Massachusetts attorney general launches abortion and transgender health care unit for 'Reproductive Justice'



The attorney general for Massachusetts announced the launch of a new task force centered around "sexual and reproductive healthcare," including abortions as well as gender transitions for children.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell blamed "right-wing, anti-science extremists" for the need for the new unit, which was named the Reproductive Justice Unit in response to the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

The unit will provide information on topics and legislation in Massachusetts surrounding abortions, maternal health, and the ambiguous term "gender-affirming care."

“This unit will serve as an important tool to ensure Massachusetts continues to lead the way when it comes to accessing the full suite of sexual and reproductive healthcare. That includes, but is definitely not limited to abortion care, maternal health care, gender-affirming care, and preventative care,” said ACLU fellow Sapna Khatri, director of the unit.

New unit at the Attorney General's Office just dropped.\n\u00a0\nExciting update on our Reproductive Justice Unit coming later today \ud83d\udc40
— Andrea Joy Campbell (@Andrea Joy Campbell) 1696255833

The attorney general positioned her new unit as a direct rebuttal to abortion restrictions in other states and also claimed that "LGBTQ" youth could be pushed out of "existence" as a result of legislation in Republican jurisdictions.

“Right-wing, anti-science extremists will not stop until abortion is banned in all 50 states and LGBTQ people, starting with youth, are pushed to the shadows and frankly possibly out of existence,” she claimed. “In this unprecedented time we have an opportunity to make sure Massachusetts remains a beacon for reproductive justice.”

“We must meet the escalating anti-science, extremist attacks on our basic right to bodily autonomy with bold and comprehensive action,” a press release from the attorney general also read.

The press released noted that there are "shocking rates of suicidality [sic]" among children with gender dysphoria but described bans on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors as an "attack" on parents and providers who facilitate access to such.

Our Reproductive Justice Unit was made with the idea that our office can use every tool in our toolbox to ensure everyone is able to decide for themselves if, when and how to become a parent.\n\nI'm excited to introduce you all to the first ever Director of this unit: Sapna Khatri.
— Andrea Joy Campbell (@Andrea Joy Campbell) 1696281770

"Our Reproductive Justice Unit was made with the idea that our office can use every tool in our toolbox to ensure everyone is able to decide for themselves if, when and how to become a parent," Campbell wrote on X.

Campbell's announcement also said that the unit will attempt to "expand the conversation" around "birth justice" for "Black and brown" communities.

The attorney general received words of praise from the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU as well as the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts.

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NBC's Andrea Mitchell tries to dunk on Ted Cruz and embarrasses herself instead



Veteran NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell attempted to dunk on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and instead manifested her own literary ignorance.

Mitchell made the embarrassing gaffe on Wednesday in a tweet intending to mock Cruz for making a famous literary reference.

.@SenTedCruz says #ImpeachmentTrial is like Shakespeare full of sound and fury signifying nothing. No, that’s Faulkner
— Andrea Mitchell (@Andrea Mitchell)1613000798.0

".@SenTedCruz says #ImpeachmentTrial is like Shakespeare full of sound and fury signifying nothing. No, that's Faulkner," tweeted Mitchell.

But, as so many noted on Twitter, Cruz was in fact correct and Mitchell didn't realize that William Faulkner had lifted the title of his book from one the Bard's plays.

"Faulkner got it from Shakespeare (who put it in the mouth of a murderer, incidentally)," corrected Ramesh Ponnuru of the American Enterprise Institute.

"Smug condescension levitating above an abyss of ignorance," responded Blake Masters.

Cruz took the opportunity to chide Mitchell with another Shakespeare quote, this one from Hamlet.

"Methinks she doth protest too much," tweeted Cruz, adding the reference to his tweet.

Methinks she doth protest too much.

One would think NBC would know the Bard. Andrea, take a look at Macbeth act 5, scene 5:

“[Life] struts & frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound & fury,
Signifying nothing."
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 11, 2021

"Touché," responded Mitchell who added an apology after her original tweet.

"I clearly studied too much American literature and not enough Macbeth. My apologies to Sen. Cruz," tweeted Mitchell.

The Shakespearian Twitter feud followed upon a statement from Cruz deriding the impeachment trial in the Senate against former President Donald Trump.

"I think we'll see the trial continue for the rest of the week. It is reminiscent of Shakespeare that it is full of sound and fury and yet signifying nothing. I think are you going to see a lot of partisan table pounding. You're going to see a lot of effort to pull on emotion. We saw the beginning of that with the Hollywood video that the House managers began with. I think we'll see a lot more of that today and tomorrow," said Cruz on Fox News Tuesday.

He went on to say that it was nearly impossible for Democrats to convict the president in the Senate since so many Republicans had already vocalized their opposition to the proceeding which has a two thirds majority bar to pass.

On Wednesday, senators saw new footage from the U.S. Capitol rioting, including one video showing how close Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was to a confrontation with the violent rioters.

Here's more about the Senate trial:

It's the second day of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial — Here's what happenedwww.youtube.com

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slaps down NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell: 'Do some reporting.'



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took aim at a veteran NBC journalist over her musings on Twitter that he might have been acting inappropriately over his speech in Georgia.

Andrea Mitchell hinted that Pompeo was being hypocritical when he brought up former secretaries of state to defend his scheduled speaking engagement in Georgia during a very heated campaign for the U.S. Senate seats from the state.

.@SecPompeo to speak in Georgia ahead of Senate runoffs. Political? He says “When Sec. Kerry traveled to Massachuse… https://t.co/GVeA3im0tB
— Andrea Mitchell (@Andrea Mitchell)1607480938.0

Mitchell quoted Pompeo as saying, "When [former] Sec. [John] Kerry traveled to Massachusetts or Sec. [Hillary] Clinton traveled to NY those were coastal elite states. Those were all fine for secretaries to travel to."

She added, "Huh? That's where their families lived."

Pompeo didn't take kindly to the rebuttal to his argument and he fired off a tweet accusing Mitchell of poor journalism and offering another explanation for his trip.

"Andrea - Do some reporting. When I went home to Kansas to see family, your network was howling saying I was violating the Hatch Act," tweeted Pompeo.

Andrea - Do some reporting. When I went home to Kansas to see family, your network was howling saying I was violati… https://t.co/iE1K45ZOCw
— Secretary Pompeo (@Secretary Pompeo)1607520578.0

"The claims were found to be bogus. This trip was planned long before the Georgia runoff. Do some reporting," he added.

Mitchell responded to the tweet but did not address the substance of his criticism.

"Mr. Secretary thank you for finally answering one of my questions!" she tweeted.

Pompeo was defending his speech on Wednesday at the Georgia Institute of Technology about the threat to the U.S. from China. He mirrored the assessment from Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe in an op-ed that China was focused on dominating the globe economically, politically, and militarily.

Many foreign policy experts expect that U.S. policy will soften against China when President Donald Trump vacates the Oval Office.

Here's Pompeo's speech about the threat from China:

Pompeo discusses China's challenge to US securitywww.youtube.com

Vice presidential debate still on for next week, commission says



The debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is still a go for Wednesday of next week according to the governing body coordinating the event, as questions swirl over how the final stretch of campaigning might be impacted after President Donald Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19.

What are the details?

The Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed to The Hill that the match-up, which will be hosted by the University of Utah, will still take place; however, the university has put rules in place aimed at minimizing the risk of coronavirus being spread at the event.

Every attendee will be required to wear a mask in the venue "at all times" during the debate with the exception of the candidates and the moderator, and "every single person must receive a negative COVID test" administered at the university's hospital before entering the debate venue, according to a spokesperson for the school.

Reuters noted that both Pence and Harris issued separate announcements Friday saying that they tested negative for the coronavirus. Several other public officials were also tested for COVID-19 hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump were both diagnosed with the virus. Among others, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) tested positive, which may potentially throw a wrench in the Senate calendar, as all other Senators who have been with Lee recently would be ordinarly required to quarantine pending the results of their own tests.

The president said he and the first lady would begin quarantine immediately.

On Friday, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien issued a statement announcing that all campaign events involving the president or any other member of the Trump family would either be postponed or held virtually.

"Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for COVID-19, plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events," the campaign chief wrote.

Pence was also given the all-clear from his doctor to stay on the campaign trail. The vice president's physician, Jesse Schonau, M.D., issued a memo saying, "Under the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control, the Vice President is not considered a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID, including President Donald J. Trump. Vice President Mike Pence does not need to quarantine."

Meanwhile, the vice president stepped in Friday morning and hosted a call with governors in place of President Trump, who was taken to Walter Reed medical center later in the day out of "an abundance of caution" according to the White House.

Prior to President Trump boarding Marine One to head to the hospital ,NBC News' Andrea Mitchell reported: "White House says @realDonaldTrump has not transferred power temporarily to @VP under 25th amendment which has happened 3 times for procedures involving anesthesia an amendment for emergencies voted as result of Kennedy assassination."

White House says @realDonaldTrump has not transferred power temporarily to @VP under 25th amendment which has happe… https://t.co/L1arzHsJe6
— Andrea Mitchell (@Andrea Mitchell)1601675135.0