(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . This Week In The War On Women [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-29 In case you were worrying, rest assured: the war on women continues. This week I was thinking about two issues reflected in the news — abortion and women in the military, including the place where they intersect. They intersect of course in Republican efforts to deny military women access to abortion care. Military women have long been subject to the Hyde Amendment which forbids government funds from being used to pay for abortions, so that while their other heathcare is covered, abortion care isn’t. Now the focus is on allowing paid medical leave for women who have to travel to other states if they are stationed where abortion is banned or severely limited. Republicans do this objecting by tacking language forbidding this to bills (currently to spending bills), though Tommy Tuberville has been a bit more creative — he is currently holding up Senate confirmation of close to 300 top level military promotions, severely damaging our military readiness, to protest the military providing paid leave for military women time to travel to access self-paid abortions. The other issue relating to women in the military is, of course, sexual assault. More than 8% of women in the U.S. military were sexually assaulted in 2021, even as reporting rates actually dropped, numbers a Defense Department spokeswoman labeled “extremely disappointing” and “tragic” when they were released in 2022. On Friday, after a decade-long effort to change the way the military handles sexual assault, President Joe Biden gave final approval to the most significant changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice since it was established in 1950. This quote and the two that follow are from Laura Clawson’s diary reporting President Biden’s executive order requiring that reports of sexual assault in the military be handled by trained prosecutors rather than commanding officers. The revamped military legal system will now put decisions about whether to prosecute sexual assault, rape, and murder allegations in the hands of trained prosecutors rather than military commanders. Those commanders had—and used—the authority to block prosecutions and even to overturn convictions. Service members who’d been assaulted described having their accounts questioned and their careers disrupted. Sasha Georgiades, a former Navy petty officer, told ABC News in 2020 that after she was assaulted, she tried to report the incident to a superior. “I told him who had done it and he says, 'He's a good sailor. Do you really want to ruin his career? I looked at my [him] and I was like, I guess not. I guess I don't matter.” Former Army nurse Kayla Kight said that after she reported an assault and was transferred at her request, she was told by a supervisor to “stop playing the victim card,” given a bad evaluation, and repeatedly transferred. “I didn't get a good solid chance at a career because I was always starting over,” she said. I was particularly struck by this: “I told him who had done it and he says, 'He's a good sailor. Do you really want to ruin his career? I looked at my [him] and I was like, I guess not. I guess I don't matter.” Sexually assaulting another officer doesn’t make him any less “a good sailor” — it’s just a blip that can (and probably should) be ignored. Women who report sexual assault can and clearly do have their careers disrupted or destroyed and it doesn’t matter. Decades ago I watched a Congressional hearing about sexual assaults at West Point and the Naval Academy. After on woman’s moving testimomy a commanding officer was asked for his reaction. I don’t remember his answer, but the congressman questioning him pointed out that she would have made an excellent officer, and the military was weaker because it was losing the services of many such strong women. The commander had completely missed that. Abortion While I was looking up stories about the difficulties women and girls face when seeking abortions post-Dobbs I found this rather harrowing story from 2022, pre-Dobbs, and it reminded me of how this has been going on for a long time. But it also gave me a different perspective — what it’s like for a supportive family dealing with a teen’s abortion. I think it’s well worth reading. www.newyorker.com/… Someone shared this cartoon with me on Facebook. I couldn’t figure out how to post the cartoon here, but here’s the link. www.facebook.com/… A Republican-backed spending bill threatens to end national access to mail-order abortion pills and cut billions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) that provides low-income families with food benefits. The legislation is part of a spate of appropriations bills that lawmakers will debate this month, and which Congress must reach a decision on by the end of September in order to pass a budget for the 2024 fiscal year and avoid a federal shutdown. It was already approved by a House appropriations subcommittee in May, while being condemned by Democrats and causing internal rifts among Republicans. Republicans have added several provisions to the bill that would have wide-ranging effects on reproductive rights, health policy and benefits. … Specifically, the bill would reverse a 2021 Food and Drug Administration policy that allowed people to get the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone – which can be used up to 10 weeks after conception – through the mail rather than via in-person visits to providers. The FDA had temporarily lifted restrictions on the drug during the Covid-19 pandemic, before later making those changes permanent. But the drug, which is widely used for abortion and can also be used for managing miscarriages, has been the center of legal challenges and rightwing attempts to prevent its use ever since. www.theguardian.com/… And on the positive side — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday that organizers submitted enough valid signatures to put an amendment on the November ballot to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. “I hereby certify that petitioners submitted 495,938 total valid signatures on behalf of the proposed statewide initiative,” LaRose wrote in a letter to petitioners, clearing the hurdle of roughly 414,000 signatures required to be placed on the ballot this fall. The proposed amendment in Ohio would ensure “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s reproductive decisions.” The statewide vote would come a year after two of Ohio’s neighboring states – deep-red Kentucky and the political battleground of Michigan – supported abortion rights in their own ballot measures. www.cnn.com/… Other News Emily’s List has launched its Madam Mayor campaign to support pro-choice Democratic women running for local office. Emily’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, is launching a new initiative, Madam Mayor, to elevate, champion and establish resources for woman mayors. ... Emily’s List, founded in 1985, has endorsed women in mayoral races for over 30 years. The organization said it launched the Madam Mayor initiative in part because of the rise in misinformation (incorrect information shared unintentionally) and disinformation (incorrect information shared intentionally) that is targeting political candidates and shaping the political environment. thnews.org/… Thursday was Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which [marks] how far into this year Black women must work to earn what white, non-Hispanic men were paid last year alone. A related action item is this National Women’s Law Center petition to the Senate asking that they pass the Paycheck Fairness Act: “The racist, sexist wage gap robs women of thousands of dollars every year and hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes. That's why the Senate needs to act now to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will strengthen our equal pay laws to help close the gender wage gap and end pay discrimination, once and for all.” www.equalpaytoday.org/… I found this interesting review of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. I have not seen the film and don’t imagine I will — I’m old enough to have outgrown dolls by the time Barbie dolls appeared. Before that, I wanted a Revlon (yes,the cosmetic people) doll. They had regular size dolls and “Little Miss RevlonP dolls which were roughly Barbie size. And once you had the doll, there were outfits to buy. I desperately wanted one, but only got cheaper imitations. Anyway, I would be interested in comments by anyone who has seen the film. www.theatlantic.com/… ******* As always, many thanks to the WoW team, this week especially mettle fatigue and SandraLLAP. 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