It can feel difficult not to give up amidst all the ongoing stress, but below are some resources for continuing to fight the good fight, particularly on abortion rights. Many organisations have toolkits that I find very useful in providing ideas for moving forward, whether you want to do the very minimal or get deeply involved, including volunteer or paid work, or any actions in between:
National Organization for Women is still around and fighting, now.org; they have many ways to get involved, from donating, becoming a member, starting your own local chapter; to helping with a variety of action agendas including ending the criminalization of trauma, mobilizing for reproductive justice, and protecting immigrant rights, now.org/…
NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) is still around as Reproductive Freedom for All. There are many ways to help, resources available, and even open job positions. https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/
(h/t officebss)
The Center for Reproductive Rights reproductiverights.org fights legal battles in the US and the world; has multiple ways to help under categories of Give, Act, Learn; and currently has a fundraising match until July 11.
The Reproductive Health Access Project, www.reproductiveaccess.org focuses on training clinicians so that reproductive healthcare — including abortion and birth control — is available from primary care physicians whenever possible. They too have many ways in which we can get involved, www.reproductiveaccess.org/… Since I’d never heard of them, I checked them out: 100% on Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org/… No response to the BBB, give.org/… Seven 5-star ratings at GreatNonprofits.org, greatnonprofits.org/...; which, if you haven’t heard of them before, they state that they provide “community-sourced stories about nonprofits,”
Planned Parenthood www.plannedparenthood.org and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund www.plannedparenthoodaction.org have options for staying up to date, telling our stories, donating and volunteering including fundraising, working for them (yes, despite Congress defunding Planned Parenthood, as of Saturday 7/5 they still have jobs listed), and sharing resources for where to find abortion services.
Amnesty International has an abortion page, www.amnestyusa.org/… with links to resources if you need someone to talk to, help paying for an abortion, or need an abortion provider. They also offer multiple ways to get involved, from signing a petition or making a call, to organizing, hosting a panel, providing an escort, and so on, www.amnestyusa.org/…
(h/t Gabe Ortiz)
Please feel free to take a deep dive into any of the above and any other groups you like, and let us know your opinions of the pros and cons in the comments!
In Other News
Some info on the Planned Parenthood problems
Planned Parenthood may not survive the Trump administration
Moira Donegan
The Trump administration has made repeated cuts targeting the organization’s clinics. Now the US supreme court has struck another blow
https://www.theguardian.com/…
Planned Parenthood closes Cleveland facility; Cleveland Department of Public Health to fill gaps
www.wkyc.com/...
Better abortion news
Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state's 1849 near-total abortion ban
Abortion providers in the state resumed the procedure in 2023 after a judge ruled that the 176-year-old ban was superseded by a more recent law.
https://www.nbcnews.com/…
PBS
The grassroots network helping women circumvent abortion bans and restrictions
https://www.pbs.org/…
CNN
The Supreme Court declined Thursday to review a Montana law that requires people under 18 to seek parental consent before obtaining an abortion, leaving in place a state court ruling that struck the law down.
Montana’s law, enacted in 2013, prohibits a doctor from providing an abortion to a patient under 18 without notarized written consent from a parent.
The state’s highest court had concluded that the law violated the Montana state constitution, which includes broader protections for abortion than the US Constitution
https://amp.cnn.com/...
Too Much Childcare!
How American Moms Got “Touched Out”: The feeling is real and intense, and it’s coming from inside (and outside) the house.
I have never been a mother. But as a former child, I have to admit, I never felt neglected because I was not allowed to crawl all over my mother 24/7. Is this new touch-all-the-time really so necessary? It does not sound pleasant!
Healthcare Access
Medscape US Supreme Court Preserves Obamacare’s No-Cost Access to Preventive Services: Good news for now, although could be borked later:
“While this is a foundational victory for patients, patients have reason to be concerned that the decision reaffirms the ability of the HHS secretary, including our current one, to control the membership and recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force that determines which preventive services are covered,” Wright said.
Contraception
Medscape * the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). has updated its Adolescent Contraception Guidance
"An adolescent-centered approach to contraceptive counseling for adolescents should be informed by evidence, with attention to sexual and reproductive health equity, "
The policy statement and an accompanying clinical report were published online in Pediatrics....
Birthing
NativeNewsOnline Coming Home to Birth: How Alaska’s Indigenous Birthworkers Are Reclaiming Ceremonial Care - A Yup’ik mother finds strength in tradition — and hope for a future where Indigenous birth is no longer separated from culture, community or care.
More Activism
How do we resist and rise?
We have to believe the impossible is possible
V (formerly Eve Ensler)
Every action matters now. Every effort small or large counts. And moving, movement is the essential key to dispelling despair.
(V (formerly Eve Ensler) is a playwright and activist and the founder of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls)
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Indigenous women are showing us how to fight for environmental and human rights
V (formerly Eve Ensler)
During a recent trip to Brazil, I saw how Indigenous women activists there have completely changed the political landscape.
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Ancient women
Ancient DNA Confirms Women’s Unexpected Status In One Of The Oldest Known Neolithic Settlements
Further evidence has emerged that 8,000 years ago, women had at least as much status in society as men, at least in one of the few settlements from the time
https://www.iflscience.com/…
Native Women
NativeNewsOnline A mortar attack shattered Rose McFadden's military plans. The Navajo veteran built Isabella Rose Design Co. from the pieces.
Appearance
Surgery, shame and self-erasure: four female writers on the tyranny of impossible beauty standards
How did Botox become so popular? And why are teenage girls using anti-wrinkle cream? As a new film, The Substance, considers our obsession with youth and good looks, writers reflect on how this has shaped their lives
By V (formerly Eve Ensler), Arwa Mahdawi, Laura Barton and Kate McCusker
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Books
From PublishersWeekly email: This year’s ALA conference, held June 26-30 in Philadelphia, convened librarians and other bookish minds to tackle some of the day’s biggest challenges, including the many political threats to the freedom to read. ... In better news, a new law in Maryland prohibits the removal of books from school libraries without process reports the Baltimore Banner.
Banned book display (h/t Erika Chavez)
Coded Justice by Stacey Abrams is published this month by Doubleday, $28.00; ISBN 9780385548342. Her early novels were written under pen name Selena Montgomery, the first during her third year at Yale Law School. While Justice Sleeps was published under her own name in May 2021, and a television series adaptation of the novel began development by Working Title Films, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, that year. Abrams’ political career. voter registration work, and writing inspired Romancing The Runoff, a fundraising event organized by authors Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan and Kit Rocha, raising $498,000 (including $95,000 before the auction started) for the Georgia voter organizations Fair Fight Action, the New Georgia Project, and Black Voters Matter. Among items auctioned were signed copies of novels by Tessa Dare and Stacey Abrams, and a writing mentorship with Ann Aguirre. Two of Abrams nonfiction works, Our Time is Now and Lead from the Outside, were New York Times best sellers.
This Week in the War on Women is a group effort! Many thanks to Angmar, mettle fatigue, and Tara for items and discussion!
Smarter together! (h/t userexists)
