Dear John,

This has been one of those weeks when there are moments of great celebration followed quickly by moments when it seems the path to progress is hopelessly blocked. 

On Tuesday, despite facing both racist and sexist attacks as the nominee, Kristen Clarke was confirmed to become the first woman – and the first Black woman – to head the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. As the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law noted, Clarke is one of the “most qualified people to ever be nominated for the position.” She will guide the federal government’s enforcement of everything from voting rights to the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law, and she will oversee the Department’s investigations of police brutality. 

Clarke’s confirmation came on the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, and as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act remains stalled in the Senate. Similarly, the For the People Act that would combat voter suppression and the influence of big money is facing nearly insurmountable opposition. At least as long as Senate rules allow for the filibuster.

The urgency for eliminating the filibuster grows ever more critical, as even a bi-partisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection is blocked. The filibuster is holding up progress on multiple initiatives that all enjoy widespread public support – among Republicans as well as Democrats. Critical infrastructure bills including investments in a comprehensive care system, the country’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, gun violence, immigration reform, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, increasing the minimum wage – and final action to remove the time limit on the Equal Rights Amendment – are all captive to the filibuster. 

On the good news side of the ledger, President Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2022 increases funding for federal family planning programs, and for the first time in 45 years, does not include the Hyde Amendment, which restricts abortion coverage for those covered under Medicaid and other government sponsored health insurance plans. President Biden had promised to work to end these harmful restrictions, which have severely impacted low-income women and disproportionately women of color. 

And this week we report that despite the wave of new abortion restrictions passed by Southern and Mid-western states, women are “increasingly ordering abortion pills online and taking them safely at home.” In fact, according to the study, “requests for abortion pills … for self-managed abortion are higher in states with more restrictive abortion laws.”  Lower cost, privacy and convenience are also major factors. The safety and efficacy of self-managed abortion care has been extensively documented.

And finally, as we head in to the long Memorial Day weekend, we are moving closer to addressing the widespread problem of sexual assault in the military. According to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who introduced The Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, soldiers are “more likely to be sexually assaulted by a fellow service member than to be shot by the enemy at war.” Too often, cases of sexual assault go uninvestigated by command staff who ignore reports of assault out of concern for protecting the accused. 

The bill, co-sponsored by Republican Senator Joni Ernst, would remove prosecutorial decisions for sexual assault and other serious crimes “out of the chain of command and give it to independent military prosecutors.” A similar bi-partisan bill in the House would also “establish a process for compensating servicemembers who survive sexual violence when the military has been negligent.” 

We agree with Nancy Parrish, the founder of Protect Our Defenders. “This is a big moment for all of us.”  Here’s wishing everyone a safe holiday. 

For equality,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor