U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We refuse to go back, and we refuse to let the incoming Trump administration quietly dismantle the progress we’ve made. We are watching.
This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report …
+ Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, infant mortality rates in the U.S. were higher than usual, with hundreds more infants dying than expected, according to new research in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. According to medical experts, abortion bans can hurt access to broader healthcare for both babies and mothers, including reducing a state’s number of maternal healthcare providers as bans lead to OB-GYN exoduses. As a result, many pregnant patients—especially poor women and women of color—are forced to wait or travel far from home for needed care.
According to Dr. Ushma Upadhay from the University of California, San Francisco, “People who face the most structural barriers in terms of poverty, lower levels of education, food insecurity, and other life stressors can’t access abortion care, and these factors also increase their risks of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes.”
+ Some good news from Wisconsin: State Supreme Court justices pushed back against a county attorney’s attempt to restore an 1849 law banning abortion, which would include no exceptions for rape, incest or most medical complications. “I fear what you are asking this Court to do is to sign the death warrants of women and children and pregnant people in this state because under your interpretation they could all be denied life-saving medical care while the medical professionals who are charged with taking care of them are forced to sit idly by,” Justice Jill Karofsky said. “This is the world gone mad.”
+ The Trevor Project, the leading national organization dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth, reported an almost 700 percent increase in calls, chats and texts after Election Day. Crisis services, which typically help young people navigate their identity, mental health issues and coming out, experienced a nearly 5,200 percent increase in election-related conversations.
“We are here for you, no matter the outcome of any election, and we will continue to fight for every LGBTQ+ young person to have access to safe, affirming spaces— especially during challenging times,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project. “LGBTQ+ young people: your life matters, and you were born to live it.”
+ Sarah McBride (D-Del.) became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress after winning Delaware’s statewide House seat. Her campaign focused largely on expanding healthcare access for Delawareans.
In the following weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced an anti-trans bathroom ban prohibiting individuals from using restrooms in the Capitol and House office buildings that differ from their sex assigned at birth.
McBride issued a statement agreeing to follow the rules: “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.”
Let’s not forget what else was sent our way in November and October.
Thursday, Oct. 30; Friday, Nov. 1; and Monday, Nov. 25: Josseli Barnica, Navaeh Crain and Porsha Ngumezi Die Due to Texas’ Abortion Ban
Three more women have died after receiving inadequate miscarriage care, adding to the long list of preventable deaths resulting from abortion bans.
In Texas in September 2023, 28-year-old Josseli Barnica died after suffering a miscarriage when doctors told her it would be a “crime” for them to intervene under Texas state law. For doctors in Texas, treating miscarriages falls into a gray area legally because of the state’s laws prohibiting doctors from ending the heartbeat of a fetus. In Barnica’s case, doctors at the hospital delayed giving her care out of fear of prosecution. After three days with her uterus open to infection, doctors eventually removed the fetus once the heartbeat stopped, but Barnica died hours later of sepsis and bacterial infection resulting from the delay in treatment. She leaves behind a husband and a 1-year-old daughter.
Medical experts attributed the tragedy to the hospital’s delay in providing miscarriage treatment, a direct result of Texas’ abortion ban. “We know that the sooner you intervene in these situations, the better outcomes are,” said Dr. Steven Porter, an OB-GYN in Cleveland, quoted in ProPublica. According to Harvard’s Dr. Susan Mann, “If this was Massachusetts or Ohio, [Barnica] would have had that delivery within a couple hours.”
ProPublica also broke the heartbreaking story of Nevaeh Crain, an 18-year-old girl in Texas, who died in October 2023 when she couldn’t get miscarriage care under Texas’ abortion ban—in a case similar to Barnica’s. After suffering sharp abdominal pain, Crain, who was six months pregnant, had to go to three different emergency rooms over the course of 12 hours before being properly diagnosed with life-threatening sepsis due to a miscarriage.
On the day of her baby shower, Crain started suffering from headaches and nausea. After first being told at the hospital that she had strep throat, she returned home where her condition grew worse and worse to the point she wasn’t able to walk. After blood-stained underwear confirmed she was suffering a miscarriage, her mother drove her back to the hospital, where doctors waited until an ultrasound confirmed the fetus was dead before offering care. Just hours later, Crain was dead.
According to Crain’s mother, Candace Fails, doctors seemed much more concerned with checking the heartbeat of the fetus than taking care of her daughter. “I know it sounds selfish, and God knows I would rather have both of them, but if I had to choose,” she said, “I would have chosen my daughter.”
After Barnica and Crain’s deaths, 111 Texas OB-GYNs sent a letter to Texas policymakers, saying, “the law does not allow Texas women to get the lifesaving care they need.”
The world also recently learned of the death of 35-year-old Porsha Ngumezi in Texas in June 2023. After Ngumezi suffered a miscarriage and bled so much that she needed two transfusions, doctors did not give her a routine D&C, or dilation and curettage, procedure. Ngumezi, who had a blood-clotting disorder, died of a hemorrhage from the bleeding.
A D&C involves placing a straw-like tube in the uterus and suctioning out remaining pregnancy tissue; however, since the procedure can also be used to end pregnancies, it’s become entangled with Texas’ abortion ban. Now, many doctors fear legal repercussions for providing the treatment, waiting hours or days or prescribing medication instead, leading to deaths like Ngumezi’s. Ngumezi left behind her husband and their two sons, aged 5 and 3.
“At every point, it’s kind of shocking,” said Dr. Daniel Grossman, an OB-GYN professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who reviewed Ngumezi’s case. “She [was] having significant blood loss and the physician didn’t move toward aspiration.”
Monday, Nov. 18: Texas Republicans Plan to Ban Pro-Choice Websites
In Texas, which has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, Rep. Steve Toth introduced a bill that would ban pro-choice websites in the state (the second bill of this kind that Toth has tried to pass). Under the new bill–called the Women and Child Safety Act—internet service providers would be forced to block any websites providing information about abortion access, including websites like Plan C Pills, Aid Access and Hey Jane that help women find medication abortion if they live in a state like Texas where abortion is illegal. The ban would include websites for abortion funds and pro-choice organizations.
The bill would allow citizens to bring civil suits against internet service providers that refuse to block these websites—similar to Texas’ “bounty” law that allows individual private citizens to sue anyone they suspect of helping someone else get an abortion. Toth’s bill would also charge anyone who raises money for abortion care with a felony.
Last year, Republicans in Iowa also tried to pass a bill to ban pro-choice websites. Idaho and Tennessee both also passed recent laws making it illegal for anyone to help a teenager access abortion (even sending a teenager a link to the website of an out-of-state abortion clinic would be considered “abortion trafficking”). Both bills are currently blocked on First Amendment grounds.
Wednesday, Nov. 6: Kamala Harris Loses Presidency to Donald Trump
Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, beating Kamala Harris. This marks the second time in American history that a major party has chosen a woman as the presidential nominee and the second time she has lost—both times in a race against Donald Trump. Republicans also won House and Senate control.
While Trump received about 2.5 million more votes than he did in the 2020 presidential election, his margins were narrow by historical standards. The outcome was the fifth smallest margin since 1990, according to an analysis spanning 32 presidential races. A gender gap was evident in voting preferences: Trump won support from 59 percent of white men compared to 53 percent of white women, 47 percent of Latino men compared to 38 percent of Latinas, and 24 percent of Black men compared to 9 percent of Black women. Black women overwhelmingly supported Harris, similar to voting behaviors in 2020.
The economy has been cited as a top priority for voters, an issue which gave Trump an edge. However, many organizations and individuals largely attributed the results to systemic failures. “Donald Trump won by activating a base of voters who chose his racism, misogyny and xenophobia over unity and democracy,” said National Organization for Women president Christian F. Nunes.
Trump’s win, after being accused of sexual assault by 27 women, sends a disheartening message to victims of sexual assault and advocates. Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, called his victory a “gut punch,” adding, “Until our institutions, the people who hold that power, are willing to say this is not OK, I think we’re going to see men like Trump continue to amass power and enable this permission structure that has really been there for a long time.”
Trump will take office on Jan. 20, 2025. He has begun announcing potential cabinet members, many of which have ties to Project 2025. Trump’s affiliation with Project 2025 and its architects are becoming even more apparent.
Harris addressed the nation in a concession speech at Howard University on Nov. 6: “This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Statewide Reproductive Ballot Measures Pass and Fail
Measures to protect abortion and reproductive healthcare access were on the ballot in 10 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.
- Ballot measures passed in Arizona (61-39), Colorado (62-38), Maryland (74-26), Missouri (52-48), Montana (57-43), Nevada (63-37) and New York (62-38). Nevada requires the measure to pass again in 2026 to amend the state constitution.
- Ballot measures failed in South Dakota (41-59), Florida (57-43) and Nebraska (49-51). While a majority of Floridians voted to end Florida’s extreme abortion ban, the amendment needed 60 percent to pass.
More than 60 percent of New York voters supported Proposal 1, the state’s Equal Rights Amendment. Prop 1 prohibits discrimination based on age, disability, ethnicity, national origin, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender and pregnancy status and outcome. New York is now the 28th state to have an Equal Rights Amendment that protects women’s rights.
Despite statewide successes, antiabortion activists and Republican state legislators have continued the attack on reproductive healthcare, attempting to undermine ballot measures.
“Republican legislators are already exploring avenues to upend the implementation of abortion rights amendments, and those attempts will only intensify under a Trump administration,” said Sam Paisley, interim communications director at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “The firewall in blue state legislatures has never mattered more.”
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Online Misogyny Explodes After Trump’s Win
Trump’s win in the Nov. 5 election paved the way for an upsurge in Internet misogyny and online vitriol. On X, white supremacist Nicholas Fuentes wrote, “Your body, my choice”—a phrase that’s been picked up by legions of young men online. In a video, Fuentes also said, “Hey bitch, we control your bodies. Guess what? Guys win again, men win again, and yes, we control your bodies.”
X user Jon Miller, with more than 100,000 followers wrote, “Women threatening sex strikes like LMAO as if you have a say”—prompting other X users to add the community note, “Having sex with a woman without her consent is rape.”
Manosphere influencer Andrew Tate has also taken Trump’s win in stride, writing “REQUEST DENIED” in a repost of a woman writing that all she’s asking for is “a President who isn’t a rapist.”
While online misogyny is nothing new, Trump’s victory seems to have emboldened even more men on the Internet to make jokes about rape, consent and abortion rights. Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue have tracked a 4600 percent surge in misogynistic hate online in the weeks since the election. The last few years have also seen a sharp gender division online and a rise in Internet tradwives, a trend that will likely only continue going forward as Trump enters his second term.
In response to the misogynistic rhetoric online immediately after the election, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and others from the Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote in a statement, “we are deeply alarmed by the recent increase in online abuse directed at girls and women. Since Election Day, we have witnessed a troubling rise in hateful, sexist, and misogynistic rhetoric, including the disturbing use of the phrase ‘your body, my choice.’ […] Together, we affirm that every woman in America has a right to make her own choices about her body and her health care. To women and girls of all ages across this nation, your body is yours alone. Sexual assault and harassment should never be tolerated, and you deserve to feel safe in your school, in your community, and online.”
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Trump’s Cabinet Picks Draw Controversy
After Trump tapped Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Gaetz withdrew from the nomination after allegations came to light of his sexual misconduct and paying multiple women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. “It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on X.
Even with Gaetz’s nomination unraveled, Democrats are still concerned about Trump’s other choices. Trump has chosen Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as secretary of health and human services. Besides having a history of mistreatment of women (including psychologically torturing his former wife Mary Richardson, who died by suicide in 2012), RFK Jr. is an infamous anti-vaxxer. He has already said that he plans to re-examine FDA approval for various vaccines in addition to encouraging municipalities to remove fluoride from their water supply, stop infectious disease at the NIH and make the FDA approve discredited COVID-19 treatments. As HHS secretary, RFK Jr. will oversee 13 different operating divisions, including the FDA, the NIH and the CDC.
RFK Jr. also has an inconsistent record on abortion rights. Even though Republicans like Mike Pence have expressed their disapproval of Kennedy’s supposedly pro-abortion stances, RFK has also stated that “every abortion is a tragedy” and called for a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks before disavowing that stance.
In a statement, Christopher Wimbush, interim president of the reproductive rights advocacy group Catholics for Choice, said, “By appointing Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, President-Elect Trump shows just how willing he is to ignore the health and wellbeing of those already left behind by our government… When his confirmation hearing occurs, we hope senators will look closely at his inconsistent record on abortion rights and remember that most voters—including those who voted for President-Elect Trump—support abortion and oppose further federal attempts to restrict access.”
Meanwhile, women veterans are upset over disparaging comments that Trump’s secretary of defense pick Pete Hegseth has made. Hegseth, who is a Fox News host and an Army National Guard veteran, has said that women should not serve in combat roles and that men are more capable.
In response to his comments, Allison Jaslow, the chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said, “During my time in the military, I’ve had some male colleagues really freaking disappoint me. I’ve seen women who’ve displayed more courage, better physical fitness and better character over some of the men that I’ve served with … It’s just one of those things where I’m like, ‘Tell me to my face.’”
In 2018, Pete Hegseth’s mother Penelope sent him an email saying that he “had routinely mistreated women for years and displayed a lack of character.” Although she has since said that she regrets the statement, Hegseth has been accused of many kinds of mistreatment of women, including sexual assault. “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote in her email.
Thursday, Oct. 31: Louisiana Healthcare Workers and Advocates Challenge State Abortion Pill Law
A group of Louisiana healthcare providers, organizations and individuals—including two women who were denied pregnancy care in the state, Nancy Davis and Kaitlyn Joshua—sued the state of Louisiana over Act 246, a state law that classifies the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances Birthmark Doula Collective v. Louisiana seeks to protect patient safety and reproductive healthcare and is the first lawsuit challenging the law.
Even before it took effect on Oct. 1, the law faced criticism from healthcare professionals, with nearly 300 doctors signing a letter opposing the measure. Medical experts warned of the critical delays caused by Act 246, which requires misoprostol to be locked away— potentially life-threatening in circumstances such as postpartum hemorrhaging. The criminalization of abortion medication sets a harmful precedent for other states and has dangerous implications for Louisiana’s already high incarceration and maternal mortality rates.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent Act 246 from being enforced, claiming that it violates the state constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs argue that it discriminates against a person’s physical condition as patients with similar medical conditions don’t experience the same delays if they need drugs.
“This case is about the unconstitutional regulation of medications that people need for non-abortion reasons simply because those medications may also be used for an abortion,” the lawsuit says.
Wednesday, Oct. 30: Analysis Reveals Economic Harm of State Abortion Bans
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) released a report analyzing the impact of abortion bans on state economies and women’s workforce participation, amidst widespread concerns over the economy among voters in the presidential election. The analysis highlights the correlation between abortion restrictions and economic underperformance, drawing attention to the “critical relationship between reproductive health care access and economic, labor market and health outcomes.”
Key takeaways include that states with abortion restrictions tend to have lower GDP per capita and that bans and restrictions hurt women in the workforce.
- Out of the 10 states with the lowest GDP per capita in 2023, eight had total bans or severe abortion care restrictions
- Out of the 17 states with a higher-than-average GDP per capita in 2023, 14 had at least some abortion access protections
- Of the 18 states with abortion bans or severe restrictions, 10 experienced a sharper decline in prime-age (25-54) female employment growth compared to the national average between 2022 and 2023
- Of the 18 states with abortion bans or severe restrictions, 13 had labor force participation rates lower than the national average in 2023— for all workers and for women workers
- All 18 states with abortion bans or severe restrictions experienced lower median weekly earnings compared to the national median for prime-age, full-time workers
