Sun Oct 11, 2020, 09:50 AM
BeckyDem (5,355 posts)
THE FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE IN A POST-GINSBURG WORLD
The Trump administration has already offered the eight-member court an opportunity to restrict abortion access amid the pandemic.
Jordan Smith October 11 2020, 8:00 a.m. ORIAKU NJOKU WAS outside the U.S. Supreme Court alongside a crowd of activists and advocates for abortion rights as the nine jurists inside heard oral arguments in a case that, depending on its outcome, could destroy access to abortion in Louisiana. It was a crisp morning in early March, mere days before the coronavirus pandemic would see the country all but completely locked down. Njoku, one of the founders of Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, a nonprofit that provides assistance to individuals seeking abortion care across six states in the Deep South, was rallying outside the court with her sister. “There was so much energy,” she recalled. It was nearly four years to the day since the last time Njoku had been in front of the high court. That morning, in early 2016, the court was considering the constitutionality of a set of abortion restrictions in Texas that had shuttered half the state’s clinics. At the time, there were just eight justices on the bench; Antonin Scalia had died several weeks earlier. In the end, Anthony Kennedy joined the four more liberal justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to strike down the restrictions, which included a requirement that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The court found no evidence that this was necessary to ensure patient safety. Now, Njoku was back in the same space rallying for the same cause: The restriction at issue in the Louisiana case was identical to the admitting privileges requirement the court had invalidated in Texas. “It was a full-circle moment, where it was almost four years to the day; I’m back here again, literally fighting for … the same thing,” she said. “I was like, ‘They have to uphold this precedent.’” excerpt: When the decision was announced, Njoku realized that it wasn’t exactly a game-changing victory. Anti-abortion lawmakers have passed more than 450 abortion restrictions over the last decade, many of which still stand, making access to abortion difficult, if not nearly impossible, for millions of people. This is especially true for people of color, LGBTQ people, poor and low-income people, and people in rural areas, who are routinely hit hardest by restrictions on reproductive care, as well as broader inequalities within the health care system. These inequalities have been widely exposed not only by the pandemic, but also through a summer of civil rights protests that have thrown new light on the country’s continuing legacy of racial oppression. https://theintercept.com/2020/10/11/abortion-supreme-court-amy-coney-barrett/
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8 replies, 816 views
Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum
Replies to this discussion thread
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Author | Time | Post |
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BeckyDem | Oct 2020 | OP |
niyad | Oct 2020 | #1 | |
BeckyDem | Oct 2020 | #2 | |
niyad | Oct 2020 | #3 | |
BeckyDem | Oct 2020 | #4 | |
niyad | Oct 2020 | #5 | |
Calma | Oct 2020 | #6 | |
Solly Mack | Oct 2020 | #7 | |
niyad | Oct 2020 | #8 |
Response to BeckyDem (Original post)
Sun Oct 11, 2020, 09:53 AM
niyad (74,616 posts)
1. The War Against Women continues apace.
Response to niyad (Reply #1)
Sun Oct 11, 2020, 09:55 AM
BeckyDem (5,355 posts)
2. Yes and we are already at dangerous levels of restrictions.
Frustrating as all get out.
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Response to BeckyDem (Original post)
Sun Oct 11, 2020, 11:04 AM
niyad (74,616 posts)
3. The fact that this OP, on this incredibly Important topic, has gotten only two recs, and few views,
Last edited Sun Oct 11, 2020, 06:13 PM - Edit history (1) is a sad commentary on how unimportant women's reproductive rights are, even here.
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Response to niyad (Reply #3)
Sun Oct 11, 2020, 12:57 PM
BeckyDem (5,355 posts)
4. We agree. Sometimes I am not sure if enough of us understand the consequences
of those numerous restrictions already in play. sigh
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Response to BeckyDem (Original post)
Sun Oct 11, 2020, 10:48 PM
Calma (51 posts)
6. Southern Poverty Law Center
We need to get a bunch of us together and ask Southern Poverty Law Center to declare pro-life people a hate group.
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