[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
August 9, 2023
From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.
In ‘Baseless’ Texas Lawsuit, Matthew Kacsmaryk Could Singlehandedly Shut Down Planned Parenthood [[link removed]]
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An abortion rights activist holds a sign in support of Planned Parenthood at a rally at the Texas State Capitol on Sept. 11, 2021, in Austin. That same month, legislators enacted Senate Bill 8, which was, at the time, the most restrictive abortion ban in history. (Jordan Vonderhaar / Getty Images)
BY CARRIE N. BAKER and GRACIE GRIFFIN | Any day now, the Trump-appointed, anti-abortion judge Matthew Kacsmaryk—who has tried to ban the abortion pill mifepristone—will rule in a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America and three Texas affiliates. In Doe v. Planned Parenthood, the state of Texas and an anonymous plaintiff associated with the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress alleges that Planned Parenthood engaged in fraud when they filed Medicaid reimbursement claims for healthcare services they provided to thousands of people in Texas and Louisiana.
The plaintiffs are seeking up to $1.8 billion in civil penalties, which could bankrupt Planned Parenthood. The nonprofit organization argues that the Medicaid reimbursement claims they filed were specifically allowed by several court orders and were not Medicaid fraud.
The plaintiffs filed the case in the Amarillo Division of the Northern District of Texas, a federal court with no ties to the case and where there is only one judge: Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed, evangelical judge who has devoted his career to challenging and striking down laws that create access to reproductive and sexual healthcare.
“The stakes of this baseless case could not be more high—this is an active effort to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Affordable, high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare is already under threat, and these politically-motivated allegations could upend care for millions of patients in Texas and potentially across the country.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton, and an activist associated with the Center for Medical Progress—an organization that has engaged in illegal conduct itself, and been held liable for millions of dollars in damages—are pursuing this lawsuit as part of a longstanding right-wing effort to shut down Planned Parenthood.
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Domestic Abuse and Its Potential to Impact Elections: ‘Home Isn’t a Safe Place to Vote for Everyone’ [[link removed]] Texas Judge Rules in Favor of Doctors and Women Who Testified to the Grave Harm of Abortion Bans [[link removed]]
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A Global ‘Anti-Gender’ Movement Is Coming for Our Democracy. Here’s How We Fight Back. [[link removed]] How Fake Abortion Clinics Target People Seeking Abortion Care in Person and Online [[link removed]]
What we're reading
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
*
"For
Megan
Rapinoe,
an
Ending
Not
Even
She
Could
Have
Imagined”
—
The
New
York
Times
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*
"Kamala
Harris
returns
to
Iowa
to
defend
abortion
—
just
as
Republican
presidential
hopefuls
descend”
—
The
19th
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
In early June 2023, for the second time in two months, Trump was indicted—this time on 37 felony counts for allegedly mishandling sensitive, classified government materials and obstruction of justice. What does this most recent indictment mean for Trump, the 2024 elections, and the future of American democracy as a whole?
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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