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 hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn. I hope that you’ll forgive me if I’m a little angry that we are indifferent to his erratic behavior. His obvious mental decline. His history as a convicted felon. A known slumlord. A predator found liable for sexual abuse. All of this while we pick apart Kamala’s answers from interviews that he doesn’t even have the courage to do, y’all.
“We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger, to prove time and time again that she belongs. But for Trump, we expect nothing at all, no understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals.”
—Former First Lady Michelle Obama before the election, highlighting the double standards vice president Harris faced.
“The last thing the United States needs is another white, cisgender, Catholic man interfering with the healthcare decisions of Americans nationwide. 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.”
—Christopher Wimbush, interim president of Catholics for Choice, on Trump’s nomination of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“I’m straight up just saying we shouldn’t have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. It hasn’t made us more lethal. It has made fighting more complicated.”
—Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host chosen by Trump to lead the Department of Defense.
“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.’ This spike in harmful language online is also showing up in the hallways of our schools.
“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. This Caucus stands with you.”
—Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), policy co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus
“I believe stripping away people’s agency by controlling their bodies in the face of some of the most intimate and tender decisions of their lives is an affront to our humanity and to God. Safe, legal, compassionate abortion care is necessary to the health, dignity, and thriving of our families.”
—Unitarian Universalist pastor Rev. Molly Housh-Gordon joined over 150 clergy and faith leaders in support of Missouri’s Amendment 3. The amendment passed, overturning the state’s near-total abortion ban.
“I’ll give you the truth why I’m not speaker. It’s because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.”
—Kevin McCarthy, referring to the ethics investigation against Matt Gaetz that remains in limbo after Gaetz withdrew from consideration as Trump’s attorney general.
“The firing of teachers, the harassing of teachers, the banning of books, the things you’ve been reading about happening in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida—they’re coming now to New York, to Massachusetts and California.”
—Karen Svoboda, founder and executive director of national parents’ group Defense of Democracy, warning that schools will need to “brace for impact” after Trump’s win.
“I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too. I don’t want them to be ashamed any longer. It’s not for us to have shame—it’s for them”.
—Gisèle Pelicot testifying against her husband and 50 other men on trial for drugging and raping her. Pelicot waived anonymity and chose an open trial to be able to share her story publicly.
Milestones
+ An Ohio judge permanently blocked a six-week abortion ban, in response to a ballot amendment that took effect in December 2023.
“With the ban permanently blocked, we can move the fight for reproductive rights forward and focus on making abortion accessible for all. This ruling is a testament to the collective power of Ohioans who voted for Ohio’s new Reproductive Freedom Amendment last fall,” said Bethany Lewis, executive director of Preterm.
+ GOP legislators are already planning to undermine abortion ballot measures passed by voters. In Montana, conservative legislators hope the pro-choice amendment could be deemed as unconstitutional because it “denies due process” to the fetus. Missouri and other states will likely face attempts to define fetal viability as early as possible, and some lawmakers are planning to introduce “fetal personhood” or “parental consent” bills to limit abortion access.
+ Rep. Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas) became the 95th member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus after winning a special election to replace her late mother Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, setting a record number of Democratic women serving in the House of Representatives simultaneously.
+ On Veterans Day, Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was finally recognized for her military service. Governor Wes Moore (D-Md.) commissioned her as a one-star brigadier general, 160 years after her service as a nurse, spy, recruiter and leader. During her lifetime, Tubman was denied military benefits, only receiving nurse and widow pensions. (You may also like Tubman 200, an online initiative from Ms. honoring the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Harriet Tubman.)
+ Nov. 21 was Native Women’s Equal Pay Day, highlighting that Native American women make only 52 cents on average for each dollar earned by white men in the U.S.
+ Former model Stacey Williams accused Donald Trump of sexually touching her against her will in 1993, on a visit to Trump Tower with Jeffrey Epstein, who Williams says was a close friend of Trump’s. Dozens of other women have also accused Trump of sexual harassment and assault, and he was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll last year.
+ Natasha Alexenko died on Oct. 31 at age 51. Alexenko became an advocate for ending the national rape kit backlog after discovering that her rape kit, along with tens of thousands more, sat untested for over a decade. Fifteen years after the attack, her rapist was finally identified and found guilty. Alexenko formed Natasha’s Justice Project in 2011, testified before Congress and multiple state legislatures and was instrumental in the passage of a 2019 California law requiring rape kit testing to be completed within 120 days.
+ A large coalition of emergency medicine and reproductive health experts filed an amicus brief calling for federal protections for emergency abortion care. In June, the Supreme Court sent an Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) case Moyle v. United States back to the lower courts. Now, medical experts are urging the courts to uphold EMTALA and protect patients.
“Doctors and healthcare providers deserve the certainty that living up to their oath to help people will not put them in legal jeopardy. The Supreme Court’s failure to rule unequivocally—as our Constitution requires—that Idaho’s abortion ban conflicts with longstanding federal protection entitling people to life- and health-saving emergency care has continued to sow chaos in hospitals across the country,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.
+ The House passed a bill allowing the treasury secretary to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status. If signed into law, organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood fear it would be used to target and unfairly punish or censor humanitarian, health and other politicized organizations.
+ Republican members of Congress are already harassing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who will be the first openly trans member of Congress. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) attacked McBride online and introduced a resolution to ban her from using women’s bathrooms, and Speaker Johnson (R-La.) announced a ban on trans people using their correct bathroom in the Capitol and House buildings.
+ A new law in Odessa, Texas, bans trans people from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. Echoing “bounty hunting” anti-abortion laws, individuals can now sue trans people for more than $10,000 if they believe their original birth certificate does not match the restroom. Critics warn that similar transphobic bills could increase in 2025, and frivolous lawsuits will be used to harass trans people as well as require gender-nonconforming cis people to prove their “biological sex” in court.
+ A Louisiana law requiring public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments was found unconstitutional. “It should send a strong message to Christian nationalists across the country that they cannot impose their beliefs on our nation’s public school children. Not on our watch,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
+ On Dec. 4, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a challenge to Tennessee’s law banning gender affirming healthcare for transgender youth. The law criminalizes doctors and providers for supporting trans youth, while keeping the same puberty-pausing treatments available to cisgender youth.
U.S. v. Skrmetti will be the first time an openly trans attorney, Chase Strangio, presents a case before the Supreme Court. Strangio is the co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ & HIV Project.
+ A proposed Biden-Harris administration rule would cover over the counter birth control without a prescription or cost sharing. This would greatly expand access to contraception under the Affordable Care Act.
+ A new site YouAlwaysHaveOptions.com (SiempreTienesOpciones.com) collects resources and critical information for those seeking abortion care. Coordinating with a wide range of abortion access organizations, the aim is to ensure access to safe abortion across the country.
+ Texas state Representative Steve Toth introduced a bill to ban any websites that include information about abortion medication or how to obtain abortion care. It would allow individuals to bring civil suits against internet providers that don’t block those websites, and would also charge anyone who raises money for abortions–especially abortion funds–with a felony.
+ One in five women aren’t using their preferred birth control method, largely due to cost. A new partnership between Opill and GoodRx aims to limit those barriers, allowing an over the counter contraceptive pill to be delivered directly to patients.
+ Grammy-nominated artist Vanessa Carlton and her song “A Thousand Miles” are featured in a video campaign emphasizing the distances Americans are forced to travel to receive abortion care. In 2023 alone, over 171,000 patients had to travel out of state.
“I suffered an ectopic pregnancy back in 2013 and had to be rushed into emergency surgery to save my life,” shared Carlton. “If that had happened to me today in the wrong state, I may not have survived. Women in the same situation are now being turned away from hospitals because of abortion bans. People are being forced to travel hundreds or thousands of miles for time-sensitive health care that should be available everywhere. It’s heartbreaking and wrong.”
How We’re Doing
+ Weeks after the election, it appears that Trump’s margin over Harris will be about 1.5 points, the fifth-smallest gap since 1900. Exit polls suggest his favorability was just 48 percent.
+ Almost half of Republican candidates for Congress and top state offices–at least 236 candidates–cast doubt on the integrity of the 2024 election before Election Day. Many amplified misinformation and accused Democrats of trying to sway the results by allowing noncitizens to vote or by going after Trump with politically-motivated court cases. The vast majority of Trump supporters said they were concerned there would be election fraud.
+ Child care now costs more than a month’s rent for many U.S. families. For just one child, families spend between 9 percent and 16 percent of their median income on day care, with median annual costs from $6,552 to $15,600 in 2022.
+ After the Dobbs decision, the U.S. fertility rate fell by 2.7 percent , declining in all 50 states and DC. Rates are higher in states with abortion bans but they continue to fall everywhere, likely due to factors including greater vigilance around contraception, refraining from sex, and the risk of doctors in aboriton-ban states not being able to provide aid for pregnancy complications. Teen fertility also hit a new low, correlating with rises in high school and college graduation rates and higher lifetime salaries.
+ New analysis suggests domestic violence incidents are an estimated 29 percent to 53 percent higher than official reports show. In 2022, domestic violence was underreported by an average of 336 incidents per city.
+ Women are stockpiling contraception, emergency contraception and abortion medication. The day after the election, traffic to Planned Parenthood’s pages on long-term contraception increased by over 1,200 percent and Wisp reported a 600 percent rise in online orders for medical abortion. Emergency contraception orders went up about 1,000 percent, primarily in multipacks.
+ More than a third of American journalists reported being threatened with or experiencing physical violence while working, almost 30 percent reported legal threats and a third reported digital violence. In addition, 24 percent were sexually harassed and 6 percent threatened with sexual violence.
+ One in five Americans, and almost 40 percent of adults under 30, regularly get news from influencers. Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to get news from influencers, but more Republicans say the online news they consume is very different from news they get anywhere else.
Almost two-thirds of news influencers are men, with the gender gap highest on Facebook and YouTube, and reaching parity on TikTok. TikTok was the only social media site with as many left-leaning news influencers as right-leaning. A majority of news influencers monetize their content, despite many having never worked in the news industry.
+ Twenty-five percent of all Americans, 17 percent of Democrats, and 45 percent of Republican men think others have mostly negative views of “manly or masculine” men. Almost half of men think men are expected to suppress their true masculinity, and 68 percent of Republicans believe that the Democratic Party is hostile to masculine values. However, most Americans agree with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s powerful messaging that masculinity isn’t about being tough and angry, it’s about showing your love by sticking up for others.
+ Eighty-two percent of working moms believe there’s a stigma attached to pumping breastmilk at work, up 20 points from 2018. Unfortunately, 44 percent of working moms have had negative interactions with coworkers about pumping or breastfeeding, and 60 percent are concerned that it could impact their career growth.
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