Yesterday, a three-judge panel in New York ruled unanimously that President Trump’s executive order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count was unlawful. The President’s July memo stated that undocumented immigrants should not count for purposes of deciding the reapportionment of the House. The court’s decision mandates that his order violates the 14th Amendment […]
Mexican Feminists Take Over Federal Building in Response to Femicides
Last week, feminists rushed the National Human Rights Commission federal building in downtown Mexico City, ejecting workers and declaring the site a shelter for victims of violence. The action is a latest in a series of increasingly radical measures taken by feminist collectives in response to the high rate of femicides in Mexico. On average, […]
New Billboard Campaign in Illinois Informs Public that Abortion is Covered by Medicaid in the State
This week in Chicago’s suburbs and across Illinois, the Chicago Abortion Fund launched a new billboard campaign to inform the public that abortion care is covered by Medicaid in Illinois. The billboard reads: “Abortion Is Healthcare. It’s Covered By Illinois Medicaid”. Under the Hyde Amendment, the 1976 law still in effect today that prohibits federal […]
D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed 18-year-old Deon Kay
On Wednesday, September 2, Metropolitan Police Department Officer Alexander Alvarez shot and killed 18-year old Deon Kay, who is Black, in Southeast DC. The police department released body camera video recording showing the aftermath of the shooting. The footage shows an officer exiting his police car and approaching a parked car in the parking lot […]
New Report Finds Prison Inmates Twice As Likely To Die from COVID-19
According to a new report released on Wednesday, incarcerated people are twice as likely to die from coronavirus in prison than those on the outside. Kevin T. Schnepel, assistant professor of economics at Simon Fraser University, found that the mortality rate in state and federal prisons is twice as high as in the general population. […]
Abortion Rights Organizations File Lawsuit Against Tennesee Anti-Abortion Law
Reproductive rights groups challenged a new Tennessee law requiring abortion providers to inform medication abortion patients that their abortion pill can be “reversed”, despite no conclusive medical evidence that an “abortion reversal” pill is effective or even safe. The lawsuit was filed on Monday by several abortion clinics in Tennesee. The plaintiffs make the case […]
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rising Rapidly Among Children
Amid school re-openings and 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., new data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that instances of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths among children and teens are increasing at a more rapid pace than the general public. According to an article from the New York Times, while […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation Stands with the March on Washington Against Police Brutality
Below is a statement of Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, on the March on Washington: “Today marks the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. The Feminist Majority Foundation is proud to be a partner in the […]
57 Years Later, Thousands Protest Against Racial Injustice at 2020 March on Washington
Exactly 57 years after the first March on Washington and 65 years after the murder of Emmett Till, demonstrators are coming together once more to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination. A march continuing the unfinished work of its predecessor has been convened today by the Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network […]
Federal Court Rules That Students May Use Bathrooms That Match Their Gender Identity
In a win for transgender rights, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Virginia high school’s transgender bathroom rule is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and a violation of Title IX rules. Gavin Grimm sued his Virginia high school in 2015 after being barred from using the boys restroom, citing Title IX protections against sex discrimination. While […]
Anti-Abortion Activist Who Advocated for Ending Women’s Suffrage Speaks at RNC
Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee turned anti-abortion activist, spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday. Johnson was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic before leaving after reportedly watching an abortion on an ultrasound. She now runs And Then There Were None, an organization which helps those who work in facilities […]
Police Have Killed 751 People This Year
According to Mapping Police Violence, a database built by Samuel Sinyangwe, there were only 27 days in 2019 that the police did not kill someone. Mapping Police Violence claims to be “the most comprehensive accounting of people killed by police since 2013.” The database highlights the racial disparities in police killings. The data show that […]
Jacob Blake Shot in Back Multiple Times by Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old unarmed Black man, was shot in the back by police seemingly 7 times on Sunday afternoon in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Witnesses report that Blake was helping break up a fight and that police attempted to taser him after responding to a domestic disturbance call. In a Twitter video, Blake can be seen […]
2020 Democratic National Convention Roundup
Speakers including Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Ady Barkan, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton addressed the public through a virtual Democratic National Convention. Speeches included pleas to vote, praises for youth involvement, recognition of empathy, and calls to keep fighting. NIGHT 1 First Lady Michelle Obama on empathy and moving forward […]
19th Amendment Centennial Celebrated as Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony
Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted many women the right to vote. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 35th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, and events across the country are being held remotely this month to celebrate. However, while the 19th Amendment is often praised […]
Michigan Women Sue To Repeal Period Tax
Three Michigan women are suing the state’s Treasury Department over taxes on menstrual products, claiming the taxes violates the equal protections clause in both the state and U.S. constitutions. The plaintiffs, represented by menstrual equity group Period Equity, is suing to end the tax and to issue a refund to people who have paid the […]
Trump Administration’s USPS Restructuring Leads to Fears of Mass Voter Disenfranchisement
The recent steps taken by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee and Trump campaign mega-donor, have led to fears about the Postal Service’s (USPS’s) ability to handle mail-in ballots during the November elections. Following DeJoy’s appointment in June, he took drastic steps to cut the Postal Service’s costs, including stopping overtime work and removing […]
Afghan Women’s Groups Call for Meeting with Taliban Leadership to Discuss Equal Rights
Ahead of the Intra-Afghan talks, expected in days, a coalition of Afghan women’s rights groups have released an open letter to the Taliban leadership calling for a peaceful resolution to the four decades of war, reaffirming their position to preserve and build on the gains of the last 20 years, and calling for a meeting […]
Record Number of Women Running for Congress in 2020
More women are running for Congress than ever before. According to data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University, 583 women have filed to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. So far, 243 women have won their primary elections, another record high. While fewer female Democrats have […]
Nebraska Governor Expected to Sign Abortion Ban into Law
An abortion ban passed by the Nebraska State Legislature is soon to hit the desk of Governor Pete Ricketts, who is expected to sign the bill into law. On Thursday, Legislative Bill 814 passed 33-8 after coming to the floor with no committee work or amendments. LB814 bans the abortion method commonly known as D&E […]