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Hi John,

What a low-key week it’s been! Nothing to write about here! Not. One. Single. Thing.

Just kidding! This week was a bit of a mess if you care about women (even just a little bit!). The Supreme Court heard a case ( June Medical v. Russo ) that could decimate Roe v. Wade if it goes the wrong way. The last serious female contender for the Democratic ticket dropped out, winnowing the field down to two white men after starting with a historically diverse slate of candidates. The Supreme Court decided one scary case about our bodies wasn’t enough and also decided it would take on a case about the ACA.

There’s a lot happening, John. In times like this, I take solace in spaces with friends and family who just get it. That means groups texts with friends, watching Love Is Blind with friends who want to tune the world out, and also talking to all of you. Because there’s nothing that lifts my spirits more than being in this fight with you.

This week, I’m structuring the newsletter into good news and maybe not so great news. If you want to skip through the hard stuff and go right down to the good news, go for it! If it makes you feel better to know all the details, dive right in!

THE MAYBE NOT-SO-GREAT NEWS:

We’ll get this over with as quickly and painlessly as we can, John. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the June Medical v. Russo case. It’s a case about a law in Louisiana that would decimate abortion access by forcing abortion providers to comply with medically unnecessary requirements, leaving only one clinic in the entire state. If you’re thinking, like I was when I first heard about the case, wow, that sounds awfully familiar to the law that was challenged in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstadt just four years ago, you’d be….completely correct! In fact, the laws are identical.

The only thing that’s changed in four years is the makeup of the Court — and anti-abortion activists’ calculations that this time they can get a decision they like. One thing that won’t change: our commitment to making sure abortion is available to everyone who needs it.
In other “oh no what is the Supreme Court about to do” news, the court also announced [[link removed]] it’s going to take up a case about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Right now we’re feeling like:

Tell the Trump administration: Housing is a gender and racial justice issue. Stop this attack on fair housing. [[link removed]]

Read More: Women’s equality is fundamentally connected to the right to abortion.
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And then read a little more: “She won an abortion rights case in the Supreme Court. Now she’s watching the same damn fight again.”
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THE MUCH BETTER NEWS YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ PART:

Sometimes the good news gets buried, but celebration is an important part of organizing. Here are three good things that happened this week that we’re celebrating, and you should too!

In Virginia, the general assembly (which is their fancy name for their legislative body) just passed the Dress Code Equity Act! The bill would be the first in the country to address discriminatory dress codes in schools. We’re celebrating by wearing whatever the heck we want. The bill now moves to the governor’s desk for signing! (Pssst: Want to learn more about how dress codes affect students (hint: it’s mostly girls and especially Black girls)? Read up here.)
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In Virginia’s next-door, non-state-but-should-be neighbor, Washington, D.C., we have good news of our own to celebrate! A bill that would safeguard abortion access and protect abortion providers from discrimination (because yup, that’s a thing) just survived its latest hurdle. Now it’s just waiting to be moved over to the mayor’s desk, where she’ll have 10 days to sign it or else it’ll go into law automatically.
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Finally, in Maryland, a bill that would make history by making salary history bans a thing of the past just inched one step closer to becoming reality! If you live in Maryland, tell your legislators to get a move on and pass this bill! And if you don’t live in Maryland, you can still read more about why this is so important!
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Must-Dos:
It’s our favorite season! Spring, summer, awards, you ask? Nope! It’s CENSUS SEASON!! We love census season because it’s the time of year (well, decade actually) where we count the population to figure out how to divvy up funding (because funding is decided based on census population data). Historically, people of color, people with low incomes, and people with disabilities have been under-counted by the census. Time to change that by making sure if the census folks come a-knocking, you answer that door! That makes ~sense~ to ~us~ 😎
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Must-Reads:
“The Weinstein verdict means everything is different — and nothing is.”
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“Women’s unpaid labor is worth $10,900,000,000,000.”(Yes, I did double- and then triple-check that I had the right number of zeros).
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Must…listen? If you’re more of a podcast person, our own Julie Kohler was recently on a podcast about women legislators!
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Your Feminist Moment of Joy

On Wednesday many of us here at NWLC (myself included) were at the Supreme Court to rally for the world we want, one where people who need abortions can get them, no matter how much money you have in the bank or where you live. The signs were pretty great — literally. Protestors had some hilarious, thoughtful, and kind signs — and they gave us the energy we needed to keep rallying. Check them out (and then check us out [[link removed]] on TikTok):

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In solidarity,
Hannah Finnie
Senior Manager of Campaign and Digital Strategies
National Women’s Law Center

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National Women's Law Center
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Washington, DC 20036
United States