The 19th

The 19th is a nonprofit, independent news organization based in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2020 by Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora, longtime journalists who believed the news was not representative enough. The newsroom’s goal is to empower women and LGBTQ+ people—particularly those from underrepresented communities—with the information, resources and tools they need to be equal participants in our democracy.

Trump Is Man in a Man’s World. The RNC Underscored That.

PUBLISHED 7/19/2024 by

The GOP convention put on display the party’s version of masculinity that has shaped Trump’s time in the public eye, from his cultivated image as a playboy in New York to his campaigns for office.

“The idea of the president as the hypermasculine father protector figure has been with us since the start,” said Melissa Heldman, who has long studied masculinity in presidential politics. Trump’s brand of masculinity, she said, has been that of an aggressor and open bully more “than probably any previous president.”

JD Vance, Trump’s VP Pick, Has Opposed Abortion and LGBTQ+ Rights

PUBLISHED 7/15/2024 by

Former President Donald Trump has selected as his running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has opposed abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights in his time in political office. 

Vance, who ran as staunchly anti-abortion in his Senate campaign and in 2021 compared abortion to slavery, has somewhat shifted his public stance on the issue. Trump has reportedly viewed a hardline stance on abortion as a negative for a running mate. 

On the campaign trail in 2021, Vance defended the lack of exceptions for rape and incest in a Texas abortion ban known as S.B. 8, saying in an interview that “two wrongs don’t make a right.” In a July 2021 interview with Fox News, he criticized “the childless left,” saying, “Why have we let the Democrat Party become controlled by people who don’t have children?” In June, Vance voted against a Democratic-led bill to enshrine access to in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

Republicans Want to Kill the Dept. of Ed and Privatize Education. Billionaires Are Helping Them.

PUBLISHED 7/11/2024 by

In the fall, the Department of Education will mark 45 years since its inception, but that anniversary could be its last if Donald Trump gets his way. The federal agency is one of several he’s vowed to slash if reelected president. 

Project 2025, a set of policy recommendations for a second Trump term released by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, not only supports eliminating the agency and removing LGBTQ+ protections and diversity curricula from schools but also privatizing education.   

Nursing Parents Still Have No Place to Pump at Work. Now They’re Suing.

PUBLISHED 7/5/2024 by

A wave of lawsuits—including against major companies—is coming after the PUMP Act gave employees the right to sue over a lack of workplace accommodations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for the first year of a child’s life, a standard that is difficult to meet in the United States because postpartum workplace protections are very limited.

The Fight Over Military Abortion Access: ‘The National Defense Act Being Used by Far-Right MAGA Extremists as a Wish List’

PUBLISHED 7/5/2024 by

Women lawmakers are leading efforts across the aisle to expand some childcare and contraception benefits and also limit abortion-related travel expenses.

“It seems as if Republicans are really working to use the National Defense Authorization Act—much like other pieces of legislation—to reverse a lot of the progress women have made across the country,” said Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.

A Second Trump Term Would Double Down on Erasing Trans Rights. Here’s How Advocates Are Preparing.

PUBLISHED 6/25/2024 by

If former president Donald Trump is reelected, advocacy groups expect him to enact anti-LGBTQ+ policies that are more far-reaching and extreme than those he put in place during his first term—based on his campaign promises and policies suggested by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has shaped the GOP’s agenda for decades. 

Medical Records for Out-of-State Abortions Will Now Be Protected by HIPAA

PUBLISHED 4/23/2024 by

Healthcare providers aren’t allowed to tell law enforcement about a patient’s abortion if they received the procedure in a state where it is legal, it is protected by federal law, or it is permitted by state law, the Biden administration said Monday. The rule will take effect in 30 days, and it represents a meaningful shift.

But it’s unclear whether it will protect medical data for people who self-manage their abortions by receiving medication in the mail, often from a prescribing physician in a state with laws protecting reproductive rights.

New Title IX Rules Offer ‘Comprehensive Coverage’ for LGBTQ+ Students and Sexual Violence Survivors

PUBLISHED 4/22/2024 by

Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and sexual violence survivors are largely applauding the Department of Education’s newly released federal regulations to protect the rights of these groups in schools, though they also expressed reservations about the lack of clear protections for transgender athletes. Unveiled on Friday, the final rule under Title IX includes provisions that strengthen the rights of sexual violence survivors during investigations and of LGBTQ+ individuals to experience school in a way that aligns with their gender identity. Title IX is a historic civil rights law preventing federally funded academic institutions from practicing sex discrimination. 

“We are glad that the Biden administration finally fulfilled its promise to student survivors to return Title IX to its original intent of protecting their civil rights in the aftermath of sexual violence.”