Women This Week: Texas Sues for Ability to Seek Records of Women who Obtain Out-of-State Abortions

Demands that the State be Allowed to View Records for Law Enforcement Purposes

The State of Texas filed suit in federal court on Wednesday to challenge two rules that seek to protect women who travel out of state to receive an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Texas in almost all circumstances, and those who help pregnant women obtain an abortion may face sentences of up to life in prison. The first rule, issued by the Biden Administration in April, prohibits healthcare providers and insurers from giving state law enforcement officials information about reproductive healthcare services received by patients in places where it is legal. The second rule stems from 2000 and allows healthcare providers and insurers to provide limited information if it is relevant to a legitimate law enforcement investigation. In response, David Donatti, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the case “demonstrates the lengths that Texas is willing to go to eliminate abortion and reproductive access—not just in Texas, but across the country.”

Ugandan Olympian Killed by Boyfriend

Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan marathon runner who recently finished 44^th in the Paris Olympics, died Thursday after suffering burns on over 75 percent of her body. The elite athlete had been attacked a few days earlier by her boyfriend, who threw gasoline on her and set her on fire in front of her children. Cheptegei had been living in Kenya, which has now seen three elite female athletes killed in the past three years, including twenty-five-year-old Kenyan Olympic runner Agnes Tirop and twenty-eight-year-old Damaris Mutua. Intimate partners were the main suspects in both cases. Reflecting on Cheptegei’s death, Kenya’s sports minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, promised justice and said her murder was a “stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles.”

Afghan Women Protest New Law that Requires Silence in Public

Women in Afghanistan have taken to social media to protest the Taliban’s most recent edict, which prevents women from speaking or showing their faces outside their homes. The specific law, passed in August, says that if a woman is in public, she “is obligated to hide her voice, face, and body.” In a brave show of defiance, Afghan women both inside and outside of the country have posted videos of themselves singing, including one woman who sang, “I’m a woman, I'm the world, who signs of freedom and love... I stand firm, but I’m not scared of your cruelty.” The women were also joined by activists outside Afghanistan, including prominent Iranian human rights activist Masih Alinejad. Despite international condemnation, the Taliban government has continued its attempt to erase them from public life, including by banning women from holding most jobs and receiving an education.