Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash In November, Ohio voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to include a right to reproductive freedom. State officials said on Tuesday that the petition had culled 495,938 valid signatures across 55 counties, surpassing the requisite 413,487 signatures across 44 counties. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio […]
Opill becomes first FDA-approved contraceptive pill for over-the-counter use
In the United States, the path to accessible birth control pills hasn’t always been easy. Although the first FDA-approved birth control pill became available in 1960, the Comstock Act (a 150 year old “chastity law”) has created barriers to accessing it. These barriers were not challenged until Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, when the Supreme […]
Biden-Harris administration forgives student debt for 804,000 borrowers
When the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student debt relief plan, he remained determined. At a June 30 press conference he told reporters, “We need to find a new way.” Two weeks later, the Department of Education announced the details: it will cancel $39 billion in Federal student loans. On July […]
Though most Iowans support abortion access, legislators pass six-week ban
Last month, the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on whether the state could reinstate an abortion ban around six weeks. The case centered around a 2018 statute that many people believed had “no chance of taking effect,” Justice Thomas D. Waterman observed. Without Court consensus, abortion remained legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy. That changed […]
Supreme Court lets businesses discriminate against a protected class for the first time in history
In 2017, the Supreme Court heard a case about a bakery owner who refused to create a cake for a gay wedding. The Court ruled that the cake represented free expression, so the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) could not force the owner to sell a cake for the couple’s wedding. On June 30, the Court […]
Democrats reintroduce legislation to expand the Supreme Court, set term limits
The Supreme Court ended its term with decisions that challenged precedent and rolled back rights for the environment, Black and Latino college applicants, same-sex couples, and student loan borrowers. With a 6-3 conservative majority, the Court is making its highest rate of conservative decisions since 1931.Two of its Justices have violated ethics protocol and its […]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has challenged traditional perceptions of gender, while also exacerbating inequalities
Photo by Yohan Marion on Unsplash Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, gender gaps in education, poverty, and gender-based violence have increasingly widened for Ukrainian women. The war has shifted the traditional understanding of gender dynamics in Ukraine as women fill positions left behind by men being drafted into the military. […]
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act goes into effect
Photo by Laura Ohlman on Unsplash Last Tuesday, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which President Biden signed into law last year, went into effect. This new law will expand “long-overdue protections to ensure that workers experiencing pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions have the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace,” according to the […]
Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action
AP Photo/Gerry Broome In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions programs. In both cases — Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina — college admissions programs considered race as one of many factors in determining an application’s value. The Court ruled that […]
Supreme Court explicitly rejects independent state legislature theory
Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash Voting rights activists around the country are celebrating as the Supreme Court released their decision for the Moore v. Harper case, ruling that state legislatures do not have the authority to set election rules outside the constraints of state constitutions. This is the second time this month we have […]