The big news this week was the 5th Circuit Court's ruling that put back into place Texas' restrictive laws against abortion. A lower court had struck down the measure ruling that forcing abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospital-level surgical centers "imposes an undue burden on the right of women throughout Texas to seek a previability abortion."
The impact was immediate and profound. 13 clinics were forced to shut down overnight, leaving 8 clinics to serve the entire state, all in either Houston, Austin and two other metropolitan regions. No clinics remain either west or south of San Antonio.
The fact that abortion is still a right means little if women can't access that right. For women in remote areas of the state, who may not be able to get to one of the big cities where you can still find assistance, there is no "freedom to choose".
The one silver lining in the dark cloud over Texas is that with this ruling coming down a mere month before the statewide elections, it will motivate women (and pro-choice men) to get out to the polls and vote for candidates who don't put roadblocks between women and their health care.
More below the fold:
• MSNBC's Chris Hayes covered the Texas abortion clinic story on his show.
• MSNBC reporter Irin Carmon states that the next step for reproductive rights supporters will likely be the Supreme Court -- with Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote.
Politics Beat
• Earlier this week the College Republican National Committee released a series of videos based on the reality series "Say Yes to the Dress" asking young women to "say yes" to candidates like Rick Scott and Rick Snyder. While it was received in some quarters with derision, others took a different view; a familiar face suggested that just maybe the Republicans shouldn't want the folks the ad is directed towards voting anyway.
• Nice to know that Republicans still think that the Democrats are using "women's issues" to distract voters from the "real issues".
• Women's reproductive health is taking center stage in the CO Senate race.
• And a family-planning activist urges voters to consider candidates' stances on reproductive choice when they go into the voting booth.
International News
• ISIS is executing more than just journalists; RIP Sameera Salih Ali al-Nuaimy.
• A Columbian women's rights group received a United Nations award last weekend.
• Women's rights and Islam are, contrary to public opinion, not mutually exclusive concepts. Muslim women in Islamic countries seek to reconcile the two and bridge the gaps.
Social Register
• This isn't news to those of us who live and work here, but for the rest of you folks, Silicon Valley is a great place...if you're a man. If you're a woman, not so much.
• (TW: rape imagery) There are some good folks at Reddit -- someone hosts a page of Sims 4 shortcuts and "cheats" that I frequently referencthis but then you've got folks like this: a group (known as a subreddit) that teaches men how to correct those uppity women by raping them. Just lovely.
• Maybe it's time for fraternities to admit women, says an opinion piece on CNN.
The next two items courtesy of ramara (and a blessed Yom Kippur to her and all those who observe the High Holy Days):
• Can black women be "classically beautiful" or just "angry"?
• What happens when battered women enter the legal system? Too often they're the ones who end up behind bars.
And finally...
• This ad talks about how women's minds are "poisoned" by feminism...but it's not what you think. (From Rock the Vote's #CareLikeCrazy ad campaign)