This Week in the War on Women: Project 2025, Part 1

Project 2025 is, as you have probably heard, the 900-page monstrosity (in every sense) created by the Heritage Foundation and their ilk to remake the federal government in their own fascist image. They assume no one will read it, and there are summaries online. But Here is a reasonably skimable PDF version where we can dive deeper without increasing traffic to the Project 2025 site. There is a lot to unpack, and whenever I write a WOW column this year, I will try to pick a new area that will have a big impact on women’s lives. I will, of course, start with “Section 3: The General Welfare”, Chapter 14, Department of Health and Human Services. These are their plans for reproductive health care:

(To be clear, I’m going to summarize Project 2025’s claims. I don’t believe them or support them, but I want you to be familiar with them. It would be too cumbersome for me to refute all of the claims, so I’ll just pick a few. But feel free to assume that I don’t agree with any of them.)

According to the authors of Project 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has “lost its way,” leading to a decline in life expectancy, and of course it is Biden’s fault that we are now “sicker, poorer, and more divided.” Project 2025 has “five overarching goals” in areas “most in need of reform.” Most of their attacks on reproductive rights can be found in Goal No. 1:

Goal No. 1: Protection of life, conscience and physical integrity:

“The Minister should pursue a vigorous agenda to protect the fundamental right to life, to uphold the right of conscience and to preserve physical integrity” – without, of course, acknowledging that preserving the physical integrity of a fetus necessarily also compromises the physical integrity of a pregnant person:

From the moment of conception, every human being possesses inherent dignity and worth, and our humanity does not depend on our age, stage of development, race, or abilities. The Secretary must ensure that all HHS programs and activities are based on a deep respect for innocent human life from day one until natural death: Abortion and euthanasia are not health care.

Of course yes, abortion and euthanasia Are healthcare.

The nonsense continues and claims that there will be more “respect for the sacred rights of conscience”, which increase “Choices for patients and program beneficiaries and promotes pluralism and tolerance.” As a woman who needs abortion care in a hospital that denies such care, bigger selection is not explained. They also ignore the rights of transgender people and thus hardly demonstrate pluralism or tolerance. And they end this section with:

The next Secretary must ensure that HHS programs protect children’s minds and bodies and that HHS programs respect parents’ fundamental right to determine the upbringing, education and care of their children.

They may not consent to the care of your transgender children, but they respect your fundamental right to care for your children. Got it?

There’s a lot more, including the “rights” of states to determine how their states deliver health care, but that’s quickly becoming a bore, so I’ll stop here for tonight. But please, if you know young people of childbearing age, tell them about the plan. Doctors’ “conscience rights” will be protected. Pregnant women will not be protected.

In other news

Violence

Dubai
Irish woman charged with ‘suicide attempt’ by Dubai court: Public figures call for release of 28-year-old Tori Towey, who says the attempt was a response to an alleged domestic violence attack:

A court in Dubai has charged a 28-year-old woman from Ireland with “attempted suicide.” Politicians and activists are calling for her release.

Tori Towey, who works as a flight attendant in the United Arab Emirates, said she attempted to take her own life after she was allegedly attacked in a domestic violence incident and suffered severe bruising and other injuries.

https://www.theguardian.com/…

United Kingdom
Suspect found with injuries after triple crossbow murder in Bushey: Kyle Clifford, a British Army veteran, was found in north London and taken to a major trauma centre following a manhunt:

A British army veteran wanted in connection with the deaths of three women in a suspected crossbow attack has been arrested with injuries, police said. Hertfordshire Police Commander Jon Simpson told reporters earlier on Wednesday that the suspected killings were likely targeted.
https://www.theguardian.com/…

Even Republican women are fed up

Two Republican women in Texas are fighting to remove abortion from the party’s priority list. (Both are district chairmen.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/…

Who knows, maybe they’ll finally realize that the Face-Eating Party might be next to eat their faces.

Promoting women’s rights

Afghanistan
Britain should restore its diplomatic presence to help Afghan women, says aid chief: Hugh Bayley says NGOs would also benefit when he published a report on the impact of the British program in Afghanistan:

Hugh Bayley, who visited Kabul in May, said he believed Afghan women and NGOs would welcome more Western diplomats to help raise women’s opinions on the Taliban when he published a report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) on the effectiveness of the UK programme, which is the second largest programme run by the UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/…

Under the Taliban, women’s voices are suppressed and women who speak out may be punished. Concerns include a shortage of midwives, cuts to education and limited access to food aid.

I’m having problems with my computer tonight! I’ll let you guys start with that and will add to the diary as time and computer permit. I suspect it’s nearing the end of its computer life!