#Republicans plan to ban contraceptives

[thedepressedjuggalette]

Trump plans to ban contraceptives. I have PCOS and need the pill to keep my hormones in check, if that is taken away from me my life is gonna be hell.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Abortion rights groups have raised concerns that a Donald Trump-nominated federal judge approving an anti-contraception lawsuit is proof the GOP will go further restricting the procedure post Roe v. Wade.

Matthew Kacsmaryk, a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, recently issued an opinion on the case of Deanda v. Becerra, a lawsuit filed by a Christian father hoping to block the Title X federal program.

In his suit, Alexander Deanda argues that Title X, which approves family planning services be available for anyone, including minors, violates his constitutional right as a parent.

Deanda claims that as he is raising his children as Christians and therefore should "practice abstinence and refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage," Title X violates the direct upbringing of his children.

In his December 8 opinion, Kacsmaryk said that the federal program for birth control does violate Deanda's rights.

While the judge, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017, did not halt the program in his ruling, he allowed both slides to present their arguments for what should happen next.

Deanda's legal team have already signaled they will seek to temporarily shut down Title X while the case is being resolved, potentially putting young people's chance to access contraceptives in limbo while the case is being argued.

The opinion meant Kacsmaryk became the first federal justice to approve a challenge to the right to contraception in the wake of the overturning of Roe V. Wade.

Abortion rights and pro-contraception groups say the ruling is proof fears conservative judges will use the Supreme Court's overturning of the landmark abortion ruling to push forward with further restrictions are coming into fruition.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told Newsweek: "Abortion opponents in Texas won't stop with overturning Roe—they are actively working to strip away access to basic health care services and restrict everyone's ability to control their own lives, bodies, and futures. This court's ruling could mean that young people in Texas would no longer be able to get birth control through the Title X family planning program without parental consent, contrary to federal requirements and guidance from American Academy of Pediatrics and others, who support confidential health care services for minors.”

"The ruling could violate long-standing precedent, may have devastating consequences to the health and well-being of young people, and potentially lead to even greater restrictions to health care in the future," McGill Johnson added.

As argued by Vox's Ian Millhiser, who first reported on the decision, Kacsmaryk's ruling will almost certainly be thrown out by either the next appellate court or the Supreme Court as it is "riddled with legal errors."

Millhiser notes that one major issue is that the lawsuit lacks "standing"—evidence that a federal program has harmed the plaintiff in some way.

In his suit, Deanda does not claim that his children are attempting to access contraception via Title X, or even hypothetically planning to, but he is still attempting to block the program from offering contraception to minors without parental consent.

Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that the fact that Kacsmaryk took up the legally and constitutionally unsound case is proof that "anti-choice extremists never intended to stop" with overturning Roe v. Wade.

"They're coming for birth control, in vitro fertilization, and more," Timmaraju told Newsweek.

"This is their long game: Trump's judges are trying to twist the courts in their out-of-touch image for decades to come, and we must do everything in our power to stop them from taking away our fundamental freedoms."

It was the written opinion of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in June for Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade's guarantee of access to abortion, which sparked concerns from Democrats and pro-abortion groups that conservatives will go further.

Thomas wrote that after voting to overturn Roe v. Wade, the court now has a "duty" to review all the Supreme Court's due process precedents.

Thomas named three cases as examples of where SCOTUS could "correct the error": Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the right to same-sex marriage in 2015, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down laws that made sodomy illegal in 2003, and Griswold v. Connecticut, which allows married couples a legal right to buy and use contraceptives.

In July, one month after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the House passed the Right to Contraception Act, which would grant Americans a federal right to obtain and use birth control and contraception.

The bill cleared the House in a 228 to 195 vote, with all those who objected to the bill being Republicans.

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, argued on the House floor that the bill was "completely unnecessary" and the right to contraception is not at risk.

"The liberal majority is clearly trying to stoke fears and mislead the American people once again because in their minds stoking fear clearly is the only way that they can win," Cammack said.

Following the vote, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) tweeted: "Make no mistake: Republicans & the far-right majority on the Supreme Court will take every opportunity to undermine—or overturn—the right to access birth control."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Liz Skalka at HuffPost:

Former President Donald Trump hasn’t ruled out backing restrictions on contraception, and suggested Tuesday that limiting access to the morning-after pill should be left up to individual states. Still, the former president mostly dodged the issue when pressed by an anchor for Pittsburgh’s KDKA News, teasing the release of a “very comprehensive policy” in “a week or so” to address contraception, which includes various forms of birth control. “We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly. I think it’s something you’ll find interesting,” Trump told the anchor.

When asked specifically about the morning-after pill — a type of emergency contraception, which does not cause abortion — Trump said the issue should be up to the states, echoing what he’s said previously about abortion access. “You know, things really do have a lot to do with the states, and some states are going to have different policy than others,” Trump said in a video of the interview shared with HuffPost. [...] Project 2025, the policy plan drafted by a group of conservative policy organizations aligned with Trump, suggests that he revive an 1873 anti-obscenity law that bans using the mail for anything “intended for producing abortion.” That law hasn’t been enforced for decades. [...] In a follow-up post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, in all capital letters, “I do not support a ban on birth control, and neither will the Republican party.“In a followup post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, in all capital letters, “I do not support a ban on birth control, and neither will the Republican party.”

In an interview today with KDKA's Jon Delano, Donald Trump stated that he won't rule out backing backing restrictions on contraception. Trump later backtracked on it, claiming that Republicans don't support contraception bans (even though there is ample evidence of Republicans giving support to such bans).

Trump is coming for birth control and contraception, so it's imperative to keep him out of the White House.

See Also:

Daily Kos: Trump threatens 'interesting' policy to let states restrict birth control

[justinsentertainmentcorner]

Alaina Demopoulos at The Guardian:

Madelyn Ritter expected to leave the St Louis date of Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour with merch – she didn’t expect to also go home with some free emergency contraception. But that’s just what she saw upon entering the stadium. There, right by the women’s bathrooms, was a table where concertgoers could donate to abortion funds and pick up free condoms and morning-after pills, also called Plan B. “We noticed it immediately,” said Ritter, who is 25 (and, as she jokes, “too old” to love the 21-year-old pop star). “I was like: ‘What’s this about?’ They told me it was free, so my sister, her friend and I all took some. I personally don’t need it, but I’m going to save it in case something bad happens.”

Last month, in conjunction with her world tour, Rodrigo launched the Fund 4 Good campaign, which aims to protect women’s and girls’ reproductive rights. A portion of sales from the tour will go toward the fund. As part of the initiative, Rodrigo paired with the National Network of Abortion Funds, which connected her with local chapters at various stops on the tour. “There are plenty of singers making a stand about social issues, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Ritter said. Abortion is illegal in Missouri. (It is only permitted in the case of an emergency that threatens the life of a pregnant person.) Missouri Republicans are also trying to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive healthcare like STI screenings and contraception in the state. Activists who staffed the table Ritter stopped by came from Right by You, a youth-focused text line that connects Missouri teens to abortion care out of state, birth control and information about their rights, and the Missouri Abortion Fund, which helps people cover the cost of an out-of-state abortion.

God Bless Olivia Rodrigo! Glad to see her taking a stand against Missouri's oppressive anti-abortion laws by giving out free emergency contraception items.

See Also:

PinkNews: Olivia Rodrigo hands out free Plan B tablets at Missouri tour, where abortion has a total ban

[unofficial-project-2025]

Project 2025 is the republicans' plan to turn the USA into a dictatorship if Trump, or any other republican candidate, wins this year's election. It's policies (all images are from there, links from r/Defeat_Project_2025) include:

Expand presidential powers and use religion to shape laws

Fire 50K federal workers and hire loyalists instead

Make affirming a trans child's gender count as abuse, outlaw p*rnographic material and equate LGBTQ+ content as p*rn

Try to ban birth control and contraception

Decry single moms

Rollback climate change protactions

Replace equality measures with 'anti white racism' laws

And this is only some of the things that I can link to without going over the link limit! Check the 'policies' link for PDFs of 'The Mandate For Leadership', which perfectly explain what Project 2025 is about!

Please, vote for Blue this year to prevent Trump from winning. You are not voting for just one person, but for an entire administration that will rule what's probably the most inffluential country in the world for the next 4 years. And it's also important to know that Trump has said that he want to 'crush pro-palestine protests'. Just an extra thing that I wanted to add.

If you want to help stop this, go join Stop The Coup 2025 to help educate people, and check the aformentioned r/Defeat_Project_2025 for additional resources that I can't link to! (also change the 'www' to either 'new' or 'old' to change the layout to something better).

Organize with your friends to protest and find flyers online to put everywhere you can so that more people may know about this! reblog this post to make more people see it! Get in contact with your local democrats and vote for them everywhere you can, even outside of the presidential elections!

We can't let Trump win this year or any other, because he and the entire republican party won't be kind on anyone who doesn't fit their worldview.

If we fight together, then we can win!

[sheisraging]

If you're considering not voting or casting a pointless 3rd party vote in the upcoming US elections*, I'd urge you to read about Project 2025, which is the Republican transition plan for if they win the 2024 election (link is for the wiki page, not the actual website).

A short summary:

Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is a collection of policy proposals to fundamentally reshape the U.S. federal government in the event of a Republican victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Established in 2022, the project aims to recruit tens of thousands of conservatives to the District of Columbia to replace existing federal civil servants—whom Republicans characterize as part of the "deep state"—and to further the objectives of the next Republican president. It adopts a maximalist version of the unitary executive theory, a widely disputed interpretation of Article II of the Constitution of the United States, which asserts that the president has absolute power over the executive branch upon inauguration.

Among the many horrifying and notable points:

Abolishing the Department of Education, whose programs would be either transferred to other government agencies, or terminated. Basic research would only be funded if it suits conservative principles.

Promotes the ideal that the government should "maintain a biblically based, social-science-reinforced definition of marriage and family."

Proposed recognition of only heterosexual men and women, the removal of protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual or gender identity, and the elimination of provisions pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from federal legislation.

Individuals who have participated in DEI programs or any initiatives involving critical race theory might be fired.

Explicitly reject abortion as health care

Revive provisions of the Comstock Act of the 1870s that banned mail delivery of any "instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing" that could be used for an abortion.

Restrict access to contraception.

Infuse the government with elements of Christianity, and its contributors believe that "freedom is defined by God, not man."

Criminalizing pornography

Combat "affirmative discrimination" or "anti-white racism," citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Deploy the military for domestic law enforcement and to direct the DOJ to pursue Donald Trump's adversaries by invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807.

Recommend the arrest, detention, and deportation of undocumented immigrants across the country.

Promotes capital punishment and the speedy "finality" of such sentences.

Reform the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) so that the nuclear household structure is emphasized.

Give state governments the authority impose stricter work requirements for beneficiaries of Medicaid

Mandate that federal healthcare providers should deny gender-affirming care to transgender people

Eliminate insurance coverage of the morning-after-pill Ella (required by the Affordable Care Act of 2010).

Remove Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices.

These are just a few things and I'm sure lots of people will be like lol this will never happen but lots of people said this about overturning Roe, as well.

*FWIW - I think it is absolutely valid to be angry, discouraged, and disappointed in our current administration.

Be mad at Biden! (though I would encourage looking into some of the actually positive things his administration has achieved).

But also consider what's at stake for a huge population of this country if we wind up with a GOP win.

[rapeculturerealities]

How Todd Akin’s “Legitimate Rape” Debacle Previewed the Abortion Agenda of Today’s GOP – Mother Jones

Republican rhetoric from a dozen years ago has transformed into a workable legal and legislative roadmap. And while Akin’s comments were extreme, they were not an aberration: as a congressman, Akin had signed onto a 2011 bill backed by a majority of the Republican caucus that would have rewritten the definition of rape and limited federal abortion funding to a narrower range of victims. That followed the party’s attempts to block an Obama administration mandate that insurers cover contraception. Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who won the first in the nation Iowa caucus that year, argued states should be able to ban contraception. Romney ran on defunding Planned Parenthood.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“We have to be a nation that trusts women.”

March 15, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

The most significant political development on Thursday was the appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota. Her appearance at a women’s healthcare clinic was the first by a U.S. vice president (or president) at a facility that provides abortion services. See CNN, Kamala Harris becomes first VP to visit abortion provider with Planned Parenthood visit.

The visit was part of Kamala Harris’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour. She is taking the lead on an issue where she can be (and has been) a more effective and outspoken advocate than President Biden. Her leadership on the issue of reproductive liberty is a good development for Harris, Biden, and the American people.

V.P. Harris said, in part,

I’m here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like. . . . The reason I’m here is because this is a health care crisis. Part of this health care crisis is the clinics like this that have had to shut down and what that has meant to leave no options with any reasonable geographic area for so many women who need this essential care.

Harris framed the issue as one that pitted politicians against women’s control over their bodies:

How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need. To tell women what’s in their best interest. We have to be a nation that trusts women.

Harris’s visit was historic. But it also showcased Kamala Harris’s campaign skills, including her ability to connect with women and young people on the campaign trail. For readers who remember Kamala Harris only from the debate stage in 2020, I urge you to watch a few minutes of her appearance in Minnesota.

No soaring rhetoric. No shouting. No anger. No pep rallies. Instead—like Joe Biden—she is a relatable candidate speaking to the American people about their needs, wants, and fears.

I was impressed and by Kamala Harris’s appearance in Minnasota, and I hope you will be, too.

But there is more. In a similar speech last week in Arizona, Kamala Harris touched on a matter of extreme urgency for all women and men: The plan by religious fundamentalist extremists to make contraception illegal.

In Arizona, Harris said,

And right now, other extremists, as you have heard and know, are in court trying to bring back a law from 1864 that would completely ban abortion in Arizona — 1864.  Understand: 1864, before women had the right to vote, before women could own property, before Arizona was even admitted as a state.

So, the 2024 ballot will not only include access to abortion service, but access to contraception. See The Independent, Republicans are taking aim on contraception — and they’d rather you didn’t know.

In short, Kamala Harris is fast becoming the leading voice for reproductive liberty on the Biden-Harris team.

Readers sometimes send emails suggesting that Joe Biden replace Kamala Harris by appointing her to the Supreme Court or to serve as Attorney General in Biden’s next administration. When I question readers about their desire for a different vice presidential candidate, some say Harris is not “likable.” That (mis-)impression is an unfair hangover from her appearances on a debate stage with sixteen other Democratic candidates in 2020. Watch the video above if you still labor under that misapprehension.

Other readers say (wrongly) that Harris is not “ready” to be president if called upon to replace Biden. As I tell readers who raise that concern, she has more experience than did the following presidents when they began their first term: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan. She has comparable experience to George H.W. Bush when he was elected president.

Biden and Harris are a formidable team. That fact will become increasingly apparent when Trump picks a V.P. candidate from a rogue’s gallery of sycophants willing to debase themselves by serving as running mate to an insurrectionist, coup-plotting, extortionist, document-stealing sexual abuser.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[comeonamericawakeup]

The GOP war on women won’t stop at banning abortion, said Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post. “They’re after contraception, too.” That’s the message Senate Republicans sent last week by blocking a Democratic bill to enshrine a federal right to birth control access. Republicans denied any plans to “snatch away contraception”—just as they denied that right-wing Supreme Court justices were out to gut Roe v. Wade —and dismissed the bill as an election-year “stunt” intended to whip up panic among women voters. But voters have good reason to worry. GOP state lawmakers in Oklahoma have advanced legislation to ban intrauterine devices, claiming falsely that they’re abortifacients, and some GOP politicians oppose morning-after pills on similar grounds. Then there’s Donald Trump, who recently let slip that he was “looking at” contraceptive restrictions if he returns to the White House, before backpedaling amid an uproar. Should he win office on the strength of evangelical support, does anyone believe he’d veto legislation curbing IUDs and emergency contraceptive pills?

THE WEEK JUNE 21, 2024

[mariacallous]

A proposed Missouri law would allow women to be prosecuted for abortions and potentially criminalize certain types of contraceptives. A bill pre-filed by Senator Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) this month would change the state’s definition of “person” to begin at the moment of fertilization, opening the door for criminal charges against individuals who terminate their pregnancies or use contraceptives that prevent fertilized eggs from developing, legal experts say. While lawyers who spoke to the RFT see this proposal as a reckless application of criminal law, Moon says his Senate Bill 356, the “Abolition of Abortion in Missouri Act,” is an acknowledgement of the sanctity of human life. “I believe science proves that life begins when a female egg is fertilized by a male sperm,” Moon says. “And because of that, I think life should be protected from the beginning till the natural death.” Moon’s bill has a slim chance of becoming law — thousands of bills are filed each year, and only a handful make it through committee, much less approval by both the Missouri House and Senate. And Moon acknowledges that he has tried and failed to pass similar legislation at least three times before. Still, legal experts worry about the ramifications of his proposal in light of Missouri’s swift enactment of its so-called trigger law after the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last June. If enacted, Moon’s bill could allow an abortion seeker to be prosecuted with a whole host of charges — from murder, attempted murder or assault to, for example, endangering the welfare of a child if a pregnant person is found to have consumed alcohol, according to Marcia McCormick, a professor of law at Saint Louis University. “Anytime an egg doesn’t implant, it could create an opportunity for the state to at least investigate if the failure to allow implantation was intentional,” McCormick says. “If it was intentional, then maybe there could be a murder claim because at that point, the ‘child,’ being a fertilized egg, is destroyed.” Sidney Watson, a professor at Saint Louis University and a specialist in health law, says she fears that the bill would also affect contraceptives and IVF. “This attempt to define life as beginning at fertilization is, I think, a way for some elected officials to outlaw some forms of contraception,” Watson says. Certain types of birth control — such as levonorgestrel, also known as “the morning after pill,” and some forms of intrauterine devices — prevent pregnancies by blocking fertilized eggs from implanting into uterine walls. Though pregnancy is medically considered to start after implantation, GOP legislators in Missouri and other Republican-dominated states have tried to ban morning-after pills in the past for being “abortifacients.” Last year, the Missouri Senate voted to ban Plan B and IUDs as part of a bill to renew a tax on hospitals. The measure did not advance after female senators criticized the language. A revised version of the bill later passed and barred public dollars from being used for any “abortifacient drug or device.”

Pro-choice Missourians worried contraceptives would be at risk once again after the federal right to an abortion was taken away. Under Moon’s bill, McCormick says, “any birth control that operates after the moment of fertilization could count as the instrument of murder.” Moon disagrees. In a phone call Thursday, Moon said the bill “is not intended to” affect birth control. When asked how that’s possible when some forms of contraceptives prevent fertilized eggs from implantation, Moon acknowledged the bill “certainly might” affect contraceptives. “The primary focus is on purposely ending a child’s life,” Moon continued. Moon groups condoms and IUDs as contraceptives separate from Plan B, or the morning after pill. When asked if Plan B would still be lawful under his proposal, Moon responded: “I think there will be lots of conversation about that.” Plan B “very well could be” causing an abortion if an egg has been fertilized, according to Moon. Moon’s bill also sparks concern over how violators would be prosecuted, McCormick says.

The bill lists five places where persons accused could be prosecuted — from the county in which they preside to the county in which they commit their alleged crime. One especially concerns McCormick: The bill would allow prosecutors to try defendants in the county they were apprehended in. This, to McCormick, could be interpreted as an attempt to charge Missourians who travel out of state for abortions. “It seems like they’re trying to get at conduct that maybe isn’t illegal somewhere else or to get around prosecutors in Missouri who’ve said they’re unwilling to prosecute people for violating anti-abortion laws,” McCormick says. Moon’s bill offers few exceptions. A person would not be prosecuted if they were coerced under physical threat to end their pregnancy. Another exception is given for when a licensed physician performs a life-saving procedure that results in the “accidental or unintentional” death of the unborn child, but only after all other options to save the child’s life are exhausted or unavailable. This exception confused Watson and McCormick. Ectopic pregnancies (when a fertilized egg implants in a fallopian tube rather than the uterus) can kill a pregnant person if left untreated and fertilized eggs can not survive, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ending ectopic pregnancies is not “unintentional or accidental,” Watson says. “You mean to do it.” “It’s not entirely clear that the people who draft bills like these understand how biology works,” McCormick adds. Moon claims ectopic pregnancies could be an exception if a woman’s life is in danger. However, he points to a procedure he read about where, in early 1900s Europe, a part of a woman’s fallopian tube was excised and an embryo was successfully moved to her womb. (Moon was presumably referencing a 1917 medical journal article in which an American woman was reported to have undergone a similar procedure — though transplanting an ectopic pregnancy is widely considered to be medically impossible.) McCormick hopes the bill will never pass — not only for its criminal law implications but also for possibly unforeseen consequences. If a fertilized egg is considered a person under law, it could be covered by any state benefit program, she says. Moon himself has little confidence his bill will advance. “I don’t think the majority of either chamber have a desire to take on an issue of this magnitude,” Moon says, adding that a vote for the bill may not be the most politically expedient move for his colleagues. “Unfortunately, it’s going to take a monumental effort to get this passed.”

[ivygorgon]

Sharing Women's March open letters and petitions. Please sign and share!

14 states have already banned abortion, and more restrictions are on the way. Here are a few of the latest GOP proposals:

⚫ A 12-week abortion ban in Nebraska

⚫ A 6-week ban (because GOP attempts at a full ban failed three times) in South Carolina

⚫ A bill that charges abortion patients with MURDER in Alabama

We HAVE to fight back.

Our state-level mobilizations *are working.* We helped elect a pro-choice state Supreme Court justice in WI and brought national attention to the abortion pill case that started in TX. But we CANNOT stop now.

TY! -Women's March

SIGN ON: TELL THE COURTS TO STAY OUT OF FDA APPROVAL OF ABORTION MEDICATION Medication abortion is safe and effective, and it should be readily available everywhere. Add your name right now to DEMAND the courts stay out of FDA approvals >>>

SIGN ON: TELL THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM TO STAY OUT OF FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVALS! A Trump-appointed judge may strike down the FDA’s approval of a critical abortion medication later this month. The ruling would set a dangerous precedent that radical right-wingers can challenge the approval of ANY medication they don’t approve of — like the birth control pill or emergency contraception (aka Plan B). We need you to take action to tell the courts to stay OUT of FDA approvals!

ATTN: SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATIVE REPUBLICANS Check out our letter to the South Carolina GOP below, then sign it as is or add your own spin:

Make your voice heard

As you well know, abortion bans will not end abortion. Instead, you propose penalties so extreme – so draconian – that they will terrify women into compliance. Your goal was never to “protect life.” It is to control our bodies. You should know: We won’t go back. We’ll fight back. I’m signing this letter to voice my ongoing commitment to opposing any rollback of our human right to reproductive freedom.

ATTN: RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA REPUBLICANS, & THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Sign our open letter condemning the Don’t Say Gay law in Florida! Make your voice heard The cruel “Don’t Say Gay” law is harming Florida students, teachers, and families. Instead of expanding it, you should be repealing this attack on LGBTQ+ Floridians! Despite your fear and hate-mongering, LGBTQ+ people — including kids — always have existed and always will. We will keep fighting for them to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. We know that more of us are in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community than agree with your regressive and cruel legislation. Women’s Marchers and our allies WON’T stop fighting for a world where all of us can be safe as our authentic selves. We WON’T let your hateful legislation stop us from supporting LGBTQ+ Floridians, and we condemn the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR DEMANDS TO PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE ACCESS! We demand reform of our broken judicial system. We demand that state and local leaders defend access to mifepristone despite this illegitimate ruling. We demand the FDA issue guidance to disregard the decision. We demand the Biden administration implement a whole-of-government response to this public health crisis. We demand pharmacies execute their mandate faithfully and with the health of their patients rather than the personal ideologies of a few politicians in mind. Sign on to sponsor our demands >>>

REMOVE CLARENCE THOMAS FROM THE SUPREME COURT Congress must impeach Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas now! Justice Clarence Thomas has violated his oath and broken the law by failing to disclose decades of luxury vacations and private jet travel from billionaire and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. Crow also paid the private school tuition for a Thomas family member. Sign our petition, stating loud and clear: No one is above the law, and Justice Thomas must be held accountable and removed from his position of power.

[beardedmrbean]

A Republican Texas state lawmaker resigned Monday ahead of an expected vote to expel him after an investigation found he had inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern.

Rep. Bryan Slaton, 45, had faced mounting calls from the state Republican Party and conservative groups to resign after the House investigation determined last week that he gave the intern and another young staffer alcohol at his home, had sex with the intern after she was intoxicated, and later showed her a threatening email but said everything would be fine if the incident was kept quiet.

Slaton also asked a fellow lawmaker to keep his behavior secret, the House General Investigating Committee report noted.

The chairman of the investigating panel, Rep. Andrew Murr, said he still plans to call for a vote to expel Slaton because he remains an officer of the state until a successor is elected and sworn in. The vote is expected Tuesday.

Slaton's resignation letter did not address the allegations, which his attorney previously called "outrageous" and "false."

Slaton said it had been an honor to serve in the Legislature from his East Texas district and thanked his colleagues.

"I look forward to spending more time with my young family, and will continue to find ways to serve my community and all citizens across our great state," he wrote.

State Republican Party leaders welcomed his departure and said House members should be held accountable for misconduct.

"The misconduct described in the General Investigative Committee Report should never be tolerated and is proper grounds for expulsion," party officials said in a statement. "These actions have betrayed the trust that the people of Representative Slaton's district put in him as an elected official, and he has rightly resigned."

Slaton's legislative biography describes him as holding values and principles formed by church and family gatherings. It also cites his degrees from a Baptist seminary and work as a youth minister. He has been outspoken against children at drag shows and advocated a legislative ban on their attendance, criticizing parents who take their kids to performances as "perverted adults" who are "obsessed with sexualizing young children." He is married with a son.

The misconduct investigation began after two 19-year-old legislative aides and a 21-year-old legislative intern filed complaints in April.

Two of the women said they tried to dissuade the intern from spending time with Slaton and suggested his behavior was inappropriate. But the intern, who one complainant described as "naive," agreed to Slaton's request to visit his apartment. The other women went with her, according to the report, and the lawmaker served them alcohol.

One of the young women drank enough to vomit and the others got so drunk they were dizzy and had "split vision," the investigation report noted.

Two women eventually left but the intern stayed, according to the report. She told her friends Slaton drove her home the next morning, stopping at a drugstore so she could obtain emergency contraception.

The Associated Press found that between 2017 and 2021, at least 120 state lawmakers in 41 states faced public allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment. They often run again for office and are re-elected, and efforts to remove them are rarer.

[sassysophiabush]

Yes, I still handwrite my homework. Your girl is off to interview our @vp @kamalaharris and @repmgs about #ReproductiveRights. (Link in stories to watch!) Our autonomy is on the ballot in these midterms, folks! So make sure you have a plan to vote. Text VOTER to 26797 to check your registration status, get your polling place information, and register to vote if you haven’t yet. We cannot let our children have less rights that we’ve had. If privacy falls, so do so many other rights. And while the @GOP is trying to enact a nationwide abortion ban that studies have PROVEN will increase maternal mortality rates (CU Boulder’s latest research said 24% more women will die every year of complications due to pregnancy and childbirth) and voting against our right to access contraception (96% of Republicans votes against that legal right just this year), and their candidates are saying family planning decisions should be between “women, their doctors, and local political leaders” (WFT “Dr.” Oz), the Democrats have made a promise that if we just give them two more Senate seats they will codify Roe as the law of the land, protect our access to contraception (and thus the ability to family plan), codify marriage equality, and more protections once considered settled law (looking at you Kavanaugh and Barrett) enshrined under our Constitutional 14th Amendment Right to Liberty. Don’t let the anti-freedom guys win. Let’s show up in record numbers for the party that wants to ensure our freedom to choose, plan, marry, and more. Vote like your freedoms depend on it. Because they do! #iamavoter @iamavoter

[leaves-lilies-and-esther]

Reasons we still need feminism (in the US!)

Because out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 25 perpetrators will be incarcerated (RAINN)

Because our politicians feel comfortable saying that "if it's inevitable, just enjoy it" (Clayton Williams) and "when you're a star, they let you do it" (Donald Trump)

Because female survivors are routinely accused of lying, even though only 6% of rape accusations are false (meaning that 9/10 are true) (Lisak et al 2010).

Because the US is one of the only countries in the world without maternity leave

Because Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas all have abortion restrictions modeled on the scientifically inaccurate heartbeat bill (Scientific American)

Because women are already being prosecuted for miscarriages as a result of these rules- even when experts can't prove that their actions caused the stillbirth (google Marshae Jones, Brittney Poolaw)

Because in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, and Texas, you cannot get divorced while pregnant. Meanwhile, the leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide because of domestic violence (Healthline).

Because women are frequently blocked from getting their tubes tied because they're young/haven't had enough children/ are unmarried. Men never share similar stories

Because people are already advocating against contraception. Idaho's No Public Funds for Abortion Act includes Plan B. Missouri Republicans tried to ban public funding for IUDs and contraception (along with many other examples from Slate)

Because women's pain is not taken as seriously by doctors- 25% less likely to be prescribed opioids for acute abdominal pain, and 2x more likely to be diagnosed as 'mentally ill' for complaining of heart disease (Washington Post)

Because the "husband stitch" is a thing

Because women are routinely under-represented in clinical trials for medication, and get less effective healthcare as a result (The Guardian).

Because pads/tampons are taxed like luxuries

Because roughly 58% of Americans have viewed porn (Institute for Family Studies). We know this fuels sex trafficking. Moreover, exposure to violent pornography makes boys 2-3 times likelier to commit sexual assault (Rostad et al 19).

Because attending strip clubs and similar establishments is still relatively normalized, even though 90% of sex workers want to leave immediately but are unable to (National Organization for Men Against Sexism). Because sex workers are more likely to be homeless, are frequently assaulted, etc.

Because women aren't educated about their bodies to the extent that only half were told about birth control (Forbes). Because my health classes never discussed pelvic exams or breast self-exams. I bet yours didn't either.

Because magazine images are photoshopped until the models don't even look like the models.

Because women are sold a false image of their bodies to the extent that they feel uncomfortable leaving the house without makeup, and 46% of girls worry regularly about their appearance as compared to 25% of boys (Mental Health Foundation).

Because we're told that over-sexualizing yourself at a young age is 'empowering', even though it has outcomes such as depression, disordered eating, and reduced productivity (New York University).

Because we're more likely to encourage our daughters to break gender norms than we are to encourage boys. We still view the feminine as inferior.

Because in 78% of films, the main character was male. And even when the movie is about women, the majority of the dialogue goes to men (Vox).

Because women are 28.7% of the house of representatives in 2023 (Wikipedia) despite being like 51.1% of the population. Because the US has never had a female president.

Reblog and add your own.

[hoursofreading]

The GOP's only policy position is that of 'what will hurt people most?' There is no reason why Republicans even have a chance of taking back the majority. In 2022 alone, Biden and Dems have done the following:

passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest investment in fighting climate change in history

passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the largest investment in infrastructure since Eisenhower

passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, breaking a 30-year streak of federal inaction on gun violence legislation

signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law

took out the leader of al Qaeda

ended America's longest war

reauthorized and strengthened the Violence Against Women Act

signed the PACT Act, a bill to address veteran burn pit exposure

signed the NATO accession protocols for Sweden and Finland

issued executive order to protect reproductive rights

canceled $10,000 of student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 and canceled $20,000 in debt for Pell Grant recipients

canceled billions in student loan debt for borrowers who were defrauded

nominated now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Breyer

brought COVID under control in the U.S. (e.g., COVID deaths down 90% and over 220 million vaccinated)

formed Monkeypox response team to reach communities at highest risk of contracting the virus

unemployment at a 50-year low

on track to cut deficit by $1.3 trillion, largest one-year reduction in U.S. history

limited the release of mercury from coal-burning power plants

$5 billion for electric vehicle chargers- $119 billion budget surplus in January 2022, first in over two years

united world against Russia’s war in Ukraine

ended forced arbitration in workplace sexual assault cases

reinstated California authority to set pollution standards for cars

ended asylum restrictions for children traveling alone

signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, the first federal ban on lynching after 200 failed attempts

Initiated “use it or lose it" policy for drilling on public lands to force oil companies to increase production

released 1 million barrels of oil a day for 6 months from strategic reserves to ease gas prices

rescinded Trump-era policy allowing rapid expulsion of migrants

expunged student loan defaults

overhauled USPS finances to allow the agency to modernize its service

required federal dollars spent on infrastructure to use materials made in America

restored environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects

Launched $6 billion effort to save distressed nuclear plants

provided $385 million to help families and individuals with home energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. (This is in addition to $4.5 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan.)

national registry of police officers who are fired for misconduct

tightened restrictions on chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and transfer of military equipment to police departments

required all federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras

$265 million for South Florida reservoir, key component of Everglades restoration

major wind farm project off West coast to provide electricity for 1.5 million homes

continued Obama administration's practice of posting log records of visitors to White House

devoted $2.1 billion to strengthen US food supply chain

invoked Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic production of critical clean energy technologies

enacted two-year pause of anti-circumvention tariffs on solar

allocated funds to federal agencies to counter 300-plus anti-LGBTQ laws by state lawmakers in 2022

relaunched cancer 'moonshot' initiative to help cut death rate

expanded access to emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception

prevented states from banning Mifepristone, a medication used to end early pregnancy that has FDA approval

21 executive actions to reduce gun violence

Climate Smart Buildings Initiative: Creates public-private partnerships to modernize Federal buildings to meet agencies’ missions, create good-paying jobs, and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

Paying for today’s needed renovations with tomorrow’s energy savings without requiring upfront taxpayer funding

ended Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy

Operation Fly-Formula, bringing needed baby formula (19 missions to date)

executive order protecting travel for abortion

invested more in crime control and prevention than any president in history

provided death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers and survivors who are killed or injured in the line of duty

Reunited 500 migrant families separated under Trump

$1.66 billion in grants to transit agencies, territories, and states to invest in 150 bus fleets and facilities

brokered joint US/Mexico infrastructure project; Mexico to pay $1.5 billion for US border security

blocked 4 hospital mergers that would've driven up prices and is poised to thwart more anti-competition consolidation attempts

10 million jobs—more than ever created before at this point of a presidency

record small business creation

banned paywalls on taxpayer-funded research

best economic growth record since Clinton

struck deal between major U.S. railroads and unions representing tens of thousands of workers after about 20 hours of talks, averting rail strike

eliminated civil statute of limitations for child abuse victims

announced $156 million for America's first-of-its-kind critical minerals refinery, demonstrating the commercial viability of turning mine waste into clean energy technology.

started process of reclassifying Marijuana away from being a Schedule 1 substance and pardoning all federal prisoners with possession offenses

Note: This list only reflects 2022 accomplishments. Click here for 2021 accomplishments.

[rapeculturerealities]

Hobbs, Democrats blast GOP for refusing to give Arizonans a right to contraception

Sen. Sonny Borrelli, the No. 2 Republican in the state Senate, responded to a question about whether he would oppose future efforts to restrict access to emergency contraceptives by saying that women wouldn’t need contraceptives if they weren’t so promiscuous.

“Like I said, Bayer Company invented aspirin. Put it between your knees,” he said, implying that, if women hold aspirin between their legs, they won’t be able to have sex and risk pregnancy.

Borrelli, a Republican from Lake Havasu City, said the idea that contraceptive access is under attack is fabricated.

“They’re creating a controversy that doesn’t exist because nobody’s opposing — nobody has any kind of plan to ban any contraceptives,” he said.

And he waved away concerns that emergency contraceptives, like Plan B, were the subject of attacks by GOP lawmakers in other states.