News & Commentary

A Catholic-affiliated hospital will now perform a common reproductive healthcare procedure after the ACLU threatened to sue.

With the introduction today of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Woman Act, members of Congress declared not only that every woman who receives care or insurance through the federal government will have coverage for abortion services, but they also prohibited political interference with decisions by private health insurance companies to offer coverage for abortion care.

Despite the fact that she was pregnant, GEO staff at Mesa Verde Detention Center shackled Monserrat Ruiz Cuevas—handcuffs, ankle cuffs, and waist chain—for a trip to the hospital in a downpour. While getting into the vehicle, Monserrat tripped on the shackles and fell hard on her stomach, unable to break her fall. The very next day, Monserrat began bleeding heavily.

The Los Angeles City Council is to be congratulated on passing an ordinance raising the minimum wage in the city to $15 by 2020. That historic action is an important step in achieving economic justice for so many workers who are forced to hold down two jobs or more and even then find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. A living wage is a basic economic right, and it is inextricably linked to the full exercise of civil rights and liberties. No one working a full-time job should be paid a wage that leaves them living in poverty.

The California Healthy Youth Act (AB 329), by Assemblymember Shirley Weber, will update and strengthen existing requirements for HIV prevention education and sexual health education to ensure that students receive education that is accurate, comprehensive, and inclusive.

California created the nation's first paid family leave (PFL) program for workers more than a decade ago. The groundbreaking legislation has since helped many people meet their family caregiving obligations and bond with their children. But the system is flawed and needs a tune-up.

For more than 20 years, California has maintained a policy of denying financial support to babies born while their families are receiving CalWORKs basic needs grants for older siblings. This policy is known as the Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule. The only exceptions are for reported rape and incest, and the failure of certain invasive, long-acting contraceptives.

Many high school students have reported being denied the opportunity to take necessary college prep classes. And a disproportionate number of those were students who were either pregnant or parenting.

Watching Congress' actions toward women last week might leave you confused about what year it is. Instead of advancing a single policy designed to help women, the U.S. House of Representatives has chosen to attack women's health any way it can.