[[link removed]] DONATE [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
July 24th, 2025
Women Winning's Political Leaders of Tomorrow Program is in Full Swing!
[[link removed]]
Our Political Leaders of Tomorrow program is designed to help young activists acquire the tools and connections needed to be a political leader in Minnesota. It serves as an entry point for energized, pro-choice Minnesotans who are interested in a career in politics, especially those who have not yet volunteered or worked on a campaign. Through this program, Women Winning invests in the next generation of political strategists, volunteers, and candidates in Minnesota through education and training.
This year, we have PLOT participants spanning from Duluth to Mankato! Each week, our leaders have been door knocking, attending community events, sitting in on city council meetings, phone banking, creating social media campaigns for local candidates, and broadening their political knowledge and engagement! We couldn't be more proud.
If you want to learn more about our 2025 Political Leaders of Tomorrow, check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for weekly Feature Fridays that highlight two participants per week!
Follow Us On Socials! [[link removed]]
The Mythology of Rape Exceptions
[[link removed]]
Shortly after Election Day in 2024, Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to appoint former Congressman Matt Gaetz to run the Justice Department—an agency that could potentially establish a federal abortion ban by wielding the Comstock Act of 1873, a law that could prohibit the mailing of abortion pills or abortion-related medical supplies as “obscene materials.” But Gaetz’s nomination was thrown into chaos by allegations that he’d sex trafficked a minor. Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire adviser who has sexual misconduct allegations himself, said the allegations against Gaetz were “worth less than nothing... a man is considered innocent until proven guilty.” Ironically, Musk made this argument despite continuing to support Trump, who a jury found civilly liable for sexual abuse in 2023. As always, “innocent until proven guilty” is just a slogan to men like Musk because there’s no proof of guilt they’ll really accept.
Time and again, when victims come forward, whether they have only their testimony or an arsenal of evidence, they’re discredited, turned away, even punished—because gender-based violence is normative in our society, because beneath surface-level condemnation, our society does not regard gender-based violence as morally wrong.
In 2022, when a North Carolina Republican called for a “community-level review process” for rape victims to seek abortions under abortion bans, this is the context that his smug, cruel proposal ignored: Gender-based violations are impossible to “prove” in a fundamentally misogynistic society that does not recognize even the most egregious behaviors—like, say, forced pregnancy—as violent toward women and victims. This is why, despite the outsized attention that rape exceptions receive in advocacy spaces and political debates, we should regard exceptions with skepticism.
In the summer of 2023, we learned the story of a 13-year-old girl in Mississippi who found herself forced to balance the seventh grade with raising her newborn baby. The girl learned she was pregnant after being raped and was unable to access abortion care due to Mississippi’s ban, which took effect in June 2022. The girl’s mother said the family was unaware the state’s abortion ban offered a rape exception, and the family couldn’t afford to travel to Chicago, which is the nearest place where abortion is legal. They were left without any options.
Read More [[link removed]]
In another blow to reproductive health, abortion privacy protections rule vacated
[[link removed]]
Hoosiers seeking abortions now face another legal barrier following a June Texas ruling — a decision that blocked a Biden administration reproductive privacy rule nationwide.
“This is another legal blow to reproductive privacy and health care privacy for women, and I’m really concerned,” said Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis.
She worries Attorney General Todd Rokita, who has hailed the ruling, will take advantage of it.
The issue started in 2024 when health officials under former President Joe Biden enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule to boost protections and block law enforcement from getting medical records of patients seeking legal abortions or gender-affirming care.
In June, a federal judge in Texas overturned that rule, finding the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services acted unlawfully when expanding the HIPAA privacy law.
States Newsroom reported that, without the rule, law enforcement officials in states with abortion bans may issue subpoenas for records related to reproductive health care obtained legally in another state. According to health policy nonprofit KFF, 22 states and the District of Columbia have laws limiting what reproductive health information can be obtained — but others, like Indiana, don’t.
Read More [[link removed]]
ICYMI: A month after assassinations, questions linger about law enforcement response
[[link removed]]
Forty-three hours after a man dressed as a police officer shot DFL state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home in Champlin, state patrol officers handcuffed the suspect in a field outside the rural community of Green Isle.
Elected officials and law enforcement leaders commended police for the investigation that led to the the capture of the suspected shooter — alive — following the largest manhunt in state history.
“To the law enforcement who stand here, and the hundreds who were involved in this, the state of Minnesota owes you a deep debt of gratitude. Thank you,” Gov. Tim Walz said at a press conference announcing the apprehension of the suspect. “You ran towards the danger, and you served the state of Minnesota.”
But law enforcement didn’t capture the suspect, Vance Boelter, in time to prevent the murders of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog Gilbert.
And, while the suspect was on the loose, some elected officials wondered whether they were potential targets, left exposed without any protection.
In the weeks since the Hortmans’ deaths, law enforcement leaders, elected officials and the Minnesotans they represent have questioned how the investigation and pursuit could have gone differently.
“It’s just unprecedented,” said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. “It’s just one of those things that, you know…wasn’t necessarily in the playbook.”
Boelter is facing federal and state murder charges for the killings of the Hortmans, plus charges related to the attempted murder of the Hoffmans. Federal charges allege that after Boelter shot the Hoffmans, he went to two other Democratic state lawmakers’ homes before killing the Hortmans.
Read More [[link removed]]
📌 Volunteer with Planned Parenthood at the State Fair
* Planned Parenthood North Central States is excited to announce that for the very first time we will have a booth at the MN State Fair and are looking for volunteers to connect with fairgoers who visit us. State Fair volunteers will work alongside PPNCS staff to provide health care and engagement information to the public.
* Volunteer shifts happen each day, August 21st through September 1st, from 8:30am to 9:30pm. Shifts last about 3.5 hours and you're able to choose which shift(s) work best for you. All volunteers will be provided with a ticket to enter the fairgrounds on the day of their volunteer shift(s). For more information and to sign-up, please complete this registration form [[link removed]] . After registering, you'll receive further information on volunteering. Questions? Contact Rachel at
[email protected] [
[email protected]]
📌 Women Ignite!
* This annual event, hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association, fosters meaningful connections, strategic partnerships, and business growth. All are welcome to attend. Please note that this event is specifically designed to support and address the unique experiences of women-owned businesses.
* 📅 Wednesday, August 20 | 4:30 PM CT
* 🎟️ Register HERE [[link removed]]
📌 Training: Abortion, Trans Rights & Bodily Autonomy
* Join Unrestrict Minnesota for a virtual training where we’ll explore the deep connections between abortion rights and trans rights, and gain tools to talk about these issues with the people in our lives.
* 📅 Wednesday, July 30 | 5:00 PM CT
* 🎟️ Register HERE [[link removed]]
📌 Join AAF on Saturday, August 9th, from 1pm -- 2:30pm CT for Operation Save Abortion!
* Join Abortion Access Front’s Feminist Buzzkills and crew for a high-energy, high-impact workshop streamed live from Netroots Nation. In this session of Operation Save Abortion, you’ll get the inside scoop on the tactics being used to roll back abortion rights, and learn exactly how to fight back.
* This isn’t just talk. It’s action. With toolkits, Q&A, and clear steps to get involved, you’ll leave ready to defend abortion access in your community.
* 📅 Saturday, August 9 | 1:00-2:30 PM CT
* 🎟️ Register HERE [[link removed]]
📌 Abortion Access Community Resources from OurJustice
* From locating a clinic to finding childcare or transportation, we know it can be overwhelming to arrange everything necessary to access an abortion. Women Winning partner, OurJustice, has collected lists of community resources and services so that it’s easier to get the care you need.
* Find a clinic, get the abortion pill, find resource funding and more from OurJustice. [[link removed]]
Donate to Women Winning [[link removed]]
Women Winning is a Minnesota non-profit corporation that is recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organization. Contributions are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes.
Women Winning
2233 University Avenue West
Suite 310
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .