Trump administration to strengthen religious liberty rules on borth control, LGBTQ discrimination

The Trump administration is planning to double down on “religious liberty” protections that could affect birth control access and allow for LGBTQ employment discrimination.

Planned rules would strengthen or expand existing religious liberty protections for employers to deny health care access or make hiring decisions based on their religious beliefs and “moral convictions.”

The potential regulations continue the Trump administration’s push for “religious liberty,” which President Donald Trump has emphasized through multiple executive orders protecting religious liberty. Other executive branch agencies have also made their own moves to protect religious freedom, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice.

View the complete October 19 article by Aison Durkee on the Mic.com website here.

Efforts by Anti-Choice Advocates to Redefine and Limit Contraception

The following article by Osub Ahmed was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 26, 2018:

A woman holds a sign in front of the U.S. Capitol on International Women’s Day, March 2017. Credit: Getty/Melina Mara

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade was a critical step forward for women’s equality, establishing vital, constitutionally protected privacy rights that enable women to access abortion services. However, the ruling also became a target for anti-choice politicians and advocates to organize around. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, these groups’ attacks on abortion access have become an everyday reality that reproductive health advocates, providers, and patients must face. From targeted regulation of abortion provider (TRAP) laws to mandatory waiting periods and biased counseling, there is a well-organized and widespread effort to limit a woman’s ability to make decisions about her own reproductive health when it comes to pregnancy. What is less visible—but equally as disturbing—is an intentional strategy to attack access to birth control methods that is predicated on conflating abortion and contraception. This strategy of blurring the line between abortion and contraception is part of a radical agenda to assign personhood and constitutional rights at the point of fertilization, thus further imposing limits on reproductive health services. Continue reading “Efforts by Anti-Choice Advocates to Redefine and Limit Contraception”

5 Ways the Nomination of Neil Gorsuch Threatens Women’s Rights

The following article Jocelyn Frye and Michele L. Jawando was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 23, 2017:

(AP/Andrew Harnik)
Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch meets with Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 14, 2017.

The principle of equality is a cornerstone of American democracy. From our nation’s earliest history to the present day, there has been a robust discussion about how to realize the promise of equality in the everyday experiences of people across the country. But equality in the United States has come with an invisible asterisk: Its principles have not been uniformly enjoyed across different segments of society. Given this reality, people who face discrimination have always depended on the courts to protect their access to equal justice. Continue reading “5 Ways the Nomination of Neil Gorsuch Threatens Women’s Rights”

90,000-plus march in St. Paul with message for Trump

The following article by Erin Golden and Aimee Blanchette was posted on the StarTribune website January 21, 2017:

Close to 100,000 protesters swept across the state Capitol grounds on Saturday in what was likely Minnesota’s largest-ever demonstration of political dissent.

The turnout was the state’s contribution to an emphatic nationwide day of protest aimed at protecting civil rights in the new era that began with the new Trump administration on Friday. Continue reading “90,000-plus march in St. Paul with message for Trump”