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reproductive rights
UN Commission Accuses Israel of Measures 'Intended to Prevent Births' and Other 'Genocidal Acts' in Gaza
"Nothing to see here, just a 49-page U.N. report documenting Israel's 'genocidal acts' in Gaza and its systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war," wrote one historian.
Mar 13, 2025
A report released Wednesday by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel says that Israel has "systematically" used reproductive, sexual, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians since October 7, 2023.
Additionally, Israel committed "genocidal acts" when systematically destroying reproductive and healthcare facilities in Gaza, according to the report's authors.
The report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which as of February Israel no longer engages with.
"Sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities have been systematically destroyed across Gaza" and Israeli authorities have simultaneously prevented "humanitarian assistance at scale, including necessary medications and equipment to ensure safe pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care," according to the report.
"Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention," the report states.
The report also says that harms for pregnant people and new mothers in Gaza is of an "unprecedented scale." The lack of access to sexual and reproductive care has caused harm and suffering with "irreversible long-term effects" on the "physical reproductive and fertility prospects of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group."
"The underlying acts amount to crimes against humanity and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians as a group, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention," according to the report.
The commission also "documented a pattern of sexual violence, including cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, and other inhumane acts that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."
Additionally, Palestinian mens and boys have been subjected to "often sexual" acts committed to "punish, humiliate, and intimidate" them into subjugation, per the report.
"Nothing to see here, just a 49-page U.N. report documenting Israel's 'genocidal acts' in Gaza and its systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war," wrote Zachary Foster, a historian who focuses on Palestine, on X on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the report in a statement.
"Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization... the United Nations once again chooses to attack the state of Israel with false accusations," he said, according to Reuters.
In October 2023, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing over 1,000 people and taking roughly 250 hostages—prompting Israel to carry out a fierce military campaign in the Gaza Strip that killed tens of thousands of people, according to local health officials.
Multiple human rights groups have said Israel is guilt of committing genocide or "acts of genocide."
Israel faces an ongoing genocide case, led by South Africa, at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri in November 2024. Hamas has since confirmed his death.
A shaky cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel went into effect in mid-January. The New York Timesreported Thursday that Israel-Hamas negotiations to extend the cease-fire are in limbo.
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'Unite and Resist': Women's Day Rallies Against Trump Held From Coast to Coast
"This is our day to stand together, make our voices heard, and show the world that we are not backing down," said Women's March.
Mar 08, 2025
Women and their allies took to the streets of cities and towns from coast to coast Saturday for a "Unite and Resist" national day of action against the Trump administration coordinated by Women's March.
"Since taking office, the Trump administration has unleashed a war against women driven by the Project 2025 playbook, which is why, more than ever, we must continue to resist, persist, and demand change," Women's March said, referring to the Heritage Foundation-led blueprint for a far-right overhaul of the federal government that, according to the Guttmacher Institute, "seeks to obliterate sexual and reproductive health and rights."
"This is our day to stand together, make our voices heard, and show the world that we are not backing down," Women's March added. "Women's rights are under attack, but we refuse to go backward."
Women's March executive director Rachel O'Leary Carmona asserted that "the broligarchy that owns Trump is working to 'flood the zone' with hateful executive actions and rhetoric, trying to overwhelm us into submission."
"But we refuse to lose focus," she vowed. "We refuse to stand by."
In San Francisco, where more than 500 people rallied, 17-year-old San Ramon, California high school student Saya Kubo gave the San Francisco Chronicle reasons why she was marching.
"Abortion, Elon Musk, educational rights and trans rights, LGBTQ rights, climate change—all of these things, I am standing up for what I believe in," she said.
Her mother, 51-year-old Aliso Kubo, said that "we came out here specifically to support my daughter and women's rights."
Thousands rallied down the coast in Los Angeles, where protester Pamela Baez toldFox 11 that she was there to "support equality."
"I think I mostly want people to be aware that women are people. They have rights," Baez said. "We just want to show everybody that we care about them. People deserve healthcare. Women deserve rights."
Thousands of people rallied on Boston Common on a chilly but sunny Saturday.
"We are the ones who are going to stand up," participant Ashley Barys toldWCVB. "There is a magic when women come together. We can really make change happen."
Boston protester Celeste Royce said that "it was really important for me to be here today, to stand up for human rights, for women's rights, to protect bodily autonomy, to just make myself and my presence known."
Sierra Night Tide toldWLOS that seeing as how Asheville, North Carolina had no event scheduled for Saturday, she "decided to step up and create one."
At least hundreds turned out near Pack Square Park for the rally:
Today at the Women's March in Asheville, NC pic.twitter.com/BPAIZORSUd
— Senior Fellow Antifa 101st Chairborne Division (@jrh0) March 9, 2025
"As a woman who has faced toxic corporate environments, living with a physical disability, experienced homelessness, and felt the impact of Hurricane Helene, I know firsthand the urgent need for collective action," Night Tide said. "This event is about standing up for all marginalized communities and ensuring our voices are heard."
Michelle Barth, a rally organizer in Eugene, Oregon, toldThe Register Guard that "we need to fight and stop the outlandish discrimination in all sectors of government and restore the rights of the people."
"We need to protect women's rights. It's our bodies and our choice," Barth added. "Our bodies should not be regulated because there are no regulations for men's bodies. Women are powerful, they are strong, they're intelligent, they're passionate, they are angry, and we're ready to stand up against injustice."
In Grand Junction, Colorado, co-organizer Mallory Martin hailed the diverse group of women and allies in attendance.
"In times when things are so divisive, it can feel very lonely and isolating, and so the community that builds around movements like this has been so welcoming and so beautiful that it's heartwarming to see," Martin toldKKCO.
In Portland, Oregon, protester Cait Lotspeich turned out in a "Bring On the Matriarchy" T-shirt.
"I'm here because I support women's rights," Lotspeich
said in an interview with KATU. "We have a right to speak our minds and we have a right to stand up for what is true and what is right, and you can see that women are powerful, and we are here to exert that power."
The United States was one of dozens of nations that saw International Women's Day protests on Saturday. In Germany, video footage emerged of police brutalizing women-led pro-Palestine protesters in Berlin.
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'Brain Drain': Study Shows Workers Fleeing States With Abortion Bans
"Workers are not willing to trade their health and autonomy for a paycheck," said one advocate.
Mar 03, 2025
Republican lawmakers across the United States are determined to force people who become pregnant to carry their pregnancies to term by passing abortion bans and "fetal personhood" laws, but a new report shows that in many states, they are choosing choosing restrictions on reproductive rights over their states' workforce.
"Workers are not willing to trade their health and autonomy for a paycheck," said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) as the group released a report Monday on "brain drain" in states with abortion bans.
The group analyzed a survey of 10,000 adults by Morning Consult and found that 1 in 5 respondents who are planning to have children in the next decade has moved to a new state due to abortion restrictions, or knows someone who has.
Among people with advanced degrees, 14% have moved out-of-state because of anti-abortion laws or know someone who has.
Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which advised on the study, said the report showed that "reproductive healthcare is a personal issue and workplace imperative."
"For business leaders and policymakers, protecting reproductive rights isn't just the right thing to do—it's essential for talent and long-term economic stability," said Northrup.
The two groups said the study showed employees' demands for policymakers and workplaces in states that are hostile to abortion rights.
"Access to reproductive healthcare is a fundamental component of workplace equity, and businesses can no longer afford to ignore the impact of abortion restrictions on their workforce."
Fifty-seven percent of workers who plan to have children prioritize employers who offer reproductive healthcare benefits and 56% person think companies should actively engage with lawmakers to protect abortion rights.
In states with restrictive abortion laws, people broadly support family-friendly workplace policies, according to the report, including 83% of Mississippi residents who back paid sick leave; 56% of people in West Virginia who think employers should offer paid time off for fertility treatments; and 70% of people in Alabama who support paid leave for pregnancy-related healthcare.
"Access to reproductive healthcare is a fundamental component of workplace equity, and businesses can no longer afford to ignore the impact of abortion restrictions on their workforce," said Taylor. "Our report makes it clear that companies who fail to address these needs risk losing their competitive edge. To build a resilient workforce and thriving economy, it's up to corporate leaders and lawmakers to take decisive action and make reproductive health care a top priority."
Workers expect their employers to not only provide reproductive healthcare and family-friendly benefits, but also to "stand up for these rights at a policy level," the report reads.
"Companies can play a critical role in helping to shape more accessible state policies and creating an environment that respects and safeguards access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare," it continues.
The report suggests that with workers thinking of moving to new states to get away from anti-abortion laws, employers will likely be incentivized to help ensure their states safeguard "access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare."
"Most employees are deeply concerned about their ability to access healthcare services while building their families, and they expect their employers to take an active role in protecting them," reads the report. "Accepting that reality and then making decisions from there will enable companies to attract and retain talent and, by advocating to improve the reproductive landscape across the U.S., drive economic progress."
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