U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. However day after day, we keep vigilant in our objectives to dismantle patriarchy at each flip. The struggle is way from over. We’re watching, and we refuse to return. That is the Battle on Ladies Report.
Since our final report…
+ The U.S. Coast Guard coated up an investigation of systemic sexual misconduct on the Coast Guard Academy from the late Nineteen Eighties to 2006, in line with a CNN report. Beneath the management of Commandant Karl L. Shultz, the investigation, code-named Operation Fouled Anchor, uncovered greater than 60 studies of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment—but was hidden from the general public and Congress for 4 years.
+ The U.S. Home has a brand new speaker: Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.). Amongst a few of his most eyebrow-raising beliefs:
- He doesn’t consider the burning of fossil fuels is altering the local weather, and has described a Democrat-backed local weather safety plan as “a thinly veiled try to implement the insurance policies that will usher in a brand new socialist society in America.”
- He labored as a senior spokesperson and legal professional on the conservative Christian authorized group Alliance Defending Freedom, a bunch which helped to overturn Roe v. Wade and advocated for same-sex intimacy to be criminalized within the U.S. and overseas.
- A press release on his spouse’s Christian counseling service web site equated homosexuality with bestiality and incest.
+ Nov. 7 is the final day to vote in a number of key elections:
- Pennsylvania: Pennsylvanians will vote to decide on a brand new member for the state Supreme Court docket. The first candidates are Democrat Daniel McCaffery, who helps abortion rights, and Republican Carolyn Carluccio, who’s anti-abortion. Following the Dobbs determination, which devolved abortion entry rights to the states, state supreme courts wield important affect over the safety– or restriction– of those rights. The courtroom’s present make-up leans Democrat 4-2.
- Virginia: Elections for the Virginia state Senate will decide management of the Basic Meeting. Republicans maintain the Home and the governorship now; in the event that they win the senate, Virginia can have a Republican trifecta and can be capable to perform Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda, which features a 15-week abortion ban and limiting classroom discussions of race and gender, amongst different excessive positions.
- Ohio: Ohians will resolve on a brand new constitutional modification. If accepted, it could codify entry to abortion, contraceptive care, miscarriage care and fertility therapy.
Let’s not overlook what else was thrown our means final month.
Thursday, Oct. 6
+ A person fired two rounds from a shotgun into the entrance entrance of a Deliberate Parenthood clinic in Montana. There have been no accidents because the pictures weren’t directed in direction of any individuals inside the clinic.
Throughout the U.S., anti-abortion violence has elevated in recent times. Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-Missoula) linked the incident to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from some lawmakers: “Each political determine who drums up worry round abortion, intercourse ed., and so forth is fanning the flames of actual violence.”
Deliberate Parenthood of Montana will stay open; communications coordinator Mary Sullivan stated, “Deliberate Parenthood won’t ever step again from offering care in a secure, supportive surroundings that Montanans depend on and belief.”
Tuesday, Oct. 10
+ 60 Minutes producer Alexandra Poolos is suing CBS for gender discrimination after claiming she was fired unfairly. Poolos’ termination resulted from her being labeled a bully and an affiliate producer saying she didn’t respect boundaries. In her lawsuit, Poolos factors to disparities in how her termination was dealt with in comparison with male colleagues, highlighting situations of sexual misconduct and harassment that held no ramifications on her male counterparts. She contends that the office surroundings was marked by sexism and misogyny.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
+ Miranda Michel, 26, shared that Texas abortion legal guidelines compelled her to provide beginning in early August, regardless of her twins being given a 0 p.c likelihood of viability. Throughout her being pregnant, an ultrasound examination revealed Michel’s twins’ spines have been entangled, their organs weren’t growing correctly, and there was a excessive chance that they might be born conjoined. On this dire scenario, two harsh realities turned obvious: These twins wouldn’t survive past the second of beginning, and Texas’ restrictive abortion ban left Michel with no recourse to forestall this tragic consequence. Michel carried the twins for eight months; Helios and Perseus Langley have been born on Aug. 9, 2023, and died simply 4 hours after beginning.
This story is only one amongst many others who skilled traumatic well being issues because of Texas’ anti-abortion restrictions.
Monday, Oct. 16
+ In 2021, Alabama despatched Ashley Caswell—then two months pregnant—to Etowah County Detention Heart for “endangering her fetus,” after testing constructive for methamphetamine. Now, she is suing the county and the sheriff’s division for being denied care repeatedly all through her being pregnant and labor interval.
Caswell was denied prescribed medicine each earlier than and after giving beginning, she was not allowed to have prenatal visits regardless of having a high-risk being pregnant, and he or she was compelled to provide beginning alone in a bathe stall for 12 hours—in line with her lawsuit. As an alternative, Lynda Dillard, an EMT on the detention middle, gave her Tylenol and instructed her to “cope with the ache.” Caswell’s case reveals the alarming mistreatment of pregnant ladies inside the confines of jails nationwide.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
+ In Lewiston, Maine, a U.S. Military reservist went on a capturing rampage at a bowling alley and a restaurant, leaving 18 lifeless—the deadliest mass capturing in state historical past. Authorities recognized the attacker as Robert Card, whose physique was discovered two days after the incident, the obvious reason for loss of life a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
About six months earlier than the capturing came about, the Military had requested native police conduct a wellness examine with Card, since a soldier voiced concern that Card was “going to snap and commit a mass capturing.” Nevertheless, native police have been unable to find him and finally closed the case simply 24 days earlier than the bloodbath.
Mass shootings are a extremely gendered phenomenon, with 98 p.c dedicated by males. Our tradition glorifies violent and individualistic masculinity whereas labeling emotionality as female and adverse, which inspires males who’re struggling to show to violence in opposition to themselves and others as an alternative of in search of assist. To have any hope of stopping mass shootings, males want a brand new cultural development of “manhood” that doesn’t look down upon receiving emotional help from others.
+ Following Kevin McCarthy’s elimination from a speaker of the Home of Representatives, Louisiana Consultant Mike Johnson was elected, bringing an finish to a tumultuous three-week interval marked by an absence of management. Johnson’s appointment as speaker marked the fourth try by Republicans to discover a appropriate chief following McCarthy’s departure.
Johnson, a staunch Trump supporter, is extensively acknowledged for his outstanding function in contesting the 2020 election outcomes and his unyielding anti-abortion stance, typically using charged rhetoric to equate abortion with “a holocaust.” In his new function, Johnson is tasked with navigating the looming authorities shutdown deadline earlier than Nov. 17.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
+ In a request to Congress, President Biden referred to as for $16 billion in emergency childcare funding, which might guarantee that childcare facilities throughout the U.S. stay open and maintained for an additional fiscal 12 months.
Additionally included on this request was $23 billion for catastrophe reduction, $6 billion to develop web entry, and funds directed for worldwide support and power help, totaling $56 billion.
Monday, Oct. 30
+ Almost each single Democrat within the Senate joined collectively to urge the Biden administration to require insurers to totally cowl Opill, the primary over-the-counter contraception tablet within the U.S. Opill is ready to grow to be obtainable in early 2024. Whereas its retail worth stays undecided, insurance coverage protection would imply no out-of-pocket prices or prescription necessities.
“The FDA’s approval of Opill is a milestone; nevertheless, for an OTC contraception tablet to satisfy its potential and be really accessible, federal departments should make sure that it’s coated with out cost-sharing and with out the necessity for a prescription as a situation of protection,” the lawmakers wrote of their letter.
Up subsequent:
U.S. democracy is at a harmful inflection level—from the demise of abortion rights, to an absence of pay fairness and parental go away, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and assaults on trans well being. Left unchecked, these crises will result in wider gaps in political participation and illustration. For 50 years, Ms. has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Modification, and centering the tales of these most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we’re redoubling our dedication for the following 50 years. In flip, we want your assist, Assist Ms. at present with a donation—any quantity that’s significant to you. For as little as $5 every month, you’ll obtain the print journal together with our e-newsletters, motion alerts, and invites to Ms. Studios occasions and podcasts. We’re grateful to your loyalty and ferocity.