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From Pennsylvania to Illinois to California: A Wave of Good News for Women
It is a relief to point to bona fide good news coming from the states, often some of the best laboratories for democracy.
In Pennsylvania, an appeals court struck down a decades-old law banning the use of state Medicaid funding to cover abortion. Truly remarkable is the majority’s decree that reproductive autonomy is enshrined in the equal protection provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, guaranteed under its Equal Rights Amendment. ERAs can be game-changing for bolstering legal protection against a wide array of discrimination—including on the basis of pregnancy, age, disability, and immigration status—as well as for addressing adjacent issues such as pay equity and transparency and gender-based violence.
Upcoming judicial elections in Georgia are fast becoming a reproductive rights referendum, as happened last year in Wisconsin. Activists are raising funds in force.
Idaho voters will likely get to weigh in directly on abortion rights in the November midterms.
… and more.
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The Magazine: Ms. Fires Back: ICE, Power and the Patriarchy
Welcome to “The Magazine,” our mini-pod, which gives a peek into Ms. magazine’s forthcoming and current issues. In this episode, take a glimpse inside our Spring 2026 issue, which explores how U.S. federal immigration agencies have become the enforcement arm of the nation’s racism and misogyny. Also in the Winter issue: a renowned women’s rights lawyer on Iran’s deadly crackdown, how the Trump administration is leveraging legislation meant to protect clinics for political persecution, and more. Get the magazine delivered right to your mailbox!
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- The Clean Water for All Life Act: Policing Bodies, Not Protecting Water
- The DOJ Indicts the Southern Poverty Law Center in a Coordinated Attack on Civil Rights
- DOJ Targets FACE Act While Anti-Abortion Violence Rises
- UN Experts: Ban on Afghan Women Working With the UN Undermines Aid and Women’s Survival
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At Rikers, a Book Club Is Helping Women Imagine Life Beyond Bars
In 2024, comedian Nora Fried started the Rosebuds Reading Collective, a monthly book club for women incarcerated at Rikers Island, New York City’s island jail.
“I was looking forward to this all month,” Fried recalls multiple women telling her. “This is the only thing I had to look forward to.”
The women read Down the Drain, a memoir by actor Julia Fox. After the discussion, Fried tagged Fox on Instagram. Fox, whose brother was incarcerated at Rikers at the time, agreed to visit the group.
Fox learned that her book was a particularly hot commodity and that one woman’s copy had been stolen. Still, all were curious about how a girl like them had become a published author. The room resonated with laughter, from both the incarcerated women and the guards.
“It made me think to myself, I would do this every weekend. I want to come back. I love these girls,” Fox says. “They are amazing, remarkable, intelligent young women [who] made mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes. Some of us are lucky enough not to get caught.”
Courtesy of Rosebuds Reading Collective
Keeping Score: Pennsylvania ERA Secures Abortion Rights Win; Civil Rights Groups Investigate Trump Admin Delays in Childcare Payments; Senate Upholds Near-Total VA Abortion Ban
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
This week:
—In a landmark ruling shaped by Pennsylvania’s ERA, a state court struck down a decades-old ban on using Medicaid funds for abortion.
—Trump continued to attack voting rights, threatening mail-in ballots and moving towards a nationalized registration database full of errors.
—An estimated 8 million people attended the latest “No Kings” protests.
—A Michigan court ruled that the state’s Pregnancy Exclusion law, which prevents providers from honoring pregnant women’s documented end-of-life decisions, violates a voter-approved 2022 constitutional amendment.
—A federal judge blocked RFK Jr.’s changes to routine vaccination schedules.
—The Supreme Court ruled against Colorado’s ban on dangerous “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth.
—Housing markets are declining in states with abortion bans as young people leave or avoid those areas.
—Senators demand the Trump Administration release lifesaving Title X funding.
—Twenty-five states received a failing grade on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
—High levels of contamination were found in braiding hair.
—Women are driven away from coaching college sports by pay inequities and other systemic barriers.
… and more.
