Senate Republicans blocked an expansive voting rights bill with a filibuster on Tuesday despite Democrats’ efforts to move the bill forward. The For the People Act is one of the most comprehensive pieces of voting rights legislation to be introduced in years. It would expand and protect voting rights, create new campaign finance rules, and […]
Secretary of Defense Supports Major Change in Prosecution of Military Sexual Assault Cases
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed a proposed change in the military justice system that would remove the authority to prosecute sexual assault cases from the chain of command and instead transfer that authority to independent military lawyers. Under the new recommendations, military commanders would no longer handle the prosecution of sexual assault cases. […]
V.A. Will Provide Gender Confirmation Surgery to Transgender Veterans
On Saturday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that they plan to add gender confirmation surgery to their existing healthcare services. V.A. Secretary Denis McDonough made this announcement at a Pride event in Orlando, Florida. The new directive will reverse a 2013 ban on gender confirmation surgery, in which the V.A. refused to provide the […]
Laurel Hubbard to Become the First Openly Transgender Olympian
Laurel Hubbard, a New Zealand weightlifter, will become the first ever openly transgender individual to compete at the Olympics. She has been selected as a member of the New Zealand women’s weightlifting team for this summer’s Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. Hubbard will compete in the 87-kilogram women’s category. She suffered a potentially career-ending arm injury […]
North Carolina’s 20-Week Abortion Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court
North Carolina’s ban on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy was unanimously declared unconstitutional on Wednesday by Richmond, Virginia’s 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The ban had been in effect since 1973 and was enacted as a response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. It prohibited abortion after 20 weeks except […]
LGBTQ+ Students Protected Under Title IX, Says Education Department
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice saying that Title IX’s protections against sex discrimination also forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This interpretation of the 1972 Title IX law, which prohibits sex discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” will protect gay […]
Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Affordable Care Act, Decides Catholic Adoption Agency has Right to Prevent LGBTQ+ Couples from Fostering Children
In a 7-2 decision Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled to leave Affordable Care Act intact, dismissing a challenge made against the ACA by several states led by Texas. The challenge claimed that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs had hoped that a ruling of the individual mandate as unconstitutional would declare every other provision of the ACA, and the entire law itself, unconstitutional as well. This is the third challenge to have been made against the ACA since the […]
Senate Approves Legislation to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday
Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed a measure to make Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, a federal holiday. The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval. If passed by the House and subsequently signed into law by President Biden, June 19th will be […]
U.S. Bishops Meet to Discuss Biden’s Eligibility for Communion In Light of Pro-Choice Policy Support
This week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will convene to debate whether President Biden and other Catholic politicians who support access to abortion should be denied Communion for their beliefs on abortion rights. Biden, a devout Catholic, has been denied Communion before for his position on abortion rights. As the first Catholic president since […]
Taliban Responsible for Great Majority of Attacks on Afghans, Says the U.N.
Signs of the Taliban reducing violence and committing to genuine and serious peace talks are far from sight, suggests a new report by the U.N. sounding the alarm that “unprecedented” level of violence from 2020 has carried onto 2021 and is likely to increase more this year. According to the report, the group “continues to strengthen its […]
VA Del. Hala Ayala Wins Democratic Nomination for Virginia Lieutenant Governor
On Tuesday, Virginia state delegate Hala Ayala won her race in the Virginia Democratic primary, becoming the Democratic candidate for the lieutenant governor of Virginia. Del. Ayala was the first Afro-Latina elected to the Virginia General Assembly and is a strong champion for the Equal Rights Amendment. She was instrumental in helping Virginia become the […]
Senate Republicans Block the Paycheck Fairness Act
On Tuesday, Republicans in the Senate blocked the debate of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill aimed to eliminate pay discrimination against women. If passed, the Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to demonstrate that any pay disparities between men and women are related to the job. It would also give more power to those […]
Members of Congress Reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act
On Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Conn.), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in the Senate and the House, with 45 cosponsors and 179 cosponsors, respectively. The Women’s Health Protection Act was originally introduced […]
California Legislature Considers Bill to Reduce Abortion Costs
The California state legislature is considering a bill to reduce or eliminate the cost of abortion care in the state. The bill would eliminate co-pays and payments towards deductibles for abortions and abortion counseling. The bill, SB 245, was approved by the Senate and will next be voted on in the Assembly. “It’s tough to […]
Half of U.S. States are Leaving Women Workers Behind
This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site After a year that has put parents—especially women—through unimaginable strain as they’ve struggled to keep a roof over their families’ heads and care for their children, Republican governors in 24 states now want to rip out the rug from under them by ending state participation in federal pandemic unemployment programs. These […]
Texas High School Valedictorian Scraps Speech to Call for Abortion Access
A Texas high school valedictorian decided to scrap her pre-approved speech on media and its effect on young people in favor of a brave address on the fight for abortion access in the state. Paxton Smith delivered an impassioned plea for abortion rights stating: “I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace […]
Florida Governor Signs Anti-Trans Bill into Law
On Tuesday, the first day of Pride month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law that bans transgender women and girls from playing on public secondary schools’ and colleges’ sports teams. Florida becomes the 8th state to enact such a law this year. South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Montana and […]
$200 Million of American Rescue Plan Will Support Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Children
This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site During the pandemic, domestic violence in the U.S. rose by more than 8.1 percent, according to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice—and this number is still increasing. Economic hardships, including unemployment, financial and food insecurity, burdens from child care and homeschooling, have exacerbated the triggers […]
Biden Releases Historic $6 Trillion Budget, Eliminates the Hyde Amendment
On Friday, President Biden released a bold new $6 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2022 aimed at growing the economy as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, and which for the first time since the Clinton administration does not include the Hyde Amendment, a provision which prevents federal funds from being used for […]
Senate Confirms Kristen Clarke to Lead Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to confirm Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Justice Department. Clarke is the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the division. The Senate voted 51-48, with Sen. Susan Collins as the only Republican to vote in favor of her nomination. Clarke was […]