The Week in Women
Major abortion win in Ohio, a rising infant mortality rate, Philadelphia's first female mayor
Hi readers, and welcome to The Week in Women, a rundown of this week’s major women’s rights stories from around the world. Here we go!
Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment enshrining reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion, into the state constitution. Voters turned out in record numbers to support abortion despite repeated attempts by anti-abortion groups to confuse voters with misleading language.
Election night also saw wins for abortion in Virginia, where abortion supporting majorities were voted in and will now control the state Senate and Assembly. This comes as a major rebuke to VA Governor Youngkin’s support for a 15-week abortion ban.
Democrat Cherelle Parker will become Philadelphia’s first female mayor after beating out her Republican opponent in this weeks election.
In oral argument this week, the US Supreme Court appeared to be leaning towards keeping in place a law that restricts domestic violence abusers from possessing firearms.
Mike Johnson was elected as Speaker of the House, a congressman who has supported efforts to ban abortion nationwide and previously worked with anti-abortion groups.
An ex-CIA officer pled guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women during his overseas posts for the US government.
A Colorado court blocked a law that would have been the first in the country to ban so-called abortion pill “reversal,” a deceptive practice not based in science.
The National Science Foundation is sending investigators to a US research base in Antarctica to investigate concerns over sexual harassment and violence after a report raised allegations last year.
Armita Geravand, a 16-year old Iranian girl, died after weeks of being in a coma as a result of an alleged assault by the police for not wearing a hijab.
Matiullah West, an advocate for Afghani girls’ education, was released by the Taliban after seven months in prison for his activism.
According to the CDC, the U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3% in 2022, the largest increase in two decades – according to the CDC. Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas were the states with the most significant increases.
…and that’s it for now. Have a great week ahead!
xx Tamar + Jill
The Week in Women comes to you thanks to research from Tamar Eisen (she/her/hers), an advocate for reproductive justice and gender equity. She lives in New York City where she works for the Center for Reproductive Rights and teaches yoga.
Wish the ‘pro life’ folks would turn their attention from abortion to infant mortality. That they care more about abortion suggests to me that they care less about saving lives than they do about dictating how people should live.
Tamar, do you know if the increase in infant mortality rates solely reflects the fact that more women are forced to give birth to babies with congenital defects that are incompatible with life due to the increasing difficulty in getting an abortion in a post-Roe world? I haven't been able to find much that goes into why we're seeing this increase.