What’s Current: Margaret Atwood says laws restricting abortion force women into a ‘form of slavery’

Image: AP/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

Margaret Atwood comments on U.S. legislation restricting women’s access to abortions:

“I’m […] waiting for a lawsuit that says if you force me to have children I cannot afford, you should pay for the process. It is really a form of slavery to force women to have children that they cannot afford and then to say that they have to raise them.”

Canadian Justice Minister introduces a bill to codify some aspects of Canadian sexual assault law. The bill proposes to update the Criminal Code to explicitly state that people cannot consent to sex while unconscious. It will also clarify that sexual texts, photos or videos cannot be introduced in order to discredit a complainant without being subjected to the same scrutiny under the “rape shield” law as medical and counselling records.

The French Open banned a male tennis player, Maxime Hamou, after he tried to grope and kiss a female reporter live on television.

Texas lawmakers failed to address rising pregnancy-related death rates during their legislative session. Lawmakers will have to wait until 2019 to address the state’s maternal mortality rates, which were recently revealed to be the highest in the country.

A gay male law professor is trying to shut down women-only Wonder Woman screenings because it discriminates against men.

Susan Cox

Susan Cox is a feminist writer and academic living in the United States. She teaches in Philosophy.