May 17, 2019

Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to Protect Abortion Rights

“This is a dark moment…But this isn’t a moment to back down.”

Preston Ehrler/ZUMA

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After Alabama passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country this week, Democratic presidential hopefuls have vowed to challenge the law, along with other draconian measures around the country that aim to roll back reproductive rights.

On Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) presented a strategy to do that. The plan comes one day after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand revealed her own proposal to protect abortion rights.

“This is a dark moment,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “People are scared and angry. And they are right to be. But this isn’t a moment to back down — it’s time to fight back.”

Warren signaled that if elected president, she would seek to undo the Trump administration’s reshaping of the federal judiciary by nominating judges who demonstrate respect for established precedents such as Roe v. Wade. She urged Congress to enact laws to make it more difficult for states to pass legislation that limits reproductive health care, pointing to the Women’s Health Protection Act, first introduced in Congress in 2013, as an example of the kinds of protections that could be offered on the federal level.

The 2020 presidential contender also called to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions, and end the Trump administration’s so-called gag rule, which prevents health organizations that provide abortions from receiving Title X federal family planning funds. 

“Our democracy should not be held hostage by right-wing courts, and women should not have to hope that Brett Kavanaugh and Donald Trump’s Supreme Court will respect the law,” she wrote. “Congress should act to ensure that the will of the people remains the law of the land.”

While most of Warren’s plan is unlikely to be drastically different from what her Democratic rivals will offer, it does come as the senator continues to distinguish herself in the increasingly crowded field of Democratic candidates by releasing comprehensive plans in support of various progressive platforms. 

This post has been updated to include Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand’s plan to protect abortion rights.

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“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

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