We can all agree that forcing women to undergo abortions or sterilizations is wrong — but so is forcing women to gestate and give birth to children they don’t want. It’s time we considered both sides of reproductive coercion.
In granting review of Shelby Co. v. Holder the Roberts Court sent signals the Voting Rights Act is in real trouble.
Even with recent gains and electoral wins, there is a concentrated effort to limit women’s access to a full range of reproductive health services, including medical abortion.
Women have spoken. And they told the nation, loud and clear, that this election was about the economy and jobs. For women, topics like birth control and equal pay are absolutely economic issues for women. I’ve heard some say we voted with our “ladyparts,” which we certainly care about, but it was bigger than that.
On Tuesday, high-profile political coverage in the national media was mainly focused on the US presidential election, some Senate and House races, and a few state ballot measures. Yet there were a seemingly endless number of smaller, less-publicized elections for city- and state-level positions, votes on state initiatives that flew under the radar, and city and county decisions that were only covered in local news.
Much of the discussion this election cycle has been about changing demographics. But demographics alone aren’t going to run a policy agenda through the system. Huge challenges remain in economic justice, immigration, environment, education and housing reform.
Rape, and other forms of violence and abuse such as birth control sabotage or pregnancy coercion, are acts that seek to strip power from women and inhibit their decisionmaking. This election-year, where are the real conversations about violence against women, not just idiotic statements about rape?
With a razor thin margin in some swing states, LGBT voters may tip the election.
Not content with their ground game, anti-choice zealots are taking over the skies, too.
Once the election is finally over, Congress will decide whether to keep provisions of VAWA that could pose challenges for domestic workers toiling in private homes throughout the United States.
