🌎 📸 Women in focus

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Women Risk Losing Access to Abortion

There are about 64 million women and girls that are of age to be able to carry out their reproductive rights, currently in the US. But more than half of them would be stripped of the potential choices regarding their reproductive systems if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. This analysis includes the possibility that 28 states could ban or limit abortion laws if the Supreme Court ends Roe v. Wade. Of the 33.6 million women that are at risk of having their choices taken from them, many live in Texas, where already, there is a ban on abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy. Or in Florida which will enforce a 15-week of the pregnancy abortion ban. Restricting or banning abortions has never led to a decrease in abortions, but women seek alternative options that aren’t necessarily safe. Individuals will cross different state lines or seek different abortion remedies, but these options will bring up financial challenges for women that live on lower incomes or don’t have the resources to seek out other options. States that are attempting to ban abortions have policies which make it more difficult for women to access proper health care, or pregnancy and childcare support services. Restrictive abortion laws have always only created barriers for women that make it difficult for them to live a life of their choosing. Banning abortions is just another systematic factor that issues further control of women. Basic reproductive laws should be in place to protect women and their livelihood without their lives being dictated to and managed by laws and lawmakers.

Women in Afghanistan

Since the Taliban’s takeover last August, they have refrained from issuing any laws regarding the appearances of women in Afghanistan, until May 7th. During a press conference, the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue stated that women of Afghanistan must cover their faces in public, and if these laws weren’t obeyed then they will face excruciating circumstances. These circumstances include, the woman’s male guardian being visited at home by the Taliban officials, then if the woman’s appearance is still not acceptable, the male guardian will go see the ministry officials and eventually could be placed in jail for a couple of days. In the last few weeks, there have been more restricting laws that have been forced onto women, such as assigning separate days for them to visit public parks to men or banning women from taking longer journeys without a male companion. Teenage girls have not been able to return to their schooling in most of the country. There are numerous issues that are present in Afghanistan, such as lack of access to education, famine, bombings and etc. But unfortunately, the unwanted focus has been on women.

Potential Coronavirus Wave

Biden administration warns that there could be a 100 million coronavirus infections and potential wave of deaths this upcoming fall and winter, that’s directed by the new omicron sub variants. There was a projection that was made by a senior administration official that assumes that Omicron and its variants will dominate the community. There were also several experts that agreed that due to the immunity of the vaccines and infections, with additional loosened restrictions, there could be the rise of variants escaping the immunity protections.

- Written by Jenna Cho: Source - New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post

The Supreme Court Leak: What's Next for Roe v Wade?

Late at night on May 2nd, the online news publication Politico published a leaked copy of a Supreme Court Justice's draft on the critical Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case-- one that has the potential to overturn the polarizing landmark case of Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was decided a little over 50 years ago in the early 1970's, and ruled that the inherent right to privacy in the Constitution allowed women the privacy to make the medical decision to have an abortion. Since its release, the issue of abortion has been incredibly polarizing in American politics with the two main camps being "pro-life" and "pro-choice". There have been attempts to overturn Roe in the past, but the case currently in the Supreme Court appears to have the largest potential to do so.

The draft that was released was written by Justice Samuel Alito, who has been referred to as the Court's farthest-right Justice. Due to the publicized nature of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the leak made waves as soon as it was released and has become Politico's highest viewed article after less than a weak after being published. There have been remarkably few leaks in the Court's history because of the small group that has access to these opinions-- the Justices themselves, and their clerks who are sworn to secrecy. It is still unknown who the 100+ page draft was leaked by, but the question has gripped the minds of many.

In Justice Alito's draft, he wrote, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start," and claimed that the Constitution leaves the issue of abortion to "the people's elected representatives." If the Court rules this way when the decision comes out in the summer, it will leave abortion laws strictly up to the states. Many states have "trigger bans" in place, which will enact strict regulations or entirely outlaw abortion if the Court overturns Roe v. Wade the second they do so.

Liberal Political Commentary

If the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization mirrors Justice Alito's leaked draft, women in the United States are in trouble. The fact that women's bodily autonomy is still up for debate as a political tool is deeply disturbing. As an advanced democracy that claims to be the "leader of the free world", women in the United States shouldn't have to worry about being forced to carry out a pregnancy against their will, and no one should have to argue they do. A Pew Research study revealed that a majority of Americans support the right to chose to some degree, yet a group of 9 elected people are on the brink of removing legal protections for abortion. A research organization revealed that 26 states are guaranteed or very likely to ban abortion in the event that Roe is overturned. This would set the country back half a century in social progress and gender equality, and we should be worried.

Abortion is healthcare, and it should be regarded as such-- not criminalized. No one enjoys abortion, and many who have them don't like the idea. For many, it's a last resort. The idea of being raped is horrific, and being forced to carry a rapists' child adds another layer to the trauma they have already gone through. Also a possibility is that a fetus has developed in the womb with fatal disabilities and has no hope of surviving more than an hour or two after birth. Not only will being forced to carry out that birth cause lifelong psychological trauma to the woman, but would cause the baby pain. For women who cannot afford to go through the medical procedures that go into giving birth or raising a child, adoption isn't as great of an option as many conservatives claim. In 2019 it was estimated that up to 80% of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, with 21.5% having PTSD.

Make no mistake: there is no way to ban abortion. It is only possible to ban safe abortion. Women in states that will outright ban abortion or impose strict qualifications will be forced to travel out of state-- possibly thousands of miles-- to receive the care they need. Those who can't afford to travel hours would be forced to turn to underground clinics which remain out of the public eye, and often use unsafe practices and unsanitary equipment that may put the woman's life at risk. If America wants to keep claiming to be the leader of the free world, it's past time we start acting like it and grant our citizens the basic human right to make decisions about their body that only effects them.

- Written by Ashlyn Hill

Conservative Political Commentary

The leak heard around this world occurred this week as the leaked preliminary opinion of the supreme court seems to be in support of overthrowing Roe vs. Wade. Many are speculating if Roe v. Wade is overturned that other court cases regarding personal choice and privacy, such as Griswold (Concerning contraception), Lawrence v. Texas (Concerning the state’s right to ban homosexual sex) and of course Obergefell v. Hodges (concerning the right to gay marriage), would be potentially overturned as well (Sullivan). However, Justice Samuel Alito, author of the draft, expressly states within it “"To ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion,"(Sullivan). Chief Justice Roberts is stated to have advocated for a half measure that would allow for the Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks to stand without overthrowing the landmark case of Roe v. Wade (Liptak). This is unsurprising given that in a 2015 opinion Roberts stated, “The purpose of insisting that implied fundamental rights have roots in the history and tradition of our people” is to ensure that justices make decisions “based on something more than their own beliefs”(Sullivan).

The GOP has responded to the leak with outrage not at the potential decision but on the leak itself. It is pandering to its ultraconservative demographic in regards to banning abortions when it is clear that a significant number of Americans are pro-choice. A Gallop poll in 2019 reflects this with 53% of participants being in favour of abortion rights. This is even reflected in the Republican party. In one 2020 Gallup poll over 60% of Republicans in Arizona and Pennsylvania agreed that “these decisions [about abortions] are best left to women, their families, and their doctors/healthcare providers.” This clearly indicates that not all Republican voters agree with the prohibition of abortion.

It is not as black and white as the politicians would have it be seen, and many more conservative voters still believe in preserving reproductive rights. As stated by one Republican advocate, Anne Stone, “From a reproductive-choice standpoint, obviously I’m not happy,” however she still remains strongly aligned with the republican party because of their stance on other issues (Sussman). This is not an uncommon sentiment for those in the Republican party, but they feel it is the lesser of two evils and that Roe v. Wade will not be overturned. Unfortunately, many conservatives are not having their needs met within the party as the politicians focus more on saying what they think will keep them in the office instead of staying true to their party’s value of “protecting constitutionally guaranteed freedoms” including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which would be inherently hindered with the loss of women’s choice over their own bodies.

Economy

The European Union is currently trying to decide how to reduce, if not eliminate, Russian oil usage. Sanctions have been imposed on many economic sectors of Russia, but nearly al of Europe is still heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. Currently, EU nations are trying to find a way to continue paying for Russian oil in a way that doesn’t violate EU sanctions while trying to find energy alternatives. (Source: BBC)

As nurse salaries are rising, some hospitals are making moves to raise their prices by as much as 15%. Two leading hospital chains have requested that health plans pay more for care, and have threatened to raise premiums. Despite hospitals arguing that raising costs is necessary to cover the rising nurse salaries, insurers and unions argue that raising costs aren’t necessary at all. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Two major US-based companies, Starbucks and Amazon, are entrenched in worker’s union fights. The two companies have had workers unionize in the last few months, and both have pushed back. The National Labor Relations board reported accusations that Amazon and Starbucks engaged in conduct that violated working laws. The Board narrowed in on Amazon, finding evidence that they required workers to attend anti-union meetings and threatened to strip benefits from workers who chose to unionize. (Source: New York Times)

- Written by Ashlyn Hill

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