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Kavanaugh has made it clear he’s coming for Roe v Wade

There are about 4.6 million people in Louisiana. Guess how many abortion clinics there are? Three. There are just three. Which I suppose is actually quite a lot when you consider that a number of American states have only one.

On Thursday Louisiana narrowly avoided becoming a new member of the one-clinic club. The US supreme court voted 5-4 to block a Louisiana law that would have dramatically reduced access to legal abortions in the state. Opponents of the law said it would have meant only one doctor would have been eligible to perform abortions in the entire state.

The law in question is called the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act; an incredibly disingenuousness name as it suggests the legislation is about protecting women’s health, when it’s really about controlling women’s bodies. The statute requires doctors who provide abortions to have active admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles. Which may not sound like a big deal on the surface, but is a sneaky way of making it more expensive and difficult to access legal abortions. It’s an example of what is called a “Trap” (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) law. As the Center for Reproductive Rights explains, these laws “single out the medical practices of doctors who provide abortions and impose on them requirements that are different and more burdensome than those imposed on other medical practices”.

It is alarming that the Louisiana law was blocked by so narrow a margin, as there is already clear precedent showing it is unconstitutional. The statue is nearly identical to a Texas law the supreme court struck down in 2016, ruling that requiring abortion providers to obtain hospital privileges is unduly burdensome and provides no medical benefit to women.

Also alarming is Brett Kavanaugh’s conduct in the case. While Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, joined the court’s liberals in putting a hold on the Louisiana law, Kavanaugh was not just in favour of the law, he wrote a dissent on his own behalf. This effectively argued that the law should go into effect as it wasn’t clear it would be unduly burdensome and we should just go ahead and see how it played out.

Kavanaugh’s dissent has been taken by many as a clear sign that he is intent on overturning Roe v Wade, the supreme court decision protecting access to abortions. Anger is now mounting towards Senator Susan Collins, who cast the decisive vote confirming Kavanaugh last year. When casting her vote Collins justified her decision by reassuring everyone she was sure Kavanaugh would not overturn Roe v Wade, because he had an unmatched reverence for precedent. The justice’s dissent has made very clear that is not the case. It is a worrying time for women’s reproductive rights in America. Gilead, here we come.

Uganda thinks ‘women’s curves’ will increase tourism

Uganda’s tourism minister, Godfrey Kiwanda, unveiled a “Miss Curvy Uganda” campaign this week. Kiwanda said: “We have naturally endowed nice-looking women that are amazing to look at. Why don’t we use these people as a strategy to promote our tourism industry?” Women’s rights advocates in Uganda patiently explained to him why not.

The Oscars still has a woman problem

Only 25% of non-acting Oscar nominations this year went to women, a new study from the Women’s Media Center has found – only slightly better than last year’s dismal 23%. No women were nominated in the categories for directing, cinematography, editing, original score and visual effects.

Alarming rates of femicide in Brazil

Four women have been killed every day this year in Brazil, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The IACHR said that the rate of femicide, the killing of a female because of her gender, reflects “sexist values deeply rooted in Brazilian society”.

Women have younger brains than men

Female brains are almost four years younger than men’s in the way they burn fuel, according to US researchers. It’s unclear what this finding means but it may explain why women don’t experience as much cognitive decline as men when they age.

Why are so many women writing about rough sex?

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett looks into the issue in the Guardian, writing: “The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have shone a light on abuse and harassment, so it’s no wonder a new generation of women are exploring how that manifests itself in sexual relationships.”

A menstruation emoji is coming to your phone soon

Plan International UK, a charity that advocates for gender equality, campaigned for a period emoji after discovering how much shame and stigma there still is around menstruation. The first design they submitted, period pants, wasn’t accepted. However, a blood drop emoji was deemed OK, and will be released along with other new emojis this month. So that’s something to look forward to.