[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
November 1, 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.
‘Comstocked’: How Extremists Are Exploiting a Victorian-Era Law To Deny Abortion Access [[link removed]]
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(L-R) Rev. Pat Mahoney, Peggy Nienaber of Faith and Liberty and Mark Lee Dickson of Right to Life East Texas pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. Organized by The Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, the small group of demonstrators called on the Supreme Court to affirm Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling that suspends the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
BY SHOSHANNA EHRLICH | In June 2019, the all-male city council in Waskom, Texas, unanimously voted to make the tiny town of just 2,000 residents the nation’s first “sanctuary city for the unborn.” Characterizing fetuses as the “most innocent among us [who] deserve equal protection under the law,” the ordinance expressly bans abortion within its municipal boundaries. The man behind the ban, anti-abortion zealot and pastor Mark Lee Dickson, has since expanded his campaign to outlaw abortion “one city at a time” into at least six other states.
At first glance, this effort may appear superfluous in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , which, in overturning Roe v. Wade , ended federal protection of abortion rights. In response to the decision, a growing number of states have enacted outright abortion bans or highly restrictive laws, while others have doubled down on a commitment to keeping abortion legal and accessible.
However, Dickson has crafted a dangerous legal strategy for transforming even abortion-friendly states by resuscitating the Comstock anti-obscenity law from 1873, which prohibits the conveyance of anything used for “the procuring or producing of abortion.” Dickson believes this is the gateway to a national abortion ban that even the bluest of states will not be able to evade.
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Menstrual Care Product Companies’ Crusade Against ‘Tampon Tax’ Falls Short of Meaningful Progress [[link removed]] There’s Been a Major Increase in Abortion Pill Access—Thanks to COVID-19 and Dobbs [[link removed]]
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House Speaker Mike Johnson Has Long Opposed Abortion and LGBTQ+ Rights [[link removed]] As Texas Bans DEI Offices at Public Colleges, Rice University’s Inclusion Efforts March On [[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: [[link removed]]
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"Dobbs’s
Confounding
Effect
on
Abortion
Rates”
—
The
Atlantic
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"World
has
abandoned
Afghanistan,
says
country’s
last
women’s
minister”
—
Aljazeera
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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]] .
People are mobilizing for labor rights—with major strikes taking place across industries from entertainment to healthcare and more. In this episode, we’re talking about why it’s important to fight for women workers—looking at the past, examining the present, and putting a focus on the future. We examine what’s at stake, including childcare, equal pay, and more.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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