Abortion rights supporters demonstrating outside the Texas Capitol on Wednesday
Image credit: Montinique Monroe for The New York Times
September 06-10 News
- Texas Abortion Law
On September 1st, the state of Texas passed a law banning most abortions in the state, allowing only for operations where mothers’ lives could be threatened by pregnancy or childbirth, making no exceptions for cases of rape and incest. Despite nationwide protests and backlash from both US President Joe Biden and the United Nations (UN) against the bill, Texas has remained firm and victorious, this being the first law of the type to be successfully put into effect. In addition to banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected in the embryo (a period of only six weeks, something seen as “unreasonable” as many women cannot tell that they are pregnant in such a short period of time or may disregard menstrual dysregulation due to their health history), the law also deputizes citizens by allowing them to sue anyone who performs an abortion or “aids and abets” in such a procedure. Some of the people most affected by the bill are teenage girls and low-income families. When it comes to the latter, the economic impact of pregnancy can be detrimental, and the inability to seek out-of-state treatment facilities further affects the group.
To learn more about this, have a look at the links below:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58406496
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/texas-abortion-law-facts.html
2. Egypt State-Sanctioned Killings
This week Egypt has been accused of conducting state-sanctioned killings against prisoners of political dissidence. Previously accused of being terrorists by the state, these prisoners were often found killed by Egyptian police with little explanation other than a “shootout” having occurred between the groups, something obscure due to the nature of the statements and images documenting the scenes (often isolated in the desert). A total of 755 people were killed by such methods from 2015 to 2020, with only 141 identified victims, a fact that has now made relations between the USA and Egypt increasingly strained. Although the USA has been critical of the state on this matter, especially given that they are responsible for most of Egypt’s military funding, US president Joe Biden has stated that he will not cut ties between the nations.
To learn more about this, have a look at the links below:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-58475287
3. Russian Cyber-Attacks Target German Elections
Russia has recently been uncovered conducting pre-election cyber attacks as German Prime Minister Angela Merkel prepares to leave office, opening the way for new German elections. The cyber-attacks aim to spread misinformation about the upcoming election, mostly through the use of phishing emails and the stealing of data from German lawmakers. The German government has now spoken up against Russia and called on them to cease such interference, straining relations between the two nations as many assume that Russia is attempting to destabilize both Germany and Europe as a whole (given the nation’s powerful role within Europe and the European Union).
To learn more about this, have a look at the links below:
[Research conducted by Global Politics student João Vitor Inojosa]
EAC PRESS 