Earlier this year, I wrote about being pushed out of my job because I was pregnant. It’s still hard for me to believe that I was put in the position of choosing between staying on the job while pregnant, and the health of my baby.
I have a good job at United Parcel Service (UPS) and had worked there for almost 10 years. I am a full time driver, and that work can be very demanding and strenuous. I often work up to 14 hours a day, and during the rush seasons, like Mother’s Day, the size and weight of the packages explodes. Despite that, I like my job and am glad to be able to support myself and my family.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has designated the fourteen days from June 21to July 4 as its “fortnight for freedom,” during which time the bishops will make claims, as they have in the past, that their faith, and indeed the entire state of religious liberty in this nation, is under attack. Don’t be fooled.
Apparently, things are getting a little heated out there in Lansing. Yesterday, despite massive public opposition, the Michigan House of Representatives passed an omnibus abortion bill (which we told you about here ) that could, among other things, shut down clinics that provide safe, legal abortions and end medication abortions throughout the state. Decorum was shattered. Gavels were struck. But not because lawmakers passed an extreme and dangerous law; a law that so clearly threatens the health and lives of all Michigan women. No, because Rep. Lisa Brown – that saucy minx – talked about her hoo-hah. Testifying against the bill, she told the Speaker "I’m flattered you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no." Today, she and Rep. Barb Byrum (who reportedly shouted the word “vasectomy” out of turn) have been banned from speaking on the floor of the House.
By Talcott Camp, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project at 6:20pm
Today, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli strong-armed the VA Board of Health into reversing previous decisions based on medical evidence and patient safety in favor of unprecedented regulations on doctors and facilities that provide abortion care. This political move will endanger women by shutting down good, safe providers of abortion care. In a year when we have seen numerous politicians show utter disregard for women’s health, the story of today’s vote illustrates just how far some politicians will go to interfere in a woman’s personal, private decision making.
California state law mandates that sexual health education in public schools be comprehensive, medically accurate, science-based, and bias-free. So why are Clovis Unified High Schools teaching teens from a book that makes no mention of condoms, even in chapters about HIV/AIDS and on preventing STDs and unintended pregnancy?
Recent events, such as Representative Akin’s ill-informed statements about reproductive biology and rape – put the issue in a stark light. The brand of sex ed that Clovis high schools are peddling is putting teens’ health at risk – it’s dangerous, unlawful, and could have serious consequences if it is not stopped.
By Richard Muniz, Reproductive Rights Fellow, ACLU of Illinois at 1:59pm
Today, the ACLU and the ACLU of Illinois filed a friend-of-the-court brief in two additional appeals challenging the Affordable Care Act's ("ACA") contraceptive coverage rule. Our brief urges the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to reject requests by secular, for-profit companies and their owners to block enforcement of the rule. The district court in both cases refused to grant the companies' requests, and they seek to overturn those decisions.
I am a doctor in North Dakota, and I love my work. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is helping cancer survivors who are now facing infertility from their lifesaving chemotherapy and radiation treatments achieve their dream of having a family. Some of these patients require in-vitro fertilization to have a baby, but others must rely on donor sperm or donor egg. However, if some of our lawmakers have their way, I will have to turn away cancer survivors and as well as many other couples with infertility.
By Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:20pm
Sheer repetition of an incorrect argument does not make that argument correct. This holds true for the lawsuits challenging the federal contraception rule, which ensures that millions of women will have access to contraception without a co-pay. Those who are trying to eliminate the rule in the courts have now filed almost 45 lawsuits. They can file 100 lawsuits, but it won’t change the legal analysis. As we’ve said before, the contraception rule is constitutional. For the last five decades, courts have held that rules designed to eradicate discrimination – like the contraception rule – cannot be trumped by a business owner’s religious beliefs.
This year, voters have overwhelmingly rejected personhood initiatives sending messages to personhood proponents, as in: ‘over.’ ‘Finito.’ Not interested. The fat lady has sung and your idea is a loser.
Another private company – this one sells lawn and snow removal equipment in Michigan – is challenging the federal rule that requires employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception without a co-pay. As we’ve writtenbefore, these cases are meritless and harken back to a time that we should not repeat. For example, in 1966, the Piggie Park restaurant in South Carolina refused to serve African-Americans because integration was against the owners’ religious beliefs. The same argument was used to try to get around equal pay and labor protections. The courts did not allow religion to justify discrimination then, and they should not do so now.
