Believe it or not, the right really is coming after birth control

Probably this judge will get the same kind of public rebuke that Aileen Cannon got, if he goes through with it. Probably. But like the story says, this is just for openers.

Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas, recently released an opinion that “the Title X program violates the constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.” Title X is a federal family planning program that provides services including contraceptives, pregnancy testing, testing for sexually transmitted infections, infertility help, and more. It offers services to adolescents as well as adults—and that’s where the right-wing challenge, and Kacsmaryk’s decision, comes in...

This is a really, really weak case, in other words. There’s a decent chance that, if Kacsmaryk goes ahead and tries to block Title X funding, he will be overturned at the appellate level, even given that the case would be appealed to the very conservative Fifth Circuit. Even the Trump-McConnell Supreme Court might not be willing to go this far yet. But either way, Kacsmaryk could at least temporarily mess up a vitally important health care program. And he’s showing that, yes, the right-wing legal movement, up to and including a federal judge, has its sights set on birth control rights. - Daily Kos

What the Pres.-elect can quickly do for reproductive rights

Pretty straightforward, really.

Even with Democrats poised to control the Senate, our wait on some of these issues may continue for at least another election cycle. Which is why it’s worth focusing on at least one action Biden can take immediately that will help increase reproductive freedom: He can commit to combatting the rampant disinformation campaigns that have targeted reproductive and sexual health, rights, and justice issues with the same vigor he applies to attacking other destructive lies.

On December 10, House Democrats sent President-elect Biden a proposal for combatting digital disinformation. The signees specifically called out the flagrant spread of fictional claims regarding COVID-19—what has been dubbed an “infodemic”—for contributing to the erosion of our democracy, and expressed grave concern about how foreign adversaries might take advantage of a citizenry that’s proved to be highly vulnerable to online manipulation. - Rewire News Group

The pandemic is costing some way more than others

It's the same deal in Minnesota, as everywhere else.

When it comes to the front lines of the pandemic, Asian women, Native American women, and Black women are disproportionately employed in high-risk essential health care, retail, and service jobs in Minnesota, according to researchers at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

At the same time, pandemic-related layoffs have disproportionately affected women, Native Americans, and Blacks, compared to other groups. And differences in demographic composition across jobs categories and industries explain only a fraction of these job losses.

New research published by the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy this week highlights the ways that different groups of workers were unequally impacted as the pandemic tightened its grip on Minnesota over the spring and summer months. - Humphrey School of Public Affairs