WRJ has been at the forefront of social justice advocacy work in the Reform Movement for more than 100 years. In that vein, the 2021 WRJ Resolutions Committee is excited to propose two new Resolutions to WRJ. Here is everything you need to know about this year’s WRJ resolutions. What are WRJ Resolutions? Resolutions are statements of WRJ’s concerns, views, and values. Resolutions are the way we create WRJ policy enabling us to take public policy positions on issues of urgency and relevance and support activities around these issues. How are WRJ Resolutions created?... Read More
Today, January 22, is the 48th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. For nearly half a century, Roe has afforded countless Americans moral agency and bodily autonomy. Today, the future of reproductive rights is under threat, a result of hundreds of federal and state restrictions and court decisions that have chipped away at Roe. Even in my home state of Massachusetts, a state often lauded as an example in the struggle for reproductive rights, there have been significant restrictions on abortion rights since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The... Read More
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For nearly three decades, the Reform Movement has honored this month as an important time to raise awareness about the pervasive nature of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), provide resources to those currently experiencing abuse, and discuss the moral imperative to work to eradicate domestic violence from our communities. Between a global pandemic, nationwide cries for justice against police brutality, and an election season like no other, it’s not surprising that Domestic Violence Awareness Month has barely made... Read More
Amidst nationwide protests and a historic election, we must remember women’s right to vote was not granted, rather it was fought and protested for. It was only after 150 years and persistent advocacy from suffragists that the women finally secured the right to vote with the 19th Amendment. Now, 100 years later, as we celebrate the centennial of this momentous occasion, we must also remember the women who the suffrage movement and the 19th Amendment left behind. Suffragists began working forcefully towards achieving the right to vote for women beginning with the Seneca Falls convention in... Read More
Tomorrow, May 6, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump v. Pennsylvania/Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, two consolidated cases challenging the Department of Health and Human Services October 2017 rules that drastically expanded employers and universities’ ability to claim a religious or moral exemption from the contraceptive coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act. This is the third time that challenges to the birth control benefit have reached the Supreme Court. The ACA requires insurance plans to cover all FDA-... Read More