Why Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Is Actually Anti-Motherhood

This Mother’s Day, for the 111th year in a row, families across the nation will gather to celebrate all the love, care and work provided by the mothers in their lives. Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a federal holiday nearly a year after he established the basis of today’s modern income tax system, allowing him to lower tariff rates on many of the basic necessities American families relied on in 1914.

It is darkly ironic that more than a century later, the Trump administration is attempting to reverse these pro-family policies, while at the same time promoting a pronatalist agenda aimed at creating more mothers and larger families. 

Despite promoting motherhood, Trump’s policies threaten the economic stability of the 45 percent of mothers who are primary breadwinners—especially single moms and women of color.

To Protect Children, We Must Protect Abortion

My child is front of mind in every single decision I make—from the obviously big ones, like where we live and our travel plans for the year, down to the smallest, like what color shirt I’m wearing for the day. (My son’s in a “match with Mom” phase right now.) Most parents will tell you the same: that our entire world revolves around the needs of our children. We operate in ways that we hope center their best interests because as parents, we want nothing more than for our children to thrive.

My third abortion was just that—a decision I made with my son in mind. 

My child deserves the happiest and healthiest version of his mom, as do all children who already exist to people who are having abortions! The happiest version of my son’s mom is the one who had an abortion. 

‘Mama’s in the Hole’: How Solitary Confinement Tries to Break Family Bonds

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In this powerful mother-daughter exchange, Summer Knight and Kwaneta Harris reveal how nearly a decade of forced silence through solitary confinement shattered their bond—and how they’re fighting to rebuild it, piece by piece.

“Everything I did in my daily life, I’d wonder how Mama was doing the same thing in that hole. Was she cold? Could she see the sky?”

“How do you compress motherhood into five minutes at midnight? How do you explain to a child why you’re not calling on her birthday, her graduation, after her father died? … Without communication, we became strangers. She grew up with a ghost for a mother, and I mothered a memory.”

This Week in Women’s Representation: Why Democracy Runs on Women; a Win For Allison Riggs in N.C.; Rep. Jan Schakowsky to Retire After 14 Terms

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ victory was finally affirmed after partisans had sought to throw out thousands of votes; 80 percent of election officials are women; why creating new House seats would be one of the best ways to create more space for women to run; Polish women are on track for improving their political representation; Rep. Jan Schakowsky announced she will not seek reelection in 2026, ending a 14-term career representing Illinois’ 9th Congressional District; and more.

Profiles in Courage: Denise Cheung Had the Courage to Walk Away From a Compromised Justice Department

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Ms.‘ Profiles in Courage honors the extraordinary women and men who have transformed American institutions through principled public service. At a time when trust in government is fragile, these stories offer a powerful reminder of what ethical leadership looks like—from those who litigate for civil rights and resign on principle, to those who break military barriers and defend democracy on the front lines.

As the head of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C., Cheung wielded unparalleled oversight over national security cases, violent crime prosecutions, and some of the most consequential investigations in recent history—including many of the prosecutions stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, in February, faced with a Justice Department under increasing political pressure, she made a principled decision: to resign rather than compromise the integrity of her office.

Motherhood’s Dirty Secret? Sometimes It Feels Like Hate.

Mothering is traditionally expressed in terms of extremes: The mother is imagined as either all giving, tender and devoted … or its opposite: mean, selfish and self-serving.

Social media generally mirrors this trend and divides mothering between something that is achievable in all its wonder and selflessness, or an experience that is continually dismal.

It is both.

The Forgotten Mother of the Contraceptive Pill

As reproductive rights continue to be under siege, we remember Katharine Dexter McCormick, a key figure in expanding access to birth control pills in the U.S.

At one point in the late 1940s or early ’50s, McCormick had been one of the richest women in America, but what made her truly remarkable was what she did with that wealth: Defying countless contemporary social norms, mores and medical taboos, she provided almost all of the funding necessary to make oral contraception a reality. McCormick’s fortune, fearlessness and feminism mean that she can lay claim to being the mother of the modern pill. Her name is barely known.

No Room to Pump, No Room for Error: One Mother’s Fight to Feed Her Baby at Work

Could a system that was more responsive to parents’ needs improve their relationships, their children’s lives, even their sense of self? I began to report on that question and my book, Four Mothers: An Intimate Journey Through the First Year of Parenthood in Four Countries, is the result. It follows four women—from the U.S., Japan, Kenya and Finland, who all had babies around New Year 2022—through their first year of motherhood, to draw an intimate portrait of their lives and compare the support they received.

Read an excerpt from the book about one new mother’s experience in Kenya, where laws promise breastfeeding protections but workplaces often ignore them.

‘I Just Want My Babies to Be at Peace’: A Mississippi Single Mom on Surviving the System

Front & Center began as first-person accounts of Black mothers in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. Now in its fourth year, the series is expanding to explore broader systemic issues affecting Black women in poverty, including the safety net, healthcare, caregiving and overall well-being.

Maylasalisa has a newborn and is juggling school and caretaking while also trying to find work. She is the recipient of one year of guaranteed income from the Magnolia Mother’s Trust.

“Balancing work and motherhood isn’t easy, especially with a newborn. Right now, I have no choice but to stay home … If I could speak directly to the governor or the president, I’d ask for more help for single mothers—better programs that actually provide efficient support without all the runaround. There needs to be real opportunities for people to get and keep jobs, better transportation and more accessible resources. They have the money to do these things, they just don’t want to.”