Project 2025, as you have probably heard, is the 900+-page monstrosity (in all senses of the word) created by the Heritage Foundation and their ilk to remake the federal government in their own fascist image. They figure nobody will read it, and there are summaries available online. But here is a somewhat scannable pdf version, where we can do a deep dive without increasing traffic at the Project 2025 site. There is a ton to unpack, and whenever I write a WOW column this year, I’ll try to pick out a new area that will severely impact women’s lives. I’ll start, of course, with “Section 3: The General Welfare,” chapter 14, “Department of Health and Human Services”. These are their plans for reproductive healthcare:
[To be clear, I will summarise Project 2025’s claims. I do not believe nor endorse them, but want you to be familiar with them; this will be too cumbersome if I debunk all of their claims, so I will pick and choose, but you are free to assume that I agree with none of it.]
According to the authors of Project 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has “lost its way,” with a drop in life expectancy, and of course it’s all Biden’s fault that we are now “sicker, poorer, and more divided”. Project 2025 has “five cross-cutting goals” in areas “that most need reform”. Most of their attacks on reproductive rights are contained in Goal #1:
Goal #1: Protecting Life, Conscience, and Bodily Integrity:
”The Secretary should pursue a robust agenda to protect the fundamental right to life, protect conscience rights, and uphold bodily integrity” — there is, of course, no acknowledgement that upholding bodily integrity of a fetus necessarily invades the bodily integrity of a pregnant person:
From the moment of conception, every human being possesses inherent dignity and worth, and our humanity does not depend on our age, stage of development,race, or abilities. The Secretary must ensure that all HHS programs and activities are rooted in a deep respect for innocent human life from day one until natural death: Abortion and euthanasia are not health care.
Of course yes, abortion and euthanasia are health care.
The horse crap rolls on, stating that there will be more “respect for the sacred rights of conscience,” which will increase “choices for patients and program beneficiaries and furthers pluralism and tolerance”. How a woman in need of abortion care at a hospital that refuses such care has increased choices is not explained. They further roll over transgender rights, so are hardly demonstrating pluralism nor tolerance. And they wind up this section with:
The next Secretary must ensure that HHS programs protect children’s minds and bodies and that HHS programs respect parents’ basic right to direct the upbringing, education,and care of their children.
So you may not provide consent for your children’s transgender care, but that is respecting your basic right to care for your children. Got that?
There is much more, including the “rights” of states to determine how their states conduct health care, but this stuff easily becomes tl;dr, so I’ll stop here for this evening. But please, if you know young people of childbearing age, let them know the plan. Doctors will have their “conscience rights” protected. Pregnant people will not.
Cat parents will have more rights than human parents (h/t Aysha Qamar)
In Other News
violence
Dubai
Irish woman charged with ‘attempting suicide’ by Dubai court: Public figures call for release of Tori Towey, 28, who says attempt was response to alleged domestic violence attack:
A 28-year-old woman from Ireland has been charged with “attempting suicide” by a court in Dubai, with politicians and campaigners calling for her release.
Tori Towey, who works in the United Arab Emirates as an airline cabin crew member, said she tried to take her own life after allegedly being attacked and left with severe bruising and other injuries in a domestic violence incident
https://www.theguardian.com/…
UK — Several Items:
Suspect found with injuries after triple crossbow killings in Bushey: Kyle Clifford, a British Army veteran, found in north London and taken to major trauma centre following manhunt:
A British army veteran wanted in connection with the death of three women in a suspected crossbow attack has been captured after being found with injuries, police have said.Ch Supt Jon Simpson from Hertfordshire police told reporters earlier on Wednesday the suspected murders were believed to be targeted.
https://www.theguardian.com/…
4 years for murder: Although to be fair, apparently the husband was mentally ill and having trouble accessing help:
Gary Alexander Baird attacked his 60-year-old wife Susan Baird at the home they shared on Windermere Road in Belfast on 16 August 2020.
She died of "catastrophic" head injuries in what the judge called a "brutal" assault with a hammer.
Baird, who is 65, has been sentenced to a seven-year term after he previously pleaded guilty to her manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.
-snip-
However, Baird is expected to be released later this year due to the time that he has already spent on remand.
https://www.bbc.com/…
Man jailed for at least 23 years for strangling estranged wife with bootlace:
Michael McDaid pleaded guilty to murder of Rachel McDaid, 53, at her Nottinghamshire home in April
https://www.theguardian.com/…
Boy, 17, arrested after reports male attempted to attack people with bladed weapon at Sikh temple in Gravesend:
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and a religiously aggravated public order offence after a sword attack near a gurdwara in Kent left two young females with injuries. a youth had grabbed a sword kept in a Sikh place of worship during a ceremony. He was seized by security but broke free and ran out of the gurdwara. It is believed that two females were then attacked with the sword in a street close by.
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Hollywood
Neil Gaiman accused by two women of sexual assault
www.yahoo.com/…
Porn
UK
Let’s go after deepfake pornography sites – and the social media giants that peddle them:
The government should send a clear message to creators and sites that advertise this abusive content.
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Economics
Even in jobs where they're most represented, Black women still earn less.
Abortion
Even GOP women are getting fed up
Two Republican women in Texas are fighting to get abortion off the party's list of highest priorities. (Both are precinct chairs.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/…
You never know, maybe they’ll finally realise that the face-eating party could eat their faces next.
Arkansas
Signatures were gathered to put abortion rights on the ballot in AR, and state government is denying that ballot signatures are valid according to the rules. Signature gatherers insist that they followed all the rules and they have receipts. For the latest, see this DKos diary, www.dailykos.com/… which includes ways to help (they have some pretty good merch!), and follow hairylarry!
Russia: War Criminal Putin tries to stop Yulia Navalnaya
Russia Orders Arrest of Yulia Navalnaya, Aleksei Navalny’s Widow
This week, Russia convicted Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, on charges of extremism. The charges against her cited Navalnaya’s role in leading the advisory board of her late husband’s NGO, the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which now operates internationally. Navalnaya has been placed on the international wanted list and would be subject to arrest if she returns to Russia. Navalnaya responded to the decision by saying, “When you write about this, please do not forget to write the main thing: Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal.” She continued, “His place is in prison, and not somewhere in The Hague, in a cozy cell with a TV, but in Russia—in the same colony and the same two-by-three-meter cell in which he killed Aleksei.”
Fortunately, she now lives in Germany.
Alexei Navalny and Yulia Navalnaya in happier times (h/t nancyjones)
promoting women’s rights
Afghanistan
UK should restore diplomatic presence to help Afghan women, says aid chief: Hugh Bayley says NGOs would also benefit as he releases report on impact of UK programme in Afghanistan:
Hugh Bayley, who visited Kabul in May, said he believed Afghan women and NGOs would welcome more western diplomats to represent the opinions of women to the Taliban as he released a report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) on the effectiveness of the UK programme, which is the second largest operated by Britain.
https://www.theguardian.com/...
Women’s voices are marginalised under the Taliban, and women who speak up may be punished. Concerns include fewer midwives, education cut-offs, and access to food aid.
UK Good News:
New UK Cabinet Includes Highest Number of Female Members in History
The United Kingdom’s newly elected Parliament has broken records for including the highest proportion of women and ethnically diverse lawmakers in history. Of the 650 Members of Parliament elected, more than 40 percent are women, an increase from 33 percent in 2019. The proportion of lawmakers from ethnic minority backgrounds has also increased from 10 to 14 percent. “The 2024 election is a landmark for representation, with record diversity in our parliament, closer than ever to that of the electorate,” said Sunder Katwala, director of British Future. In another first, the cabinet announced by Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir includes the largest number of women in history. Rachel Reeves has become the first-ever female chancellor, a decision that some are calling a “game-changer.” The chancellor is the UK’s chief financial minister.
The Vatican
Vatican will prepare a document on the role of women in leadership in the Catholic Church:
The Vatican said Tuesday that its doctrine office will prepare a document on women in leadership roles in the Catholic Church, a new initiative to respond to longstanding demands by women to have a greater say in the church’s life.
The document will be written by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith as its contribution to Pope Francis’ big church reform process, now entering its second main phase with a meeting of bishops in October, known as a synod.
The Vatican announced the details of the doctrinal document shortly after its news conference — led by four men — on the preparatory work for the October meeting, leaving journalists no chance to ask for more details about it.
A group pressing for women’s ordination promptly dismissed the significance of it as “crumbs,” noting that ordained men would once again be making decisions about women’s roles in the church.
Bolding mine!
Bad product news!
Absorbable amounts of toxic metals ---e.g., mercury, arsenic, lead, etc--- detected in over a dozen tampon brands, organic brands included. Yikes!
Olympics
Afghanistan
Female Sprinter Selected for Afghan Olympic Team
Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi has been selected to represent Afghanistan in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games from her training base in Australia and will compete in the one-hundred-meter sprint. This will be Yousofi’s third Olympics. Yousofi, who served as Afghanistan’s flag bearer for the 2021 Tokyo Games, said that “It’s an honor to represent the girls of my homeland once again.” She also added that she “represent[s] the stolen dreams and aspirations of these women.” The Afghan Olympic Committee, which operates from outside the country, extended their gratitude to the Australian Olympic Committee for its support of Yousofi. Yousofi’s Australia-based coach, John Quinn, praised her technical improvement since the last Olympic Games, as well as her ability to “juggle [everything] – training, a new language, getting her family here, all those things.”
As always, WOW is a group effort! Many thanks to Angmar, ramara, and mettle fatigue for news items and discussion “behind the scenes”!