*Sigh*, another week, another litany of awful crap inflicted on women just because we’re women…
OK, let’s get right to it:
Reproductive Rights
A Florida appellate court on Monday blocked a 16-year-old teenager from getting an abortion, saying that she is not “sufficiently mature” to choose to end her pregnancy.
But in the topsy-turvy “pro-life” universe, this 16-year-old is apparently “sufficiently mature” to be a mother…🙄
Woman May Be Forced to Give Birth to a Headless Baby Because of an Abortion Ban
And how exactly is this supposed “pro-life” ban saving anyone’s life, in this case??? (The doomed fetus is lacking a functioning brain because of an abnormality, but what’s their excuse for their own brainlessness?????)
SC lawmaker chokes up after sharing teen nearly lost uterus due to anti-abortion law he voted for(emphasis added):
"That weighs on me," Collins said during the committee meeting. "I VOTED FOR THAT BILL. These are affecting people and we're having a meeting about this. That whole week I did not sleep.”
Clinics in Neighboring States Team Up on Abortion Care on the Wisconsin-Illinois Border
In the month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal landmark decision, Illinois became even more of an oasis for people seeking abortions. Dozens of clinics closed across the nation as 11 states in the South and Midwest implemented bans, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that supports abortion rights and tracks the issue.
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Anti-abortion groups oppose the Planned Parenthood partnership and are preparing for a marathon effort to restrict abortion rights in Illinois.
Abortion Bans Reduce Women's Wages, Study Finds
Violence
Indian woman condemns release of her convicted rapists
A Muslim woman who was gang raped while pregnant during India’s devastating 2002 religious riots has appealed to the government to rescind its decision to free the 11 men who had been jailed for life for committing the crime, after they were released on suspended sentences.
FBI locates more than 80 child sex trafficking victims, 7 in Hawaii; average just 11 years old
Injustice
Saudi activist sentenced to 34 years in prison for Twitter activity
Saudi women's rights campaigner Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison on Monday for her activity on Twitter, according to court documents viewed by CNN.
Al-Shehab, 33, was also banned from traveling outside of Saudi Arabia for another 34 years.
The PhD student at Leeds University in the United Kingdom had been arrested in January 2021 and was subjected to questioning sessions over a period of 265 days before being brought to the Specialized Criminal Court, according to independent human rights organization ALQST.
She was initially given a six-year sentence late last year -- this was increased to 34 years after al-Shehab filed an appeal, according to the documents.
'It's sexism': More than 130 women imprisoned for someone else's child abuse under 'problematic' law
On the (very welcome) bright side…
Voters Sure Do Seem Upset Roe Was Overturned:“Some recent polling suggests voters, and particularly women, are ready to do something about it.”
DAMN STRAIGHT!! ✊♀✊♀✊♀✊♀✊♀✊♀
South Carolina Supreme Court temporarily blocks six-week abortion ban
Michigan judge blocks prosecutors from enforcing abortion ban
Scotland becomes the first country to offer tampons and pads for free
Starting this week, menstrual products will be available in places like pharmacies and community centers, thanks to legislation approved by Scotland's parliament in 2020.
"Providing access to free period products is fundamental to equality and dignity, and removes the financial barriers to accessing them,"said Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison in a statement, calling the move "more important than ever" in an era of rising costs of living.
A pub dedicated to showing women's sports will open this year in Seattle.
In Memoriam
Nafis Sadik, women’s health and rights champion, dies at 92
Nafis Sadik, a Pakistani doctor who championed women’s health and rights and spearheaded the breakthrough action plan adopted by 179 countries at the 1994 United Nations population conference, died four days before her 93rd birthday, her son said late Monday.
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Nafis Sadik joined the U.N. Population Fund in 1971, became its assistant executive director in 1977, and was appointed executive director in 1987 by then Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar after the sudden death of its chief, Rafael Salas. She was the first woman to head a major United Nations program that is voluntarily funded.
In June 1990, Perez de Cuellar appointed Sadik to be secretary-general of the fifth U.N. International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, and she became the architect of its groundbreaking program of action which recognized for the first time that women have the right to control their reproductive and sexual health and to choose whether to become pregnant.
Action Items
A MomsRising petition to Congress asking that they vote in favor of the “Black Maternal Health Momnibus”-
a comprehensive package of bills that includes significant investments in community-based programs to diversify the maternal health workforce, provide funding for tech to address racism and biases in screening and treatment, and expand mental health treatments and supports.
And an Amnesty International petition to the Argentinian criminal prosecutor who is currently conducting a baseless investigation of a doctor for her work providing access to safe and legal abortions in her city.
As always, this diary is a group effort. Thanks to mettle fatigue, Tara the Antisocial Social Worker, noweasels, elenacarlena, ramara, Angmar, and the WOW crew for links and discussion.