Hi John,

Another start to summer and another end of a SCOTUS term. As if the sweltering DC heat (heightened by a heat wave!!!!) wasn’t enough, my stomach has also felt like a pit of acid all month as we waited for and responded to SCOTUS decisions about abortion pill access, emergency abortion care, homelessness, and more.

My first month at the law center was when the official Dobbs decision was released, and I thought that every SCOTUS decision month would get easier from there. It has somehow become more challenging, reconciling that the joys that come with early summer activities and celebrating my NWLC anniversary coincide with more and more of our rights and autonomy being at the hands of the ever-so-accountable, ever-so-just Supreme Court.

SCOTUS Thinks There’s “nothing to see here” on Abortion. Don’t Believe Them. 🙃

We have made it through another season of the Supreme Court with astonishing speed taking away our rights. What can potentially be determined as “wins” for the gender justice movement are anything but, with SCOTUS still leaving the door open for extremists to continue to take advantage of the legal and judicial systems until they have taken away abortion access from everyone, everywhere.

In Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, SCOTUS ruled that mifepristone can still be on the market for abortion, but the case is not over and is back at the same judge who already tried to take away FDA approval. And the decision does not impact the fact that Louisiana has classified mifepristone as a controlled substance, making it illegal to access without a prescription.

This week’s ruling on Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States allows emergency abortions in Idaho to continue when a pregnant patient’s health is at risk, but has made way for the case to continue to be challenged. We are very relieved that pregnant Idahoans can get the emergency care they need. For now. But the fight is nowhere near over, especially given three of the justices made us painfully aware that they are more than willing to leave patients to bleed in parking lots and force doctors to negotiate with hospital lawyers about whether the loss of one organ is enough harm to get care.

It’s Summer, So Who’s Watching the Kids? 👀

Until my parents deemed me and my brother old enough to stay home by ourselves, my summers were a hodgepodge of activities, child care centers, summer readings, and workbooks. Both of my parents worked full-time, and we were not our grandparents only grandchildren. My parents wanted us to stay engaged with our studies and other children without going bankrupt, and without having to take time off work. And this was back in the 2000s.

Yet, twenty years later families are still contending with piecing together child care because our country is still not investing the proper resources and funding needed to make it work for parents or early educators. On top of that, a recent CNBC article highlighted how the pandemic has devastated the child care sector and has drastically impacted family, employers, and child care providers. I am in my early 20s, and I do not have children, and math is not my strong suit, but something is not adding up.

Must Do’s and Must Reads ✅📖

• Donate to Whitman Walker, a nonprofit in DC that is a leader in LGBTQI+ care and advocacy.
• If you haven’t already, be sure to donate to your local abortion fund. This month really reminded me that we keep us safe.
• June 23 marked the 52nd anniversary of Title IX, and Shiwali Patel, Director of Safe and Inclusive Schools at NWLC, reminds us that “there’s no way to separate Title IX” from the hype around collegiate and professional women’s basketball and sports.
• Private equity is showing a growing interest in the child care sector, and we should ALL be concerned. Read our new report with Open Markets Institute to dig into what can be done to build a child care system that centers children and families—not corporate profits.

We Have Merch!! And You Can Buy It!! Wow!! 🤸🏾‍♀️

One of the upsides and downsides of being an organization with incredibly stylish employees is *constantly* being asked where our swag and merchandise can be found by non-NWLC staff. There was no such place, UNTIL NOW!!!!!!! Our merch store is officially live, and you might see a familiar face on the website. 😉 There’s something for every person in your life, to your edgy friend that is tired of boring merch, to your friend’s new baby who you want to be swagged out in the most feminist outfits possible. To sweeten the deal, 100% of your purchase supports the National Women's Law Center's work to achieve gender justice for all. Be sure to take a look and grab a thing or two, and keep an eye out for more and more merch drops!

Don’t Forget You Can Get Your Donation Matched Today Until June 30!

You have until midnight on June 30 to send a membership gift and support NWLC’s gender justice work. Sending a membership gift = getting a Title IX tote (aka my favorite bag in our merch store!) Don’t miss out!

Person Who Lived Rent Free in my Head in June: Rachel Chinouriri 🧚🏿‍♀️💖

June is Black Music Month, and, when I haven’t been watching the Black Music Month performances from NPR Tiny Desk, I’ve been blasting Rachel Chinouriri’s album. Rachel’s first album, What A Devastating Turn of Events, has helped to solidify her standing amongst the newest wave of pop stars including Chappell Roan, Normani, and Olivia Rodrigo.

Her strong guitar melodies and powerful voice command attention throughout her discography, uniquely showing her vulnerability and experiences as a Black and British woman. As someone who has been a pop music fan since her first iPod, it warms my heart to see an artist who looks like me making their own way as an artist and musician. I can’t wait to see what she does next (and to see her in concert in September!!!!)

Feminist Moment of Joy 🧊

With the solstice and the heatwave, it is undeniably, aggressively summer, and I have been desperately searching for ways to stay cool amidst the weather and the hustle and bustle. My freezer is stocked with maybe more ice cream pints than a one-person household should (especially when that person is lactose intolerant), I have been reaching for books from women authors of all genres like Emily Henry, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mikki Kendall, and I have been trying to take advantage of the *breaks* in the heat (aka when temperatures are under 90 degrees) by eating outside and walking around the tree-covered DC streets.

How have you been keeping cool (emotionally and physically) this month? Let me know if you have any tips and tricks, ideally before I start putting ice cubes under my armpits.

Until the next heatwave,

Jessica Baskerville
she/her/hers
Media Associate
National Women’s Law Center