Critics of NY Abortion Rights Argue They’re Protecting Women

5th March 2019 ~ mcequality

According to reports and the anti-abortion blogosphere, the bill’s detractors have argued that one of its measures, which reclassifies state abortion law as a health statute rather than letting it remain under the penal code, will have the side effect of doing away with legal punishment for violence that ends pregnancies. To further their disingenuous anti-abortion campaign, the New York Time reports Republicans have cited the case of Anthony Hobson, arrested and charged earlier this month with second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend, 35-year-old Jennifer Irigoyen. Hobson stabbed Irigoyen while she was 14 weeks pregnant. Queens district attorney Richard Brown said that the bill is to blame for his decision not to charge Hobson with criminal abortion as well.

via Critics of NY Abortion Rights Argue They’re Protecting Women

The Heidi Group in Texas Offers Glimpse of Post-Gag Rule U.S.

5th March 2019 ~ mcequality

fter Texas defunded Planned Parenthood in 2011, the state poured millions of dollars into a network of anti-abortion Christian pregnancy centers—a decision that could offer a glimpse of what’s to come in other states after the Trump administration announced a plan to block federal grant funding for reproductive health organizations that offer abortion services and counseling.

The Houston Chronicle reports that in 2016, the state of Texas awarded Christian pregnancy center the Heidi Group, founded by abortion opponent Carol Everett, nearly $40 million in family planning funds. In an email to a network of anti-abortion activists, Everett called it “the greatest possibility for expansion of pro-life care for the poor ever.” As the Chronicle notes, Everett, a well known anti-abortion activist, had neither clinical experience nor experience contracting with the state, and many of the pregnancy centers she cited did not even provide contraception.

via The Heidi Group in Texas Offers Glimpse of Post-Gag Rule U.S.

Matthew Bowman at HHS Has Long Record of Anti-Abortion Harassment

1st March 2019 ~ mcequality

An influential lawyer at the Department of Health and Human Services who previously clerked for Samuel Alito before his time on the Supreme Court has a long history of anti-abortion extremism, including multiple arrests for harassing abortion providers, according to a new report from Mother Jones.

On Friday, Mother Jones reported that Matthew Bowman, a deputy general counsel at HHS—who also provided legal counsel to the Office of Refugee Resettlement as it tried to block migrant girls from accessing abortions—has a long history of harassing and targeting abortion clinics, providers, and patients. According to Mother Jones, Bowman had “at east fourteen run-ins with the law” between 1996 and 2001, including arrests during abortion protests. Here’s how Bowman spent his free time during law school, which he started in 2000:

via Matthew Bowman at HHS Has Long Record of Anti-Abortion Harassment

When Will Sex Work Finally Be Decriminalized?

1st March 2019 ~ mcequality

Cecilia Gentili, originally from Argentina, was undocumented for much of her time in the United States. She’s been incarcerated for substance use and trading sex, hassled by immigration agents at Rikers, and struggled for years to find access to unbiased medical care. Like many sex workers, when she was in unsafe situations she feared being wrung through the criminal justice system more than almost anything else.

Since getting clean and being granted asylum almost a decade ago Gentili has been active in a number of organizations, most recently working as a director of policy at the AIDS organization GMHC. But “one thing I’ve always wanted to take part in was the decriminalization of sex work,” she tells Jezebel. “Because of having a history of being arrested for doing the work that allowed me to survive.”

via When Will Sex Work Finally Be Decriminalized?

‘Girl Power’ T-Shirt Company F= Fires 100 Workers Protesting Low Wages

1st March 2019 ~ mcequality

A new report from the Guardian found that a manufacturer for F=, a UK company that advertises itself to be “all about inspiring and empowering girls,” has fired 100 workers for protesting their low wages. Ironically, the company sells £28 t-shirts printed with the words “GIRL POWER” on them, and offers £10 of each sale to Worldreader, a nonprofit that provides people in the developing world free access to digital books. “In one case,” reports The Guardian, “a female employee was beaten on the orders of the management and threatened with murder.”

via ‘Girl Power’ T-Shirt Company F= Fires 100 Workers Protesting Low Wages

Rise of the ‘strongman’: Dozens of female world leaders warn women’s rights being eroded | Politics | The Guardian

1st March 2019 ~ mcequality

More than 30 female world leaders including current and former heads of state have called for a fightback against the erosion of women’s rights, with one former minister singling out countries led by “a macho-type strongman” as part of the problem.

Susana Malcorra, the former Argentinian foreign minister, said in some countries the push for women’s rights was seen as something that harmed men, rather than an opportunity to change gender expectations in a way that helped everyone.

“There is a sense of the established power being threatened by women gaining respect,” she said.

via Rise of the ‘strongman’: Dozens of female world leaders warn women’s rights being eroded | Politics | The Guardian

Promoting equality in Milton Keynes through the Arts – OpenLearn – Open University

16th February 2019 ~ mcequality

Budding stars of the stage performed to highlight all people are equal and should enjoy social, political and economic rights and opportunities.
Created by Back to Back Theatre , The Democratic Set is an approach to creating short films and performances that explores the belief that all people are equal. The Democratic Set MK was commissioned by The Open University for IF: Milton Keynes International Festival 2018 and produced by The Stables with Independent Cinema Milton Keynes.

Filmed in Queen’s Court, centre:mk, the engaging short film below captures a series of live performances and screen-based video portraits by the people of Milton Keynes. The Democratic Set MK premiered at the Festival in 2018.

via Promoting equality in Milton Keynes through the Arts – OpenLearn – Open University

Is Congress Going to Fix Its Sexual Harassment Problem?

11th February 2019 ~ mcequality

Last year, shortly after MeToo took off in Hollywood, attention quickly turned toward Capitol Hill’s own issues, including allegations against Roy Moore and Al Franken. Rep. Jackie Speier revealed that she had experienced unwanted sexual advances as a young congressional staffer and launched the #MeTooCongress hashtag. Then, a group of former Hill aides penned a letter calling for reform of “inadequate” sexual harassment policies in Congress.

Reporters dug in, revealing the arduous, bureaucratic process for reporting sexual harassment on the Hill, and unearthing $199,000 in tax-payer-funded settlements for those claims. Kasie Hunt, a correspondent at NBC News, was one of those reporters—and Tuesday night, a year after she launched an investigation into the issue, she and her team received an award from the Radio Television Correspondents Association for their reporting on the issue.

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via Is Congress Going to Fix Its Sexual Harassment Problem?

LGBT Asylum Seekers from the Migrant Caravan Have Made To The Border

11th February 2019 ~ mcequality

The first asylum-seekers from the migrant caravan have arrived in Tijuana after several weeks of traveling from Central America; they are part of a small group of LGBTQ migrants who split off from the larger caravan while in Mexico City. Their decision to travel separately stemmed in large part from discrimination they experienced en route to the United States, according to several asylum-seekers interviewed by the Washington Post and NPR.

via LGBT Asylum Seekers from the Migrant Caravan Have Made To The Border