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 twice-a-month roundup.
Milestones
+ The 2026 U.S. midterm elections are underway, and voters in Idaho, Nevada, Virginia and Missouri will be able to vote on ballot measures around abortion rights. Resources on voting and tracking your ballot can be found here.
+ As early voting begins, several Texas counties reported record-breaking turnout. Voter registration is also setting records, with 19 millions Texans registering ahead of this election.
+ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collected over 48 million voter records and investigated hundreds of nonprofits that help people register to vote. ICE may have shared this state voter data with a Palantir surveillance tool used to identify and locate immigration enforcement targets.
+ Dolores Huerta, the trailblazing labor organizer, feminist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, died Oct. 28 at 96, leaving generations of organizers who learned from her how to turn collective power into lasting change. She fought for farmworkers’ dignity, championed reproductive freedom, and helped women—especially Latinas and other women of color—claim their place in political leadership, insisting these struggles belonged together.
+ Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in a runoff election. Exit polling data shows the surprise victory came after voter turnout surged between the first election round and the runoff.
+ A New York judge ruled that the victim of the alleged gang rape at Cornell University can stay anonymous. Her suit led prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation, and the Cornell campus to erupt in protests against the university’s handling of the accusations.
+ Computer science pioneer Margaret Hamilton died at age 90. She led the MIT team developing flight software for NASA’s Apollo missions, and wrote over 130 publications. She founded two software companies and was recognized with the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.
+ House Judiciary Democrats released a 53-page report Monday compiling allegations of sexual misconduct involving President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein and calling for an independent special counsel to investigate. The report also accuses the Justice Department of concealing evidence of Trump’s connections to Epstein.
+ Congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia shared that she was raped while fixing campaign signs along a road in Phoenix, Arizona. She remembers hearing the man attacking her call her a “Democratic bitch” before driving off with a second man.
+ The Golden State Valkyries are one win away from their first WNBA championship. They lead the Atlanta Dream 3–2 in the best-of-seven Finals after winning Game 5, 64–55, on Monday. They can clinch the title Thursday, Oct. 29, in Atlanta. (If Atlanta wins, Game 7 will be Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. Eastern.)
+ Christa Pike survived a failed lethal injection execution in Tennessee. She spent days on a ventilator before leaving the hospital and returning to prison. The execution team appears to have struggled for almost an hour to set up an IV to administer the fatal dose of sedative. (Her reported words after the failed execution were: “Where am I? Who are you?”)
+ Canadian poet Anne Carson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She has written more than 20 books, including translations of ancient Greek texts and collections of essays and poetry.
+ The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to immediately end gender-affirming care for transgender people in prison. The administration will likely continue to appeal.
+ More than 470 Missouri medical professionals urged voters to reject Amendment 3 and stop politicians from banning abortion. Voters previously voted to approve protections for abortion care and birth control in 2024, but Amendment 3 would repeal those protections.
+ Trump’s DOJ tried to secure an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, but a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected the request on Oct. 27, 2026. She was a key Jan. 6 witness, who testified that a Secret Service agent told her that Trump demanded to be driven to the Capitol and lunged for the steering wheel. A grand jury also recently rejected proposed indictments against Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and other Democratic lawmakers.
+ The National Women’s History Museum is honoring teachers Kristen Kelly and Serene Williams, who created the first Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Women’s History class, with the 2026 Meryl Streep Educator Award. Their full-length course proposal is currently being peer reviewed after receiving letters of support from more than 100 universities.
+ After a campaign from feminist organizations including UltraViolet, Apple implemented new App Store restrictions on “nudify” apps that can generate nonconsensual intimate imagery. Now, Google must do the same on its Play Store.
+ Cameron Hamilton, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told states to increase financial reserves to handle most disaster recoveries without federal support.
+ Four members of antiabortion group Students for Life have been sued under a Texas law they supported. Founder and president of the group Kristan Hawkins posted about ordering abortion pills undercover on social media, in an effort to show how easy it is. But state residents are now able to sue anyone who provides abortion pills to or from anyone in Texas.
+ New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Jeffrey Epstein attorney and accountant, Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn. He alleges the two men helped facilitate and conceal sex trafficking.
Epstein survivors released a statement in support, saying “Epstein’s trust names both men as primary beneficiaries, each standing to receive tens of millions of dollars. Now, as co-executors of his estate, they occupy a position of profound and deeply troubling conflict: helping determine what victims receive while standing to gain what is left over after the victims are paid for their damages. Epstein’s chosen confidants should not get the last word—or the money.”
+ Despite Secretary of State Hegseth requiring military leaders to dismiss all transgender members, Navy and Marine Corps boards voted have voted to retain nine out of 12 members under investigation. These decisions could be reversed by the secretaries overseeing the service branch, but it reveals strong opposition to the Trump administration’s transphobic ban.
+ The Trump administration backed down on legal fight to rework the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and target employers that support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth. Their rule, struck down in July, would have affected student loan borrowers at schools, hospitals legal aid groups and more.
+ The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have unionized. They were able to secure raises for veteran squad members from $15 to $75 per hour last year, after a Netflix documentary revealed their fight for better pay and benefits.
How We’re Doing
+ Almost 70 percent of voters in the Deep South do not believe the government should ban abortion. In fact, they were the least likely region—compared to peripheral South, West, Midwest and Northeast—to say that abortion should never be permitted. From 2018 to 2024, there was a 14 percentage point increase in the South in support of abortion rights.
+ Women with autoimmune conditions are up to 74 percent more likely than men to be told their symptoms are psychological or psychosomatic. Women also report the time between symptoms to a diagnosis of one to two years, while men are more likely to receive a diagnosis in less than three months.
+ Women are 14 percentage points more likely than men to think elected officials have done too little to prevent sexual assault. Women are also less likely to trust sororities or fraternities to respond appropriately to claims of sexual assault.
+ Ahead of the midterm elections, 82 percent of likely voters are worried that rights are being rolled back and 76 percent say democracy is under major threat. 77 percent are concerned about political leaders pressuring election officials, and 62 percent worry about ICE intimidating voters.
+ This year’s state ballot measures were written at an average reading level of 17 years of education, equivalent to graduate school. This makes them difficult to understand in many states, with Colorado having the highest average level of 33 years of education.
+ Over 900 women were charged with pregnancy-related “crimes” in the three years after Roe was overturned. Most of the cases were in South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Several cases used internet searches researching abortion as evidence of criminal intent, while 77 cases cited a lack of prenatal care as evidence.
“These numbers show that the criminalization of pregnancy in this country is not some distant or hypothetical consequence of abortion bans,” Pregnancy Justice president Lourdes A. Rivera warns. “It is already happening.”
+ In 17 states there are no people of color serving as justices on the supreme court. Men hold 58 percent of high court seats, and in 24 states there are no women of color on the supreme court. Only 10 percent of justices are former public defenders. In the past year, 25 new justices have joined state high courts. 84 percent of them are white and 68 percent are men.
+ Research on New Mexico’s new universal childcare policy found that labor force participation of lower-income moms has risen by 18 percent and full-time employment increased by 23 percent. Higher-income moms, on the other hand, were more likely to reduce their work hours and enroll in school.
+ Six of the ten U.S. states with the worst access to prenatal and maternal care are in the South. Wyoming has the worst maternal care overall, while Mississippi has the highest infant mortality rate. Half of the top ten states are in New England, topped by Vermont and Massachusetts.
+ More than 500 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents during Trump’s second term. At least 70 American children were detained, and several were deported. More than 300 Americans were detained for allegedly assaulting or obstructing agents, but most were never charged or had their charges dismissed.
Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) introduced the Justice for Citizens Wrongfully Detained by ICE Act to make it easier to sue over wrongful detentions and arrests.
+ Since taking office, the Trump administration has investigated only 29 of the more than 200 Title IX sex discrimination or sexual violence complaints, and found fault with a school district only once. Instead, they have placed a greater focus on investigating complaints than men faced sex discrimination.
The administration investigated fewer than 370 cases of racial discrimination, out of about 5,000 cases. Of the investigations, 11 percent alleged discrimination against white students.
+ 89 percent of American youth are willing to vote, but 44 percent are unsure if their vote matters. Only 16 percent say democracy is working well for their generation, contributing to the discouragement of civic engagement. But those who felt their voices and opinions mattered in high school were extremely likely to vote.
Lest We Forget
Vivek Ramaswamy Weaponized Childhood Sexual Abuse Against Political Opponent
“I really have no words for Mr. Ramaswamy. I think there is no low that he wouldn’t sink to. For those out there going through it now, hold on, please. If there’s someone you feel safe with, say something about it.”
—Amy Acton
“After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died. This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core—a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”
—Amy Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign released an ad featuring his opponent’s estranged mother, who says Amy Acton lied about her past. Trump and Vance defended the ad, and Ramaswamy doubled down on calling Action a liar. As a child, Acton was removed from her mother’s home and testified against her stepfather, who was charged with raping her. He fled the state before trial and died in 2004.
Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Hyde Amendment
“Every person should have the freedom to make the decisions about pregnancy that are best for them—including whether to have an abortion—without political interference. The Hyde Amendment takes that important, personal decision away from millions of people, especially women with low incomes and women of color.
“A half century of this despicable policy is enough. Hyde was the first step in eroding the federal right to abortion, and rectifying it needs to be the first step in restoring that right. We call on Congress to not only protect the right to abortion but also ensure meaningful access to care by passing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, which would end this cruel and insidious policy by eliminating the Hyde Amendment and all abortion coverage bans.”
—Jessica Arons, director of the Liberty Division for Policy & Government Affairs at the ACLU
The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act is cosponsored by over 200 members of Congress.
Trump Rescinds Stronger Title IX Protections for Survivors of Sexual Violence
“Trump’s Department of Education has obsessively weaponized Title IX to attack trans people under the false pretense of protecting girls and women, but this rule is further proof that that pretense has always been a lie. A Senate report found that, under Trump and Secretary McMahon, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights didn’t reach a resolution agreement for a single sexual harassment or violence case in 2025, proving how this Administration has failed to protect students.
“Now, they’ve recodified a rule that weakens protections for students, especially protections against sexual harassment and violence. All students, including LGBTQI+ students, deserve to go to school free of discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment and violence, but this rule is just the latest example of how Trump and McMahon don’t care about keeping students safe.”
—Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
The Trump administration rescinded the Biden-era Title IX rule that strengthened protections for pregnant, parenting and LGBTQ students, and survivors of sexual violence and harassment.
Democratic Senators Highlight Threats to Childcare Programs
“American families face skyrocketing child care costs. In 2025, the cost of child care grew “faster than overall inflation.” The Trump administration’s “economic and foreign-policy agenda,” which has increased the “prices of goods, gas, and health care,” is making this crisis more severe. Recent reporting details how thousands of child care centers have closed since President Trump took office, taking with them thousands of child care slots for families.
“Providers and parents are struggling under the weight of rising costs. Instead of addressing this problem, the administration has chosen to undermine the programs and rules that strengthen access to affordable child care. Families, already contending with a higher cost of living, will struggle without protections that target affordability, and providers will struggle to offer quality services without provisions that stabilize and safeguard their wages.”
—A letter signed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and six other Democratic senators, pushing back on proposed cuts to the Head Start program by the Trump administration.
Trump Brings Back Execution by Firing Squad After 80 years
“The Trump administration’s announcement to pursue a military execution by a manner not used in the military since 1945 demonstrates the federal government’s zeal for brutality at any cost. Recent incidents of horrendous suffering in botched executions were not enough to deter President Trump from greenlighting this barbaric execution. Neither were decades of history outlining the death penalty’s many horrors or the racism undergirding its administration. There is no crime that the death penalty will undo. We roundly condemn the administration’s pursuit of this execution.”
—The Legal Defense Fund (LDF)
The Trump administration approved the first execution of a U.S. military member by firing squad since 1945. Secretary of State Pete Hegseth originally planned to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan in December, but Trump canceled it after public backlash.
Uncovering Investor Leon Black’s Ties to Epstein
“Leon Black says we should be ashamed. We are not. The shame belongs to the man who maintained a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein for decades and who has faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse. The shame belongs to those accused of rape and the institutions that protect them, not women who support survivors or the survivors who speak out. That includes the multiple women who have sued Leon Black for sexual assault, and the non-disclosure agreements he has muzzled his accusers with.
“Men like Leon Black abuse their power with impunity and rely on prestigious institutions like the MoMA to offer them cover. It’s the same playbook used by powerful abusers such as Epstein and Trump. But we have the power of the truth on our side.”
—Elisa Batista, a campaign director at UltraViolet
UltraViolet and the Trump-Epstein Reading Room held an event highlighting MoMA trustee Leon Black’s references in the Epstein files and his multiple rape accusations.
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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need.
Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. What’s your reproductive freedom story? Add your voice. Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible.
