another restriction to prevent federal money from going to abortions. Democrats oppose this idea.

If a relief bill passes with the Hyde Amendment, workers whose previous insurance covered abortion will lose that coverage. With abortion access already limited during the pandemic, creating new gaps in coverage will disproportionally affect low-income people’s access to reproductive care.

Sources: Kaiser Family Foundation 05/12/2020; Kaiser Family Foundation 05/13/2020; The Hill 05/13/2020

Historic Transgender Rights Supreme Court Case Plaintiff Aimee Stephens Has Died

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Aimee Stephens died yesterday at age 59. She was unsure whether the Supreme Court will decide her case as planned on Thursday and if she would live to hear the decision.

In 2013, Stephens told her employer that she was going to transition to female and was subsequently fired two weeks later from her job at a funeral home in Michigan. Represented by the ACLU, she then sued her former employer for sex discrimination, a case that, last fall, became the first major transgender rights case to receive a full hearing at the Supreme Court.

Stephens, who long suffered from kidney disease, died today and will not be able to hear the decision of her case, which is supposed to be decided on Thursday. In addition to suffering from health issues, Stephens struggled financially after losing her job. Her wife set up a GoFundMe for help with covering Stephens’ hospice care and funeral expenses.

Stephens lost the job she loved and excelled at because she came out as trans, and she and her family were forced to ask for public support to cover her end-of-life care. The legal justice she sought is not guaranteed since the Supreme Court has a 5-4 conservative advantage.

The struggle Stephens faced is a familiar one in cases of discrimination in the U.S., particularly amongst transgender people. According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, trans people are three times more likely to be unemployed than their cisgender peers. Additionally, according to the same report, 29% of trans people live in poverty and 1 in 5 trans people in the U.S. will experience homelessness in their lifetimes.

Stephens’ case could affect all people in the U.S. who face workplace discrimination because of their gender identity, including millions of transgender individuals. Regardless of the decision on Thursday, Aimee Stephens’ case will forever alter the future of LGBTQIA+ discrimination cases going forward.

Sources: Vox 05/08/20, Daily Beast 05/11/20, 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, Advocate 05/08/20

COVID-19 Cases Increase at Women’s Prison in Florida

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a Florida women’s prison totaled 73 on Monday, a jump from the previous day’s total of two.

Seventy percent of tests administered at Homestead Correctional Institution so far have come back positive and 616 tests are pending results. The spike in confirmed cases comes after weeks of the facility’s shuffling of women from dorm to dorm in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.

Before tests were recently administered, women at Homestead reported common symptoms of COVID-19, including continuous coughing and the loss of taste and smell. During this time, one inmate with a high fever was reportedly sent back to her dorm with three Tylenol pills.

When two inmates first tested positive, the prison began moving people around, which is an unusual practice, according to inmate advocate Debra Bennett.

“I feel like Homestead was trying to get a hold of the situation. They were trying to guess at who may have been affected. It’s just not possible,” Bennett said.

The uptick in cases at Homestead is not an isolated incident, as prisons across the state are experiencing outbreaks. Eight prisons have become hot spots, accounting for 96% of the 723 positive cases in the state’s prison population.

Responding to the outbreak, some Florida prisons are expanding testing and implementing additional safety measures. Yesterday, the number of tests performed on inmates totaled 6,283, out of which 5,500 were done in the past week. Prison workers at Homestead are now allowed to wear cloth masks or surgical masks provided by the facility. The prison currently has 42,500 surgical masks. Cloth masks, however, may be insufficient as they only prevent people from spreading the virus but not from contracting it.

Despite overall improvements on testing, some women’s prisons are conducting limited tests. At Gadsden Correctional Facility, a privately run prison, nine inmates have tested positive, a number that is expected to rise after test results from Monday are returned. At Florida Women’s Reception Center and Hernando Correctional Institution, two facilities with few cases, only one and two tests have been done, respectively.

The rapid spread of the virus through prisons is scaring inmates. One woman at Homestead told her sister that she had “never been so scared.”

“I’ve been feeling bad before all this started happening,” the woman told her sister. “I love you, I’m handling it. I cried about it, now I’m must accepting it.”

Sources: Miami Herald 05/11/2020; Tampa Bay Times 05/12/2020

House Democrats Propose $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

House Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have released their newest bill to address the coronavirus pandemic, proposing ambitious measures to boost the economy, increase COVID-19 testing, and ensure safe elections this fall. Party leaders expect to vote on the bill, dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, on Friday.

The 1,815-page bill lays out $3 trillion in funding, more than the last four federal relief measures combined. It includes a second round of $1,200 direct payments for individuals; almost $1 trillion in funding for state, territory, local, and tribal governments; $3.6 billion to support safe elections; $175 billion in rent, mortgage, and utility assistance; $25 billion for the Postal Service; an extension of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits; $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers; and $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

Senate Republicans have already rejected the proposal, claiming more funding is not yet necessary. House Democrats plan to push forward with the bill anyway and are set to pass it on Friday. “There are those who said, ‘Let’s just pause,’” said Pelosi, referring to statements made by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. “The families who are suffering know that hunger doesn’t take a pause. The rent doesn’t take a pause. The bills don’t take a pause. The hardship of losing a job or tragically losing a loved one doesn’t take a pause.”

Though economists have characterized past coronavirus relief bills as barely sufficient to keep businesses and individuals afloat, Republicans and the Trump administration have delayed any additional funding. McConnell has instead advocated for protecting reopening businesses from potential lawsuits from employees who catch COVID-19. Democrats and labor unions have criticized proposed liability protections for endangering workers by allowing companies to cut corners on employee and consumer safety measures.

Sources: CNBC 5/12/20; CNN 5/12/20; The New York Times 5/12/20; The Hill 5/12/20

Taliban Targets Maternity Hospital and Funeral Procession

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

In a wave of attacks yesterday, armed gunmen targeted a maternity hospital in Kabul, killing mostly pregnant women and children. Initial reports indicated that more than 15 people died in the attack on the hospital, including two newborn babies. The number of those dead in the attack stands at 24 now. In the last two days, there have been five attacks in Kabul alone and one major attack in the eastern province of Nangarhar. The attackers in Nangarhar targeted the funeral of a local police chief that left more than 25 dead and 60 wounded.

Afghan and global leaders reacted to the attack on the maternity hospital. Afghan leaders questioned the will of the Taliban for peace in Afghanistan as well as the Taliban leadership’s power to stop or reduce violence in Afghanistan.

In response to these attacks, President Ashraf Ghani in an address to the nation ended the “active defense” position of the Afghan forces and ordered the military to return to “offensive operations.” He noted that the Taliban has rejected their repeated calls for a ceasefire and have increased their attacks. He said that calls for ceasefire do not only come from the Afghan government but that the Afghan civilians have asked for the ceasefire repeatedly and their calls have been rejected too.

The first Vice President to Ghani, Amrullah Saleh reacted to the attack and stated that “Terrorist Taliban, their current or former allies or their ideological twins attacked a maternity hospital & a funeral procession killing mothers, newborn babies & innocent civilians. This is the behavior of the changed Taliban after they took courses on humane conduct in Doha.”

National Security Advisor to the President, Hamdullah Mohib wrote that “the Afghan government and our international partners, have a responsibility to hold the Taliban and their sponsors accountable. The reason to pursue peace is to end this senseless violence. This is not peace, nor its beginnings.” He added that “the attacks of the last two months show us and the world that Taliban & their sponsors do not and did not intend to pursue peace.”

In response to the “heinous attacks,” President of the Feminist Majority Foundation Eleanor Smeal said that “the Taliban atrocities against Afghan women have simply not stopped. It gets worse and worse as it can be seen by the attacks of the maternity hospital in Kabul today. The US must not desert Afghan women. The so-called peace deal between the US and the Taliban simply did not work.”

A number of embassies, including the U.S. embassy in Kabul condemned the attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar. A number of international organizations, including the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International South Asia condemned the attacks too.

Amnesty International South Asia wrote that “the unconscionable war crimes in Afghanistan today, targeting a maternity hospital and a funeral, must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face. There must be accountability for these grave crimes, and civilians must be protected.”

 

Sources: Twitter 5/12/20; Human Rights Watch 5/12/20

 

California Colleges Sue DeVos Over CARES Act Fund Restrictions

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

California Community Colleges filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for making undocumented students ineligible for federally funded coronavirus relief.

In the suit, California Community Colleges argues that the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) restrictions place an arbitrary burden on schools to find assistance for students who are ineligible for federal funds.

In March, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bill directed DeVos to allocate approximately $12.6 billion to colleges and universities; each institution is required to distribute half of its funds directly to students with financial need. Congress only placed restrictions based on a student’s enrollment status.

On April 21, the ED issued a guidance to institutions prohibiting schools from giving federal aid money to undocumented students, including those protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Act. The ED argues that the CARES Act directs relief to U.S. citizens but Terry Hartle, a senior vice president at the American Council on Education, disagrees.

“Congress had nothing to do with it,” Hartle said. “The department has to own it.”

The ED decision is the newest incident of the current administration’s exclusion of undocumented immigrants to federal benefits, despite the billions of dollars they pay in taxes. DACA recipients alone pay nearly $10 billion federal, state, and local taxes each year, according to a study conducted by the think tank Center for American Progress.

In response to the ED restrictions, some universities are using other funds to provide aid for undocumented students with financial need. The University of Washington and Georgetown University, among others, are distributing the same grant amounts to all students based on financial need. Grants for undocumented students will come from non-federal funds.

The new restrictions may also complicate and delay the aid distribution process, Hartle said.

“We fear that campuses will be in the position to only give money to people already getting financial aid, using a complicated, time-consuming process that is completely inconsistent with emergency grants,” he said.

Given the nature of lawsuits, the California case may not be adjudicated for a long time. Meanwhile, undocumented students across the U.S. will have to rely on their institutions for any meaningful coronavirus relief.

Sources: Forbes 05/12/2020; Forbes 04/21/2020; The New York Times 04/22/2020

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