Week In Review 3-20-2020

Many of the complicated issues we deal with as a nation will not go away during the Coronavirus pandemic. These issues become more challenging and even dangerous for individuals and families.

 Women seeking an abortion are being negatively impacted by the pandemic. Federal regulations require that clinics that dispense drugs for at-home medical abortions pick the medicine up in person. This puts them, their families and health care workers at risk. They may be exposed to the virus or inadvertently expose their healthcare providers.

Now is the time for states to recognize the safety of both telemedicine for abortion care, as well as medication abortion.

Gun stores are recording a spike in gun sales, especially assault weapons, and ammunition. With more guns in the hands of individuals with children at home, the potential for deadly gun accidents dramatically increases.

Legal advocates for domestic violence and human trafficking say there are two main triggers for violence during the outbreak: stress and isolation. Abused women are exceedingly vulnerable during this time. (Know someone of who needs to get out of an abusive situation? Help can be found here.)

According to the ADL, there has been an uptick in antisemitic hate speech. Extremists are using the virus as an excuse to blame Jews for spreading the virus. These racist and conspiratorial themes are prevalent on social media platforms frequented by extremists as well as more mainstream platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Reddit.

While we struggle to keep our families and communities safe, we can't forget the far ranging implications this crisis has for our democracy. Even our election system is compromised. Voter turnout was low in those states this week that held primaries; some states have even postponed their primaries. 

Now is the time for states to ensure the voices of the voters are being heard. That means expanding access to early voting, vote by mail, and no-excuse absentee voting. 

At JAC, we will continue to monitor our issues and strive to keep you informed. These are challenging times that call for us to remain united as a nation. We are all in this together.

Stay home. Stay safe.

Elections have consequences.

Source: Mother Jones