This week there are two cases in particular that involve using the criminal justice system as a bludgeon against reproductive rights.
The first is the case of Purvi Patel, who has been discussed before in this space. In Indiana, she was convicted of both "fetal homicide" and "child neglect," even though she can't possibly have done both: either she had a miscarriage (as she has maintained), or the baby was born alive. Purvi Patel has now been sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended and 5 years probation.
In Nashville, there have been at least four cases where prosecutors have demanded sterilization as part of a plea deal. The latest case involves a woman whose 5-day-old baby died under uncertain circumstances. They weren't able to determine a cause of death - but charged her with neglect anyway, apparently because the woman had a history of mental illness. Sterilization abuse is always aimed at the least powerful: disabled people, impoverished people, people of color. See, for example, California's recent scandal involving involuntary sterilization of prisoners.
Across the country, there have been a number of criminal prosecutions of pregnant women for legal acts: drinking alcohol, failing to follow doctor's orders - and in at least one case, a woman spent a year in jail before it was determined that her miscarriage was caused by taking prescribed medication according to doctor's orders.
The good, the bad and the ugly below the orange indictment.
Massive thanks to ramara and elenacarlena for the assortment of links they sent me this week.
Reproductive rights:
An ob/gyn who gave up delivering babies in order to provide abortions.
Texas Republicans are trying to push through a bill that would redirect funds from HIV and other STD prevention to "abstinence education." Because that always works, right?
Women talking about choosing not to have children.
Workplace issues:
A minimum wage hotel worker was fired for talking to a reporter about minimum wage.
Massachusetts diner shut down due to pervasive sexual harassment.
Ellen Pao and the sexism you can't quite prove. And a bit more on soft sexism.
Intersectionality:
After pressure from the ACLU and other sources, the TSA has agreed to stop singling out African-American women with natural hair for searches. Or as Melissa Harris-Perry put it: "Because if your $170,000 machine can see under my clothes, but can’t figure out I’m not hiding a bomb in my braids, maybe it’s time to recalibrate the machine."
A Columbia University Law School study found not only that African-American girls face harsher discipline in schools that white girls, but the gap is wider than it is for boys.
78 Central American women and their children, seeking asylum because of credible danger of persecution in their home countries, are being held in a detention center in Texas, some for as long as a year. 40 of them have gone on a Holy Week hunger strike to protest the conditions.
Dear white folks who have a problem with Michelle Obama saying black girls rock.
Violence and harassment:
Randi Harper, and activist against online harassment, got SWATed: someone called in a false police report claiming there was a "hostage situation" at her home. Fortunately, she'd contacted police earlier when she was threatened with this exact hoax, and the situation was resolved without anyone getting hurt.
Kevin Bollaert operated a "revenge porn" website where stolen nude pictures were posted without the woman's consent, along with contact information to harass the victims. He then demanded money from those who tried to get their pictures taken down. This week he was sentenced to 18 years for multiple counts of identity theft and extortion. I hope the sentence discourages the next guy who thinks about doing this - but the bigger problem is that he had enough of an audience to make it seem worth his while.
Four women are suing the Pentagon for sexual assaults and harassment that they suffered while on active military duty.
The NRA is still trying to use the specter of rape to bolster their argument for guns on campus.
Echidne tries to make sense of women and teenage girls who join the Islamic State.
Hundreds of armed women in Mexico take a stand to keep the drug cartels out of their town.
Online harassment and gaslighting.
Media:
Never mind her views - women columnists get hate mail for their hair.
Amy Spitalnick, spokesperson for NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio, emailed The Daily Caller to try to get a correction on an inaccurate story. Buckley Calrson responded with an abusive, sexually explicit email which he "accidentally" copied to her. Unfortunately, he's likely to stay employed: he works for his brother Tucker Carlson, who assured Spitalnick that the problem was her "tone."
Good News and Action Items:
There is a documentary about Malala in the works.
Tell the Senate to pass the Teach Safe Relationships Act, educating high school students about domestic violence, sexual assault, and consent.
"I'm not bossy - I have leadership skills!"