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.
Lest We Forget
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight and I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.“
—Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
“At age 12, I took my first pregnancy test and it was positive. That was the first time I was ever told, ‘You have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice, but today that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans. … [Donald Trump] calls [total abortion bans] a ‘beautiful thing.’ What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”
—Hadley Duvall at the DNC
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”
—Michelle Obama at the DNC, referencing Trump’s recent comment that “Black jobs” are being taken by undocumented immigrants
“Our best days are not behind us, they’re before us. … MAGA Republicans found out the power of women in 2022. And Donald Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024. History is in your hands.”
—President Biden at the DNC
“Behind closed doors, chief Project 2025 architect Russ Vought confirmed Donald Trump has ‘blessed’ the work of Project 2025 architects as they work on the ‘second phase’ of their dangerous MAGA blueprint.
“Trump’s MAGA minion Russell Vought is saying out loud what Americans have seen all along: The Project 2025 agenda is the Trump-Vance ticket’s plan to gut checks and balances, ban abortion nationwide, and raise taxes for the middle class.”
—DNC rapid response director Alex Floyd
“Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers want to prove that abortion is never necessary to save a person’s life. The problem is that they know pregnancy can be deadly, especially in the United States. Rather than admit abortion can be life-saving, their solution is to force doctors to end deadly pregnancies in any other way—even if it means torturing women in the process.“
—Feminist author and columnist Jessica Valenti
“So many of the leaders of the left … they’re people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children. And that really disorients me, and it really disturbs me.”
—JD Vance in 2021, once again displaying his disdain for people without children by attacking “leaders on the left” and American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten.
Milestones
+ The DNC featured inspiring speeches by President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, Barack and Michelle Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Raphael Warnock and many other Democratic leaders in Congress and across the country. DNC speakers also shared their experiences with abortion, miscarriage and pregnancy, and Vice President Harris was officially reaffirmed as the Democratic nominee for president.
+ Vice President Harris released part of her economic plan, which focuses on expanding the child tax credit, reducing price gouging on groceries, expanding access to affordable housing, helping first-time homeowners, seeking a 28 percent corporate tax rate and other policies that will significantly help women and families.
+ Meanwhile, Donald Trump reposted an AI-generated image falsely suggesting Taylor Swift supported his campaign. Swift has previously spoken out against Trump and endorsed Biden in the 2020 election, as well as supported Tennessee Democratic candidates and encouraged her fans to register to vote.
+ Trump may have violated federal law by filming in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes. NPR also reported that two Trump campaign staffers “verbally abused or pushed” a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming.
+ Trump also reposted on Truth Social a misogynistic (and false) meme that Vice President Harris traded “blowjobs” to help her political career.
+ A devestating new Taliban law bans women in Afghanistan from showing their faces and bodies and speaking in public. Human Rights Watch warns that “the Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis since taking power. Under the Taliban’s abusive rule, Afghan women and girls are living their worst nightmares.”
+ Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts postponed the release of his book until after the election. The book attacks access to birth control, IVF, abortion, and people within children.
“He knows the more people learn what he and leaders of Project 2025 want to impose on Americans, the more they will reject it. It turns out an agenda that guts checks and balances, consolidates power for them and their friends while taking away our personal freedoms is very unpopular,” said Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk.
+ Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan could become the first Native American woman governor if Tim Walz becomes the next vice president. Flanagan is already the highest-ranking Indigenous woman in a statewide elective office, and established the first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office in the U.S. She is a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
+ Kim Coco Iwamoto will be the first openly trans lawmaker in the Hawai’i state house, after she defeated the sitting House Speaker in the Democratic primary.
+ After attempting to attack his military record, the Trump campaign is calling Gov. Walz “Tampon Tim,” referencing to a bill requiring schools to provide menstrual supplies for grades 4 through 12. Despite the Trump campaign claiming “there is no greater threat to a woman’s health than leaders…who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools,” the law is a great way for schools to support girls, trans boys and everyone who menstruates.
+ Gold-medal winning Algerian boxer Imane Khelif filed a legal complaint against “malicious individuals” that fueled online bullying and transphobic abuse. Among other high profile harassers, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling contributed to viral racist, sexist and transphobic conspiracies that Khelif (a cis woman) is secretly trans.
+ The U.S. women’s basketball team won its eight straight Olympic gold medal in Paris, in a nail-biting game ending 67-66 against France.
+ American women earned a record 26 out of the country’s 40 gold medals at the Paris Olympics. If U.S. women were their own country, they’d rank third in the highest number of medals, behind only the U.S. and China.
+ A collection of recordings from the Uvalde elementary school shooting were released, reaffirming the failure of law enforcement to confront the shooter for 77 minutes. Two officers who failed to act are facing criminal charges, but families are still calling for greater police accountability.
+ A federal appeals court blocked President Biden’s SAVE student loan relief program. The conservative judges struck down not just the SAVE program but any other similar loan relief policies. The Supreme Court refused to intervene, sending it back down to the appeals court for a final ruling.
+ Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki died at age 56 due to lung cancer. Wojcicki was involved in the early days of Google, eventually becoming senior vice president of advertising and commerce. She then led YouTube for 9 years, the first woman to lead a major tech company.
+ Donald Trump did not reject the idea that he could direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “revoke access” to mifepristone if elected—although based on his incoherent response he may not even have understood what the abortion medication is. He also refused to say how he will vote on a Florida ballot amendment to override their six-week abortion ban.
+ Two Texas women have filed complaints with HHS after hospitals denied them emergency abortion care, in violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). They each lost a fallopian tube and nearly died due to ectopic pregnancies that weren’t treated.
+ Former New York police offer Shawn Jordan was sentenced to just 10 weekends in jail after he pled guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl. Kathryn Robb from Enough Abuse argued, “This sentence is the epitome of injustice…this little girl will be imprisoned by her memories for life, while [the rapist] loses a mere 20 days of his liberty.”
+ Aug. 14 was the 89th anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law. Today more than 71 million Americans receive $1.5 trillion in benefits during the year.
+ Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the Tesla board questioning Elon Musk’s use of company resources on SpaceX and xAI, which she argues may be conflicts of interest.
+ Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed three reproductive rights bills into law. One codifies a state-version of EMTALA in case the Supreme Court overturns it, another adds protections for patients from out of state seeking abortion care. The final bill prohibits discrimination against people based on reproductive health decisions, including abortion, fertility treatment and IVF.
+ Reproductive rights organization Idahoans United for Women and Families has filed four ballot initiatives in an attempt to restore abortion rights in 2026. The proposed legislation would allow abortions up to at least 20 weeks, and in cases of rape, incest and fatal fetal anomaly. Now, the state Attorney General must review the petition before activists can begin gathering the signatures they need to get abortion on the ballot in 2026.
How We’re Doing
+ Aug. 7 was Moms’ Equal Pay Day in recognition that moms working full time earn 71 cents for every $1 paid to white dads. Latina and Native American moms earn just 51 cents, Black moms 52 cents, and single moms 56 cents. While moms often have limited career opportunities due to systemic sexism and greater caregiving responsibilities, dads are seen as breadwinners and receive a “fatherhood bonus.” As a result, 28 percent of single moms experience poverty, compared to 15 percent of single dads and 5 percent of married couples.
+ Women in the U.S. are underrepresented at every level of government, holding under one-third of all elected positions. The number of women candidates has fallen by 20% in the House and 26 percent in the Senate in the last year. Obstacles to gender parity include funding disparities, media bias, unequal caregiving responsibilities and lack of personal wealth.
+ Women of all ages orgasm just 46-58 percent of the time during sex, compared to 70-85 percent for men. Lesbian and bisexual women aged 35 to 49 reported higher rates of orgasm than straight women. Psychology professor Dr. Laurie Mintz explained that the orgasm gap “can be fixed. It’s going to take education, and empowerment, and acceptance of vibrators and lubricants, and using the word ‘clitoris.’”
+ An anti-childcare movement is spreading on social media, thanks to “tradwife” influencers. They glorify a version of motherhood that shames families who send their kids to daycare and school, and are often based in white supremacist and conservative religious beliefs.
+ There were 100,000 abortions in the U.S. in January 2024, as numbers continue to rise since the Dobbs ruling. However, states including Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama have seen a decline in abortions. But even though 14 states have banned abortion, telemedicine makes up 20 percent of abortions and allows patients to get the care they need. Six states so far have passed shield laws to protect clinicians who offer telehealth abortion care.
+ The National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood’s Justice Fund was forced to make significant cuts due to lack of funding for abortion hotlines. With just a few weeks of notice, they dropped the amount they can cover for patients from 50 percent to 30 percent of costs. Meanwhile, demand is growing as more states pass strict abortion laws. The Chicago Abortion Fund jumped from around 1,000 callers per month to 1,700 in July.
Funding is critical for abortion care patients below the poverty line, traveling from out of state or in their second or third trimester. But many independent clinics and local funds are struggling. “We hit our monthly budget limit on August 6,” said Erin Bilbray, executive director of Silver State Hope Fund in Nevada. “It has never been even close to this bad.” In response to the NAF cuts, local funds spoke out about the disconnect between large national organizations and grassroots organizations.
+ Since President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act two years ago, companies have committed to creating over 115,000 jobs and investing more than $395 billion in semiconductors and electronics.
+ A recent survey found that men aged 18 to 29 support Harris over Trump, 38 percent to 36 percent. In particular, young men registered to vote favored Harris, while those not registered support Trump.
+ A survey of first-time voters discovered strong support for action on climate change, protecting the environment and greater transparency about AI. A majority support a wealth tax, protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act and covering tuition for low-income students at public universities. The young voters also overwhelmingly rejected a nationwide ban on medication abortion, supported federal funds being used for contraceptive access and approved of a federal law ensuring access to abortion. Finally, they agreed with restoring voting rights to citizens with felony convictions and creating an automatic voter registration system.
Up next:
U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms. has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you. For as little as $5 each month, you’ll receive the print magazine along with our e-newsletters, action alerts, and invitations to Ms. Studios events and podcasts. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.
