Welcome back Chaise Lounge readers and an especially warm welcome to our newest subscribers! I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving with family and friends.
It’s a new day in America after yesterday’s Supreme Court hearings. Many are rightly concerned that the Court may overturn the Roe and Casey decisions that protect abortion rights. We will likely not see a decision until summer, but the die is cast.
Global news updates
Study finds widespread sexism across Parliaments in Africa
A new study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the African Parliamentary Union (APU) finds sexism is alive and well in parliaments across Africa including extortion of sexual favors, violence, and more. In fact, 80 percent of the women parliamentarians interviewed have experienced psychological violence in parliament, and 67 percent have been subject to sexist behavior or remarks. 40 percent have been sexually harassed and 23 percent have endured physical violence. The findings follow a similar study that was conducted by the IPU in 2018 on European parliaments.
Women’s Tennis Association pulls out of all tournaments in China
In response to the temporary disappearance of Chinese player Peng Shuia after making accusations of sexual assault against a Chinese official, the WTA’s CEO, Steve Simon, announced on Wednesday that the WTA will no longer play tournaments in China. Although Peng was seen on Chinese state television eating at a restaurant, Simon is not convinced that she is free to move around and speak. The International Olympic Committee, however, seemed satisfied with a video call that they had with Peng and Chinese officials where she stated that she is just resting with family.
National news updates
Linda Dunikoski wins convictions in the Arbery case
Linda Dunikoski, the prosecutor in the Ahmaud Arbery case, receives top grades from Chaise Lounge and many others for her careful prosecution of the case leading to full convictions of all three men. Dunikoski was able to "read the room” and saved any real mention of race to the nearly all-white jury for her closing argument. Many suspect that this strategy allowed the jury to look at the case on its merits rather than focus on the obvious racial issues.
The Rittenhouse case revives the argument for women who kill their traffickers
By now we all know that Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of killing two men during the protests that arose out of the police shooting of James ____. He used an affirmative defense argument to win the case. In the same state of Wisconsin, a young woman is trying to use the same affirmative defense argument to protect herself from prosecution for killing her sex trafficker when she was seventeen. The case is presently under review at the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It will be interesting to see if the court allows a woman to use this defense against a man.
Ann Arbor becomes the first U.S. city to mandate menstrual products in all public buildings
The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan passed an ordinance requiring all public bathrooms to provide pads and tampons along with soap, toilet papter, and paper towels. This ordinance affects all public bathrooms, not just municipal and school buildings, and applies to all bathrooms, regardless of gender. It is the first city to pass such an all-encompassing ordinance and leads the way for other cities to follow suit.
President Biden signs first Momnibus bill
Yesterday, President Biden signed the first “Momnibus” law giving $15 million to support the maternal health of veterans. The Momnibus package includes legislation that is meant to improve the maternal health outcomes of Black women. The maternal mortality rate for Black women is three to four times that of white women and the Momnibus package of bills is directed at closing that gap.
Sexism even shows up in the birding world. Female birds sing beautifully too!
A new article in Scientific American discusses the fact that the study of female bird songs has been ignored until recently. While most birders know that female birds do sing, the study of their song has been ignored. Because ornithologists historically have been men, they have had a bias toward studying male songs. But the study of female songs is already turning up new information. Just as research on women’s bodies is much newer than that of men’s, the research on female birdsongs is just getting started.
A few words about the Supreme Court arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Whole Women’s Health
Yesterday morning I listened to the entire Supreme Court oral arguments regarding abortion rights. While I could write pages about my thoughts, I will keep it short today and just express some of my observations.
To me, the most striking thing about the arguments yesterday (and most arguments in general on the topic) was the lack of discussion around what happens to women when they are pregnant and give birth to a child who they cannot afford to raise and/or who was the product of rape or incest.
Over the decades since Roe was passed, we have collected a lot of information that illustrates the importance of abortion as a medical option. The Turnaway Study tells us that lack of access to abortion services leads to poorer mental health outcomes for women who eventually delivered a child. We also know that the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of western, developed countries. These two facts together mean that a women’s inability to access abortion has a high potential to affect both her physical and mental health to the point of death. Only Justice Sotomayor clearly spoke about the harm that can come to women if abortion is outlawed.
Justice Sotomayor took AG of Mississippi Scott Stewart to task for saying that other cases that also rely on substantive due process like the right to gay marriage, interracial marriage, or birth control would not be overturned. Many court watchers are rightfully concerned that if Roe falls based on this reasoning, then many of our other rights will fall as well since they all depend on the interpretation of the fourteenth amendment and substantive due process.
Justice Barrett repeatedly asked about the expansion of Safe Haven laws that allow a woman to relinquish her baby without the threat of prosecution. While the expansion of these laws is a good thing, it certainly does not address the fact that a woman has to complete a pregnancy with all that brings including possible job loss and death.
Justice Roberts wants to have his cake and eat it too as usual. He seemed to be arguing that the Court could honor Mississippi’s fifteen-week ban and still keep abortion legal. But that is a completely disingenuous argument since the viability standard is the only thing that has kept states from enforcing earlier bans like the one currently running in Texas at six weeks. In fact, Mississippi has another case in the wings with a six-week ban.
The strangest thing about the entire argument was that there didn’t seem to be any real reason given for overturning Roe and Casey other than the Mississippi AG Stewart seemed to think it was wrongly decided. When the more liberal justices questioned him about stare decisis, he did not really seem to have a specific legal doctrine to lean on. He just thinks it is wrong. And when Justice Sotomayor attempted to get him to say what is different now than when Casey was decided, he tried to argue that we know more about fetal pain. But she shut him down immediately noting that the doctors he cited in his brief are well-known for their fringe beliefs and cannot be used as medical experts.
Finally, AG Stewart kept saying that the decision should be returned to “the people”. Well, the people involved (the women) should be able to decide. But he doesn’t mean them. So does he mean the general public? Because polling shows that the vast majority of Americans support abortion rights. No, he must not mean them. Oh, I see, he means the state legislatures that have been gerrymandered to no longer represent “the people”. Those are the people he means. Now I see……
What I am reading/listening to
Okay, I admit it, I am an Ezra Klein fangirl, but I am not the only one. This week I listened to Ezra interview Jerusalem Demsas, a policy reporter at Vox regarding the infrastructure bill. The show was recorded before the bill passed and completes a deep dive into the vagaries of big government programs and how blue cities seem to do the worst job on delivering to their people. It’s a strong piece questioning the status quo as we see more and more gentrification. You can listen to it here.
Watch this video of Amanda Gorman performing a poem dedicated to the great Simone Biles. I found it incredibly inspiring to see these two young women embracing their greatness in spite of all that has come before them. More of this, please!
I finished reading Richard Powers’ Bewilderment and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a story of passion, compassion, pain, and love. Powers throws in a few surprises, but in his typical fashion, he explores what it means to be human in both a spiritual and scientific manner.
Misogynist of the week
We have two misogynists to feature this week since we took last week off. Sigh…
First place goes to Arizona Representative Paul Gosar who was censured by the House and stripped of committee memberships for posting a meme that included a threat to the life of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Second place goes to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina. After the public uproar about Robinson giving a speech at a church where he stated that homosexuality and transgenderism are “filth”, state senator Julie Mayfield gave a speech at the legislature standing up for the LGBT community. After her speech, Robinson accosted her in the hallway telling her to come see him before she speaks again.
Just for fun
As a tennis fan, I am always in awe of the athleticism of the players. But this picture really illustrates how they take flight. Kudos to the photographer, Corinne Dubreuil!
Hot Takes on the Supreme Court Abortion Arguments