How many words Biden spent on abortion and LGBTQ+ issues in his State of the Union — and why it matters
The annual address always covers myriad issues — and how much the president talks about each one signals priorities.

More from The 19th
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A federal judge could soon block access to an abortion pill. Here’s what that means.
The ruling on mifepristone could come as soon as Friday, and could force abortion providers across the country to adopt a less-effective medical protocol.
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For Rissi Palmer, country music is a form of Black resistance
The “Color Me Country” radio host says the genre has historically been for — and by — everyone, including people of color.
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She grew up under water boil advisories in Jackson. Now she’s bringing environmental justice to the EPA.
In her community outreach role for the EPA, Rosemary Enobakhare is working to prioritize communities in need while “shining a light” on issues affecting them most.
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A 1993 family and medical leave law was supposed to be just the start. Thirty years later, not much has changed.
The modern shortcomings of FMLA — like the limits to eligibility and the fact that it is unpaid — were the product of legislative compromise built into the structure of the law.
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‘I’ve been in that room’: How HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ resonated for a survivor of the AIDS crisis
The show’s episode about an older gay couple’s love in a dire setting brought back memories of commitment and heartbreaking loss in a time when much of society was unable — or unwilling — to help.
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Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement
A new “democracy caucus” aims to expand access to voting, part of a movement in statehouses to counter election deniers.
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‘Violence is not the answer to violence’: Lawyer makes case for abolition feminism in new book
Leigh Goodmark details how survivors of abuse — especially those who are poor, or people of color, or queer — are often funneled into the criminal legal system and explains why she believes intimate partner violence can’t be addressed through a carceral system.
From the Collection
The 19th Explains
Health care for transgender adults becomes new target in 2023 legislative session
Lawmakers prefiled many anti-trans bills ahead of state legislative sessions — newly targeting health care for trans adults under 21 or 26 years old, while setting up another year of statehouse battles over trans rights.
How New Mexico child care workers got the state to invest in their industry
The advocacy and grassroots campaigning by the state’s predominantly Latina workforce could offer a roadmap for workers and officials in other states looking to craft and pass solutions to the child care crisis.
Moms Demand Action founder on gun laws, stepping away and why women can force change
Analysis | “I don’t know that this work does end, honestly, in my lifetime,” Shannon Watts, who plans on stepping down from leadership at the end of the year, told The 19th.

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