Right Wing Protesters Are Not Now, Nor Ever Will Be, Rosa Parks
“These protesters are not Rosa Parks. They aren’t liberating anyone. They are spreading diseases as they have done since Europeans invaded the Americas more than 500 years ago. Given this selfish, dangerous, genocidal behavior, I fear many more Black, Indigenous, and Latinx lives will be snatched away.”
4 reasons coronavirus is hitting black communities so hard
Preston Mitchum, policy director for URGE, a nonprofit that advocates for liberal policy issues, said the employment opportunities available for many black people often put them at greater risk of being disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus. “Black communities are not socially distancing less than other communities and if they are, it is likely because many of us are essential workers or working gig jobs to sustain our living. These jobs require more in-person interaction.”
Why does Black America have more COVID-19 deaths? Racism.
“If we’d let social media tell it, young Black people are testing positive compared to other communities because we are socially distancing less in an effort to have fun with our friends and loved ones. While this may be true for a very small subset, this argument goes out the window when we understand the mental, physical, and emotional harm inflicted by structural racism — especially in healthcare. Black communities are not intentionally socially distancing less than other communities. Those who work essential jobs or are in the gig economy are disproportionately Black. For these communities, social distance is a privilege reserved only for those who can do so while still earning a living.”
No matter what the Supreme Court decides, abortion opponents have already won
While abortion remains legal in all 50 states, it’s becoming harder and harder to access, especially for low-income Americans. “Even if the Court strikes down the Louisiana law, there are still going to be a lot of people who still don’t really have access to abortion,” Monica Edwards, federal policy manager at the group Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE), told me as she watched the abortion-rights rally on Wednesday.
On the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Advocates Grapple With Abortion Restrictions
One advocacy group, URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, has focused on training and mobilizing youth. “Young people are not clinging to Roe to save them,” says Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE. “Young folks look at a flawed system, a system that’s not working, a system that’s actually harming them, and they say, you know what, we don’t need that. We deserve better.”
Doctors are doing unnecessary gynecological tests on teens
In reality, doctors and reproductive health advocates say fear of Pap tests and pelvic exams keeps patients away from the doctor’s office. And many argue that subjecting people to unnecessary tests isn’t the way to promote public health. “No one’s ability to get health care should be held hostage to an invasive procedure,” Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of the group URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, told Vox.
Massachusetts Congresswoman Pressley Unveils Progressive Criminal Justice Legislation Plan
“There’s no question that mass incarceration causes deep harm to young people, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people, and stands in the way of achieving reproductive justice for all,” said Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE). “Bans on abortion coverage, lack of sex education, state violence, discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people, and stigma against our bodies, genders, sex, and decisions all make it harder for each of us to live free and with dignity, and mass incarceration makes all of these systemic harms even worse. We applaud Rep. Pressley and all of the courageous sponsors for this important resolution that would bring us closer to dismantling the unjust systems that disproportionately displace and harm Black and brown people; people who are pregnant; queer, trans, and nonbinary… Read more »
Period Poverty Affects Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People, Too
On the first National Period Day, we need to think beyond the incorrect idea that periods are just for women. BY COURTNEY ROARK
WAWC clinic defenders provide support to patients
Annabeth Mellon, a senior majoring in gender and media studies and creative media and president of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity UA (URGE), was a clinic defender for over two years. She said that although the protestors have a physical line they’re not allowed to cross, their proximity to the building can still be distressing for patients. “If I could tell a patient, ‘I know they’re yelling at you, but I promise you they cannot cross that line. I am here to make sure they do not cross that line, and you are going to be safe,’ it felt really good,” Mellon said. “It felt like I was taking this issue from one that I felt really strongly about in an ideological sense and turning it into something real,… Read more »
4 reasons why we need birth control pills available over the counter right now
On November 7th, 2018, the Trump administration announced their plan to weaken the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate. Specifically, Trump wants to let employers deny their employees insurance coverage for birth control based on “religious or moral” grounds. In response to this attack on women’s health and in celebration of Thanks, Birth Control! Day, If/When/How Reproductive Justice Policy Fellow at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity Monica Edwards explains why we need the over the counter birth control pill to combat these barriers to access.
