The Week in Women

North Dakota abortion ban, free birth control in Italy, legislative sparring on transgender healthcare

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!

US News

The GOP majority US Senate blocked the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, after Senators fell nine votes short of the 60 votes required. Every Democrat voted for the measure and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins were the only Republicans to vote for its passage.

North Dakota’s Governor signed into law a near-total abortion ban with an immediate effective date, becoming the 13th state in the country to pass such a ban since Roe was overturned last year. The ban comes only one month after the state Supreme Court temporarily blocked a similar ban from going into effect.

Republican-led efforts to restrict transgender healthcare were stifled in three states this past week. In Kansas, legislators failed to override the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill that would have revoked doctors’ licenses if they provided gender-transitioning care to children. A Missouri judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of a rule that would have restricted gender affirming care in the state. And the Justice Department sued Tennessee over its new ban on gender transitioning care for minors. 

The Republican majority in the Montana House of Representatives voted to ban Democratic Representative Zooey Zephyr from attending or speaking during floor sessions after she said GOP lawmakers would have blood on their hands for passing bills restricting transgender rights. Zephyr, the first openly transgender person elected to the Montana legislature, stood by her comments and said that her colleagues were using decorum as a “tool of oppression.”

Global News

Ugandan riot police arrested 11 female members of parliament during a protest outside of the parliament building. They were protesting police brutality and use of excessive force at events organized by the lawmakers in their local jurisdictions. Several of the parliamentarians sustained injuries during the arrest, as videos showed the police forcefully shoving them into vans. 

For the first time, the Pope will allow women to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops across the world. The Vatican announced that half of the ten bishop voting representatives will be women and half of the 70 non-bishop members will be as well. The decision comes after years of advocacy and demands by women for inclusion in the church.

Italy’s medicine agency plans to make birth control pills available for free for women of all ages in the coming weeks. The move has been applauded by women’s rights groups across the country and has sparked protest by the anti-abortion movement. 

Reports

A research report released this week found that the majority of hospitals in Oklahoma were unable to explain their policies on emergency abortion care, highlighting how the state’s abortion bans have fueled confusion and chaos that will have a negative impact on reproductive healthcare. Only two of the 34 hospitals researched said they provided legal support for clinicians in such situations. 

An analysis by UNICEF revealed that 90% of adolescent girls and young women in low income countries do not use the internet. Their male peers are twice as likely to be online, which enforces a large gender digital divide and threatens to leave girls behind in an increasingly technologically reliant world.

…and that’s it for now. Have a great week ahead!

xx Tamar + Jill

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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.