Anti-choice legislation has been sweeping the nation this past month as states try to one-up each other’s restrictive policies on abortion. Shortly after Arkansas approved the most restrictive anti-abortion bill in the country, which bans abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, North Dakota made abortion illegal from the moment doctors can detect a heartbeat (around six […]
Search Results for: her votes
HERvotes Blog Carnival: Protecting Unemployment Benefits
Welcome to the seventh #HERvotes blog carnival! Today the coalition tackles the need to protect women and employment during these tough economic times, with a focus on the importance of extending Unemployment Insurance (UI) before the December 31st deadline. It is critical that Congress acts before the end of this calendar year to renew federal […]
#HERvotes Carnival: Women vs. the Bishops
Welcome to the sixth #HERvotes blog carnival! This time we are speaking out on the effort by the Catholic bishops to allow some institutions to refuse, under the Affordable Care Act, birth control coverage without co-pays to students and employees of hospitals, universities and other institutions, or other religious affiliated or connected institutions such as […]
HERvotes Carnival: Fighting Sexual Harassment
Welcome to the fifth #HERvotes blog carnival. This time we’re focusing on the need to keep strong the laws and public policies to end sex discrimination and sexual harassment in schools and in the workplace. HERvotes, a multi-organizational campaign launched in August 2011, advocates that women must use our voices and votes to stop the […]
HERVotes Blog Carnival: Mississippi “Personhood” Amendment
Welcome to the fourth #HERVotes Blog Carnival! This time, we’re writing with an especially urgent focus. There’s an extremely dangerous constitutional amendment to the Mississippi state constitution on the November 8th ballot. It grants personhood and constitutional rights to a fertilized egg. Election day is just one week away. We must stop the outrageous movement […]
#HERvotes Blog Carnival Takes on Health Care
Welcome to the third #HERvotes Blog Carnival! This time, the focus is on women and health care. The blog posts below contain lots of information about the new benefits from the Affordable Care Act, and offer original insights on what’s at stake for women–especially in the 2012 election. You’ll also find personal stories and analysis […]
HERvotes Takes On the Jobs Crisis
Our first #HERvotes blog carnival was so successful, we’re doing it again! On August 25-26, to mark the anniversaries of the passage of the 19th amendment and the March on Washington, Ms. joined with 21 women’s organizations to collectively publish 77 blog posts with a single harmonious message: We must mobilize women voters in 2012 […]
Editors’ Picks, #HERvotes Edition
Over the past few days, dozens of leading feminists from all walks of life have shared personal stories, compelling essays, policy solutions and calls to action in an effort to mobilize women voters in 2012. So many have raised their voices that even if you have been following the HERvotes blog carnival, there are probably […]
Catch Up with the #HERvotes Blog Carnival!
Today we celebrate Women’s Equality Day and the second day of the HERvotes blog carnival. In collaboration with many national women’s organizations, including Ms. publisher the Feminist Majority Foundation, we’re thrilled to be one of the hosts of HERvotes. The carnival’s goal is to call attention to the top ten historic gains for women currently […]
‘I Thought Only First Pregnancies Could Go Bad’: When Allie Phillips’ Lawmaker Dismissed Her, She Decided to Run for His Seat
“I decided to meet with my district representative in the state legislature,” said Allie Phillips. Her idea was a bill she’d called “Miley’s Law”—named after the child she’d lost—which would create an exception in Tennessee’s abortion ban allowing for the termination of pregnancies when the fetus has a fatal diagnosis.
She said the meeting with her lawmaker—Republican Rep. Jeff Burkhart—was disturbing. “I quickly learned that these [Republican] lawmakers don’t know anything about reproductive care. He was confused because I had had a healthy first pregnancy, and then lost my second one. He told me, ‘I thought only first pregnancies could go bad.’”
Burkhart, a 63-year-old father, told Allie he’d set up a meeting for her with the state’s attorney general—but never followed through.
“After that, my mom said, ‘Maybe you should run against him,’” Allie said. “And then my TikTok followers started to say the same thing.”