Justice & Law

Keeping Score: Kamala Harris Launches Presidential Campaign; JD Vance’s Extreme Abortion Views; Republicans Attack Voting Rights, Title IX and DEI

PUBLISHED 7/25/2024 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Vice President Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign with Biden’s endorsement; Trump’s VP pick JD Vance’s anti-abortion extremism; women’s health is suffering in the Southeast; the Supreme Court blocked an EPA air pollution plan; House Republicans attack voting rights and Title IX; rest in power, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Dr. Ruth Westheimer; and more.

DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Allow Most of the New Sex Discrimination Rule to Go Into Effect

PUBLISHED 7/24/2024 by

The Justice Department went to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in defense of the Biden administration’s new Title IX sex discrimination rule that includes transgender protections—arguing strongly that the logic of the rule is “compelled” by the Court’s ruling in Bostock.

The rule, issued under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, is set to go into effect on Aug. 1.

The Kamala Harris I Know, and What It Could Mean for America

PUBLISHED 7/23/2024 by

In the past two decades, Kamala Harris has gone from being the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as San Francisco district attorney, to the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president of the United States. Now, she’s earned enough delegate support to become a presidential nominee—another first for a woman of color. The significance of this moment cannot be overstated.

I know what it is like to live at a time when our leaders haven’t looked like me.

Title IX: Upholding Justice for Student Survivors in a Historic Election Year

PUBLISHED 7/23/2024 by

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of Title IX, a landmark civil rights law that has transformed the landscape of U.S. education. The Biden-Harris administration’s new Title IX regulations, set to take effect Aug. 1, represent a significant step toward acknowledging and addressing the unique challenges faced by student who face discrimination and sexual violence, especially female, LGBTQ+ and pregnant or parenting students. But Republicans hope to block these Title IX revisions and revert them back to the restrictive Trump-era Title IX guidelines.

In this historic election year, with President Biden stepping down from the presidential campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris stepping up as the new candidate, the stakes are even higher.

Supreme Court’s Blow to Federal Agencies’ Power Will Likely Weaken Abortion Rights. Here Are Three Issues to Watch.

PUBLISHED 7/23/2024 by

One of the Court’s most significant decisions of 2024 was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In a reversal of 40 years of precedent, courts—not agencies—will have the last word on interpreting federal law.

In her Loper dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote: “In every sphere of current or future federal regulation, expect courts from now on to play a commanding role.” Kagan’s dissent raises the specter of judges across the country—not doctors or scientists or educators, nor even politicians, who at least must answer to the public—playing a “commanding role” in reproductive rights policy.

Dropping the ‘Respectfully’ in Dissent: What ‘Trump v. U.S.’ Means for the Country’s Future

PUBLISHED 7/23/2024 by

The Supreme Court majority’s extreme belief in Trump v. U.S. that our president is above the law is anathema to the history of our nation.

In almost every case, the dissenting justices write, “I respectfully dissent,” but both Sotomayor and Jackson omit the “respectfully” in their dissents in Trump v. U.S. There is little to cling to in this decision. It is as un-American as can be.

First Four Antiabortion Extremists Sentenced in Nashville for Blockading Tennessee Clinic

PUBLISHED 7/18/2024 by , and

Four antiabortion extremists, Dennis Green, Paul Vaughn, Coleman Boyd and Cal Zastrow, were sentenced last week following their convictions for felony conspiracy and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. These charges stemmed from their involvement in a 2021 blockade of the carafem Health Center in Nashville, a reproductive health clinic that offered abortion care.

On March 5, 2021, the four defendants and the seven other indicted individuals blockaded the entrance to the Carafem Nashville Health Center. Patients were unable to enter the clinic, and staff members were unable to leave. In Coleman Boyd’s live stream of the blockade, he can be heard harassing and intimidating a patient, calling her a “mom coming to kill her baby.” Boyd also encouraged one of his children—a minor—to do the same. A patient and employee of the clinic testified at the trial, saying they felt fear and anxiety during the clinic blockade. Court documents described the blockade as “borne out of the defendant’s lack of respect for the law,” meant to “train and encourage others to carry out additional unlawful blockades.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Must Prioritize Reproductive Choice as the Country Becomes a Lifeline for American Women

PUBLISHED 7/17/2024 by

In June, Mexico marked a historic moment electing its first female president. Many women from the United States and other Latin American countries travel to Mexico to seek care. Therefore, advancing reproductive choice for women and girls should be a top policy priority for President Claudia Sheinbaum’s term in order to expand access to myriad opportunities for women across the Americas.

House Republicans Are Jeopardizing the Rights of Women and LGBTQ+ Students

PUBLISHED 7/17/2024 by

On April 19, the Biden administration released new Title IX guidelines that increase protections for assault victims, LGBTQ+ students, and pregnant students by providing schools more flexibility in how they conduct investigations.

Almost three months later, on July 10, House Republicans passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution—House Joint Resolution 165—that would block the Biden administration’s Title IX revisions and revert them back to the restrictive Trump-era Title IX guidelines.

Gen Z’s Fight to Secure the ERA in the Constitution

PUBLISHED 7/17/2024 by

Women are still fighting for the ERA and constitutional gender equality. It’s astonishing that in 2024, women are not legally considered equal to their male counterparts.

For Gen Z, a generation that prides itself on embracing diversity, inclusion and equality, this discrimination cannot stand. We are in a unique position to support gender equality, demanding that it becomes a constitutional right.