Released on September 17, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), and its first Black president in 50 years, I have especially followed the ”Justice for Breonna Taylor” movement. It has been moving to see so many others mobilize, whether they are young activists on social media or major influencers like Oprah Winfrey, to keep this issue at the forefront. While we applaud the settlement this
Released on September 15, 2020 Washington, D.C. — This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694), a bill that aims to eliminate discrimination and promote economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for those whose ability to perform functions of their job are limited by pregnancy, childcare, and other related medical conditions. For decades pregnant people have
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sunday, Jacob Blake was shot at least seven times in the back by police, while three of his children watched in horror. Yesterday, the whole nation witnessed Jacob Blake Sr. cry out — “My son matters. He’s a human being, and he matters.” Incidents like these are why Black women and
Released on August 14, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice released First Priorities, a detailed punch list of executive and agency actions for the opening days of an incoming administration. “Women have lost so much ground under the Trump administration to the essential health services they depend
Released on July 18, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – At Congressman John Lewis’s last appearance in Selma, Alabama to commemorate the historic 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge—where state troopers launched a vicious attack on peaceful demonstrators that left him with a fractured skull,–– he returned to a message that he advocated for throughout his life, the power of the right to vote. Already diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, John Lewis looked back on that day
Released on July 17, 2020 WASHINGTON – One of the cruelest initiatives yet proposed by the Trump Administration threatens to send victims of violence applying for asylum in the U.S. back home to face even more violence or perhaps death. The National Organization for Women (NOW) and our allies in the domestic violence and sexual assault prevention communities have worked for
Released on July 17, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Post’s extensive reporting on years of sexual harassment and verbal abuse directed at female employees, and ignored or condoned by top executives within Washington’s football organization is shocking, but not surprising. The culture of contempt for women, violence against women, and disregard for women’s safety has long been a blight on the NFL. Team owner Daniel Snyder
Released on July 8, 2020 WASHINGTON ,D.C. – Religion is no excuse for bigotry—but the Supreme Court has carved out a new exemption for employers who want to impose their personal beliefs over the health and rights of their workers. By allowing virtually any employer or university to opt-out of the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that contraception be covered by
Released on July 1, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – NOW and over 50 women’s rights and civil rights organizations filed a joint amicus curiae brief (with the assistance of Winston & Strawn LLP) urging the enshrinement of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Constitution. The brief was submitted in support of a lawsuit brought by the Attorneys General of Virginia, Illinois, and Nevada – all three states having recently passed ratification measures. Their lawsuit argues that the
Released on June 29, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court’s decision today in June Medical Services v. Russo struck down a Louisiana law imposing targeted restrictions on abortion providers (TRAP laws) that the Court had previously found unconstitutional in Texas. TRAP laws are not designed to protect women’s health, but rather to expand the power of patriarchal church leaders and conservative Republicans and
