More Than A Magazine, A Movement
On Thursday, March 27th in Milwaukee, anti-abortion extremists blocked access to Affiliated Medical Services, refusing to leave until police physically removed them. This calculated act in defiance of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act occurred just days before Wisconsin voters decide a critical State Supreme Court race that will determine the future of abortion rights in the state.
As The New York Times noted not long ago, Trump “had not appeared to be swayed by protests, petitions, hashtag campaigns or other tools of mass dissent.” That’s a common perspective these days. But what if it’s wrong?
In fact, popular resistance in Trump’s first term accomplished more than many observers realize; it’s just that most wins happened outside the spotlight. In my view, the most visible tactics—petitions, hashtags, occasional marches in Washington—had less impact than the quieter work of organizing in communities and workplaces.
Understanding when movements succeeded during Trump’s first term is important for identifying how activists can effectively oppose Trump policy in his second administration.
In her work, Taylor Swift has taken inspiration from women of the past, including actress Clara Bow, socialite Rebekah Harkness and her grandmother Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer.
But sometimes I wonder what the 34-year-old pop star would think of the life and work of Italian-born French writer Christine de Pizan.
Back in the 15th century, Christine—who scholars customarily refer to using her first name, because “de Pizan” simply reflects her place of birth, and she may not have had a last name—dealt with her share of “dads, Brads and Chads,” just as Swift has in the 21st century.
MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report:
—At a town hall in Idaho, men from a private security firm grabbed Teresa Borrenpohl and forcibly dragged her from the room.
—Georgia relaunched a new maternal mortality committee, but will not reveal who the new members are.
—In a win for Montana, a district court permanently blocked multiple restrictions that would have effectively eliminated abortion access for most patients on Medicaid.
… and more.
I recently spoke with students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School Women’s Association at their annual Carrie B. Kilgore dinner—a gathering of budding lawyers and their professors united in honoring the first woman to attend the Penn Carey Law School and be admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth.
Giving this speech was a pleasure, not only for the opportunity to encourage and support some of the great lawyers and judges of tomorrow, but because it brought me into contact with the life of Carrie Kilgore, a name, I have to admit, I had never heard before.
In the research for my remarks, I discovered that Kilgore was a doctor, lawyer and early suffragist, and while known to an extent in the Pennsylvania legal community, her papers have largely been unpublished, her achievements largely unknown to the public. This is a shame—because not only did she live a fascinating, meaningful life, but I think there are lessons that we can take from it as we confront the urgent challenges of the present moment.
A bipartisan bill to clarify exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban garnered widespread support Thursday from healthcare professionals and abortion opponents who said the bill would remove any hesitation doctors might have to save a pregnant woman’s life.
Critics, meanwhile, told lawmakers that Senate Bill 31 doesn’t go far enough to protect women facing pregnancy-related medical emergencies and even quietly resurrects 160-year-old laws that could be used to criminalize those who have undergone an abortion or have helped those who receive an out-of-state abortion.
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris did not lose to Donald Trump because they were women; Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announces run for governor; it’s looking increasingly likely that a woman may be elected in 2026 in Alaska; women will disproportionately feel the effect of Trump’s tariffs; and more.
The possible return to a near total abortion ban in Wisconsin—which depends on the outcome of the April 1 state Supreme Court election—would gravely interfere with Dr. Anna Igler’s work as an OB-GYN near Green Bay.
“Terrible things happen in pregnancy,” said Anna Igler, an OB-GYN near Green Bay. “All babies aren’t healthy and all pregnancies are not healthy for the baby or the mother. That’s just biology.”
She knows that firsthand.
As the Trump administration’s attacks on women’s rights, reproductive access and LGBTQ equality continue in force, state executive leaders have emerged as potent frontline responders.
Among the tools in states’ arsenals are often underused state-level equal rights amendments (ERAs). Even as the federal ERA remains in limbo, an unlikely bulwark for the next four years—see professor Laurence Tribe’s Contrarian piece explaining its legal status—29 states have some form of an ERA (e.g., broader sex equality language than the U.S. Constitution) written into their constitutions. Several have already been used to advance abortion rights (Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Mexico); many are broadly worded and inclusive of protection against pregnancy discrimination, age, disability and immigration status. Issues such as pay transparency and addressing gender-based violence also could be bolstered by a state ERA.
This Women’s History Month, we remember President Jimmy Carter’s role in establishing this official observance of women’s achievements, his related support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and some unsung heroes in the Senate Wives Club who were instrumental in gaining Carter’s support for an ERA milestone that advanced, but ultimately failed to achieve, ERA ratification.
The contributions of Senate wives in the 1970s, particularly their efforts to help delay the ERA’s ratification deadline, often go unrecognized even today.