In case anyone is wondering why women's rights matter

[FermatsTheorem]

As opposed to equalism, broad-brush human rights, etc.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43978510

This. Iowa introduces most restrictive laws on abortion in US, banning abortion after a foetal heartbeat is detected.

Okay, so it's America, and they have a rightwing nutter of impaired intellectual capacity in charge, who won less than half of the popular vote (albeit won the electoral college). But think of it this way: "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance." We can't take our eye off the ball. We can't afford to say most of the battles have been won (they haven't, but there are some women who seem to think this is the case).

Very disappointing. This is effectively 'shadow banning' the right to choose. So few women will be able to get access to a termination within that timeframe.

We need the legal and social category of biological woman so we know we are being represented in parliament and beyond. Someone with male biology has less skin in the game with abortion laws and legislation. They just do.

Yes, it's a concerted attempt to sidestep Roe vs Wade. Don't actually make it outright illegal, because the supreme court has ruled - just impose such strict conditions that in practise it becomes impossible (c.f. rules round insisting abortion clinics have "admitting privileges" at the nearest hospital).

Bumping this for the morning crowd.

Although it's happening in America I think it's important to keep an eye on this. The tactic seems to be to try to force a court confrontation with the aim of overturning Roe v Wade. We know that there are people in this country talking about "strategic litigation" to engineer test cases to curtail women' s freedom of speech, so we should watch how this plays out carefully (admittedly a different legal system but one I think with important similarities).

It's the chipping away at women's right to decide what happens to her body, bit by bit.

TBH, I'm gobsmacked that women were ever able to have their right to an abortion into law. I don't know how the women before us managed that.

The US though is politically like 50 little countries with some vague over-reaching connection. So states pretty much set their agenda on a lot of stuff, particularly women's rights.

But recall here, a few years back (well over five, maybe more) about the pharmacist in the UK that had 'religious issues' dispensing the morning after pill? Then I think it was decided they could, on religious grounds, be perfectly within their 'religious rights' to refuse. Bad luck for you 'girl' if you just happen to live in a small village without a vehicle. Men's religious beliefs trump women's bodily autonomy.

TL;DR not just the US