Hi John,
My parents both worked growing up, which made it hard for either of them to be involved in my school’s PTA or be the parent who volunteered to chaperone field trips. Nonetheless, every year my mom was able to take paid time off from work to help lead my class’s Halloween festivities. And she went hard . She pulled out all the classics like peeled frozen grapes to resemble eyeballs and spaghetti and sauce for mushy brains. She loved it, and so did I.
To honor my mom’s commitment to the holiday, I wanted to write a 👻spooky👻 newsletter edition that was as fun and gleeful as she made my classrooms growing up, while still delivering the most important gender justice info you need to know. So up first, and most importantly: I present to you some incredible costumes featuring NWLC staff, families, and pets! Boo!
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THE SPOOKIEST HAUNTED HOUSE OF ALL?
The current White House, of course. Trump continues to use the shutdown as pretext to grind incredibly important basic needs programs and services to a halt (along with hundreds of thousands of federal government employees’ paychecks). And as monthly health insurance premiums begin to spike for millions of Americans, the House of Representatives is a ghost town with Speaker Johnson keeping them on extended vacation.
Puns aside, this shutdown matters. And it especially matters for women. Because Trump is using this shutdown as an opportunity to further the Project 2025 anti-woman agenda [[link removed]] and eviscerate programs and policies that help women and families get by. While families are struggling to put food on the table and wondering where their rent money will come from, Trump is:
* Firing even more federal workers (he’s disproportionately firing women [[link removed]] , by the way, and he just fired nearly every staffer [[link removed]] from the office that makes birth control more accessible);

* Cutting programs that fund organizations supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse; and

* Letting basic needs programs like SNAP and WIC dry up, making it harder for families to put food on the table ( half of all states say [[link removed]] they’ll have to suspend SNAP benefits on Nov. 1).
If you think this shutdown is as spooky as I do, tell Congress: reopen the government and protect people’s health care NOW. [[link removed]]
MORE BABIES IN COSTUMES, AND OTHER REASONS WHY I LOVE OUR RECENT GROUNDBREAKING EQUITABLE FERTILITY CARE WIN
One of my favorite parts of Halloween is seeing babies dressed to the nines in incredible costumes or sitting in pumpkins. Preferably both! Thanks to a huge win in one of our recent cases, it’s going to be easier for more families who want kids to have them—and that means more pictures of babies in costumes for me!
In 2021 we filed a lawsuit [[link removed]] seeking equitable access to fertility benefits for LGBTQ+ people who can become pregnant. Our lawsuit alleged that health insurance carrier Aetna’s policy for coverage of artificial insemination and IVF treatments discriminated against policyholders in LGBTQ+ relationships by requiring them to pay more out of pocket and wait longer than policyholders in heterosexual relationships.
As a queer person who will likely use one of these treatments in the future, I’m thrilled that we reached a historic final settlement (the judge called it a “groundbreaking case”!). This agreement brings about important policy change and awards thousands of dollars to LGBTQ+ policyholders who sought fertility care in New York. The new policy changes guarantee fully insured plan members have equitable access to fertility treatments without having to undergo costly, time-consuming, and onerous prerequisites or unnecessary artificial insemination cycles before qualifying for coverage of their treatment.
While we celebrate this win, we’re also working to ensure the changes we made apply nationwide in another case of [[link removed]] ours [[link removed]] demanding equitable access to fertility treatments.
MUST-DOS AND MUST-READS
* Louisiana v. Callais is a current Supreme Court case that's all trick, no treat. Our president, Fatima Goss Graves, spoke at a rally [[link removed]] outside the Court to remind the justices important the Voting Rights Act is and why we need fair representation in our voting district maps. Opponents are trying to dilute the voting power of racial and ethnic minorities: “[They] want to make the right to vote nothing but words on a paper,” she said. Read our blog on what the fight for voting rights means [[link removed]] for gender justice.

* Secretary of Defense Pete Hesgeth’s frightening recent speech where he called up all military leaders to be in one place....at the same time....with advanced public warning didn’t scare me just because it put our national security at risk. It also gave me the creeps because it brought his regressive views on women into even sharper relief. Read more on how his speech *signals* his retrograde views on women in the military [[link removed]] and threatens our collective security (get it?!).

* Go-to couples’ costume Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift got engaged last month and shortly thereafter Swift put out an album referencing her desire to get married and have kids. While some took Swift’s lyrics to mean a turn toward traditional, conservative values, NWLC’s own Chief Program Officer Emily Martin parried to USA Today [[link removed]] that “as a married mom of two myself, I don’t think wanting to get married and have kids means you’re taking sides in a cultural battle.” Plus, she added, the most important thing is having the freedom to make the decisions for your life that you want to make. Read more about the conversation that’s engulfing the internet [[link removed]] (and my group chats).

* And finally, because we all need more reasons to celebrate right now: after we filed a friend-of-the-court brief [[link removed]] , the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision that transgender athletes have the right to compete in sports without discrimination under the state’s human rights law. Read more about the exciting decision! [[link removed]]
I hope you all have a joyful Halloween—and of course, feel free to reply with your favorite costume photos!
In solidarity,
Hannoween Finnie
she/her
Writer/Editor
National Women’s Law Center
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