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
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities—they are traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the point.
“This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.”
—California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Trump for deploying thousands of National Guard soldiers and Marines in Los Angeles, fanning the flames of protests against sweeping ICE raids.
“President Trump’s unlawful decision to deploy the national guard onto the streets of Los Angeles is a reckless and inflammatory escalation—one designed not to restore calm, but to provoke chaos.”
—Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
“We don’t want to benefit Democrat governors. We want to help all the states, but we have governors that are from the Democrat [sic] party, let’s say New York, Illinois, big ones, and let’s say Gavin ‘Newscum,’ who’s done a horrible job in California. We want to benefit Republicans. They are the ones that are going to make America great again. The Democrats are destroying our country.“
—Trump wants to change his “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill to only benefit Republican states.
“Well, we are all going to die.”
—Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) flippant response to a town hall question highlighting the life-threatening cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in Republicans’ “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill. Ernst doubled down in a sarcastic social media video, saying she “made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.”
“Whatever happened to the little girl who had to wear bread bags over her shoes as she tramped through the snow to school — too poor to afford boots? She somehow was lost spending too many years in the halls of power and wealth.“
—Myrt Levin responds to Ernst’s comments in a letter to the editor in the Des Moines Register
“A department without enough employees to perform statutorily mandated functions is not a department at all. This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the Department’s employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the Department becomes a shell of itself.“
—District Court Judge Myong J. Joun issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from gutting the Department of Education by firing almost half of its staff.
“The Trump administration doesn’t want you to know it, but they just quietly erased guidance that informed hospitals of their obligation to provide lifesaving care for pregnant women facing health care emergencies, like severe hemorrhage or sepsis—circumstances where the only option to save a woman’s life may be emergency abortion care.
“Once again, the Trump administration is sending a clear message that they do not care about women’s lives, and they don’t care how many pregnant women they force into health care crises so long as they can continue to advance their extreme antiabortion agenda.”
—Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), after the Trump administration rescinded 2022 guidance that confirmed hospitals must follow the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and provide abortion care in emergencies.
“I do think that we’re at a real crisis point where you have an administration that does not want to be beholden to our Constitution or the rule of law. They’re seeking to normalize suggestions: ‘Well, maybe we don’t have due process, maybe certain people aren’t entitled to due process.’ Well, that’s not how due process works. It’s for all of us.
“All of this is part of a normalization of things that are not normal in a democracy and I think that we have to be vigilant about that. It was never about immigration policy… because if it was, you would actually see the President using lawful processes, which he’s not interested in.”
—Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport people illegally and ignore court orders.
“We’re seeing what happens when states ban or severely restrict access to abortion care: people are driving overnight often with children in the backseat of the car, and spending rent money to access basic healthcare.
“Illinois is showing the country what’s possible when you pair strong legal protections with deep investment in infrastructure. When you trust abortion providers and abortion funds to lead, and you work alongside policymakers, you can build a system that meets people’s needs—no matter where they come from. Every day, we support people traveling from across the country because their home states have failed them. Illinois is where they can finally get the care they deserve.”
—Megan Jeyifo, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund. Almost one in four Americans who cross state lines for abortion care go to Illinois, where their commitment to abortion access is a national model of compassionate care.
Milestones
+ The Trump administration rescinded guidance clarifying that hospitals must follow the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide abortion care for patients in emergency situations, even when state laws ban abortion. This move doesn’t change the law, but it adds to the confusion and fear that could cause dangerous delays in hospitals stabilizing patients.
+ ICE raids in Los Angeles last Friday sparked protests and arrests, with law enforcement using rubber bullets, stun grenades and other weapons against mostly peaceful protestors. Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Marines, adding to the unrest.
+ California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to sue the administration over the unapproved deployments, calling Trump “dictatorial” on X, and Kamala Harris labeled it part of his “cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.” Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar” threatened to arrest Newsom.
+ An injunction will temporarily block the Trump administration from dismantling the Department of Education. Their proposed mass termination order would have laid off almost half of the Department’s employees. The administration filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said, “No one’s lives are being made better by this administration’s attempted dismantling of the Department of Education. Instead of taking a wrecking ball to our nation’s best values and our chance at a better future, this administration should be focused on how to improve education and opportunities for all.”
+ Dr. Étienne-Émile Baulieu, the “father of the abortion bill,” died at 98. A French biochemist, physician and author, Dr. Baulieu developed mifepristone in the early 1980s, and passionately lobbied for acceptance of the abortion bill. He also studied the role of hormones in aging and treating dementia.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Dr. Baulieu criticized the decision, saying it “calls into question a fundamental right of women that we would have thought was legally, politically and morally guaranteed.”
+ Days before Trump’s birthday military parade, D.C., hosted World Pride, including a march on the National Mall. The White House did not issue a proclamation recognizing June as Pride month this year.
+ Taylor Swift finally owns her entire music catalog, six years after her first six albums were sold against her wishes to Scooter Braun. By re-recording “Taylor’s Versions” of four of them, Swift devalued the originals until she was able to buy them back. Her efforts to highlight unfair contracts by recording labels have influenced Olivia Rodrigo and other young artists to include ownership of their masters in contracts.
+ The Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) are moving towards approving a hunt of black bears. Wildlife groups warn that “barbaric” and illegal baiting and killing techniques may be reintroduced, and that the FWC is using outdated data to insist the killings are necessary.
During the state’s last bear hunt, in 2015, hunters killed almost 10 percent of the state’s bear population within two days, including females, cubs and small bears that were supposed to be off-limits. “This is a rich man’s hunt. It’s not science-based conservation,” said James Scott, campaign coordinator of environmental group Speak Up Wekiva.
+ Elon Musk broke with Trump to criticize the reconciliation bill, and in their social media feud alleged Trump appears in the Epstein files. His most scathing tweets were deleted a few days later, including a reply where Musk endorsed the idea of Trump being impeached and Vance becoming president.
+ Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player, married film producer Brunson Green.
+ For the second year, the LGBTQ community in Jacksonville lit a bridge with hand-held rainbow lights to celebrate pride month. Starting last year, Florida’s Transportation Department has told cities they can only light bridges at night with red, white and blue.
+ Israeli forces seized the Madleen “Freedom Flotilla” in international waters and detained 12 activists, including Greta Thunberg. They were attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, which Israel’s Navy has been blocking.
After being deported to Sweden, Thunberg shared her concerns for her fellow crew members and the people in Gaza. “I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel,” she shared. “This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing.”
How We’re Doing
+ More than two-thirds of moms are experiencing anxiety, and over a third report “moderate to severe” levels. Financial stress is the biggest cause, with unemployment, low wages and the cost of gas and other necessities driving anxiety. Gen Z moms report higher levels of anxiety than Millennial moms, and feel more pressure to be perfect parents.
Overall, 75 percent of moms don’t have enough support from family and friends, and over half say they don’t have anyone in their “village” other than their partner.
+ A study of 132 countries found that unintended pregnancies are correlated with gender inequality, especially gender disparities in education. A 9.8 percent decrease in the unintended pregnancy rate is associated with a 10 percent increase in the ratio of women to men completing secondary education.
+ Since the Dobbs decision in 2022, over 40,000 people from more than 40 states have contacted the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). They have distributed over $15 million in funding, with the average support to each caller $1,000 for travel, lodging, childcare and abortion procedures.
In 2024, Illinois provided abortion care to around 35,000 out-of-state patients, 39 percent of all abortions in the state. They saw significant increases from patients from Florida and Iowa after their six-week bans became law.
