holliswein's blog

This week we want to highlight several important developments that are too important to get lost in the Coronavirus news of the week.

Title IX and Sexual Assault

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released new regulations for schools dealing with sexual misconduct under Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational settings. These new regulations offer more protections for the accusers than the victims.

The GOP is more committed than ever to restricting women's access to reproductive health care. They are continuing to wage war on women by declaring that abortion is not an essential service during the Coronavirus pandemic.

States have placed restrictions that have effectively banned or blocked the availability of abortion services.

Jews have been forced to find unique ways to celebrate holidays when antisemitism and persecution threatened their existence. Jews learned to be creative - and daring. Today we face the challenge of celebrating Passover in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Coronavirus epidemic has become a story of numbers. How many sick; how many respirators are needed; how many people are unemployed; and sadly, how many have died. These numbers drive public policy. Without this data, officials would be struggling even more to get the necessary supplies and services to the affected areas.

While we are all consumed with our new world at home, separated from work and family, we still need to make time to fill out the 2020 Census form.

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.

One of the highlights of the JAC year is our Washington, DC conference. Women and men from across the country gather for several days of small group meetings on Capitol Hill and policy briefings. This is a unique event that is offered exclusively to our JAC members.  

After much consideration and with heavy hearts, we have decided to cancel this year's conference, which was planned to celebrate JAC's 40th year. 

After nearly four years of a Trump presidency, our country is battered and bruised. Our democracy has been stretched and twisted. We are more divided than ever before. The challenges families face grow on a daily basis. 

This election is less than 270 days away. It offers us a chance to make a change by electing a leader that will heal the wounds and begin to once again build a country that serves as a beacon of freedom and human rights. 

That leader is Joe Biden.