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
“As much as I want to believe that I am safe, the truth is that the world does not protect everyone in the same way. People of color, like us, live with more danger, and women and girls, and trans and queer people, are punished every day for wanting to live freely. I’m so sorry this is the world you’ve been given. This letter is my way of explaining why—even in the face of so much harm—we must never back down.
“The world has been hurting. People have been harmed. And this moment asks something of us. It asks us to begin where we are and with what we have, to imagine what could be better, and to step toward one another and protect what is tender and at risk. Staying engaged isn’t about pretending fear isn’t there. It’s about choosing what fear is allowed to shape.”
—Adrianne Wright, The Nation, “If Something Happens to Me: A Letter to My Daughter”
“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for. His last thought and act was to protect a woman. He was a good man. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.”
—Susan and Michael Pretti, parents of Alex Pretti, a peaceful bystander who was murdered by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
“Supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault has always been a huge priority for me. I’ve spoken personally with so many women and survivors who struggled to get the help they needed after an assault, and I carry their stories with me. So I was outraged when the Trump administration proposed devastating cuts to support for survivors—and even wanted to consolidate the Office on Violence Against Women with other programs. This is not a federal initiative that can be some afterthought or get lost in D.C. bureaucracy. I will continue listening to survivors, and the people who serve them, about what the federal government can do to support their work.”
—Senate Appropriations committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) helped pass a record $720 million this fiscal year for the Office on Violence Against Women, as well as funding for Sexual Assault Nurse Exams and Sexual Assault Kit programs, and grants to report on access to medical exams for sexual assault survivors.
“No one is illegal on stolen land. We just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices matter.”
—Billie Eilish called out the Trump administration’s immigration policies in her Grammy acceptance speech for Song of the Year.
“ICE Out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans. I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”
—Bad Bunny during his Grammy acceptance speech. “Debi Tirar Más Fotos” was the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year.
“The fact of the matter is: Medication abortion is safe and effective, and we have known that for a very long time. We have a tremendous amount of data showing how safe this medication is. mifepristone is one of the most studied medications we have. It’s also one of the most restricted, despite its impressive safety profile. The only reason mifepristone is regulated as heavily as it already is, is because of anti-abortion politics, not because of science.”
“We all know this hearing is not about the actual science or the facts—and it’s certainly not about what is best for women’s health. This hearing is really about the fact that Trump and his anti-abortion allies want to ban abortion nationwide and medication abortion is the most common method of abortion in the U.S. I’m really tired of Republicans pretending they care about ‘protecting women’—when all they mean is taking away women’s ability to make decisions about their own bodies.”
—Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pushed back against false antiabortion myths about mifepristone at a Senate hearing.
“Birthing persons in Maryland and across the United States are in crisis. Despite continuing medical advancements and increased attention to perinatal care, birthing persons continue to face serious health complications, or even death, throughout all stages of pregnancy, including during the postpartum period.
“In this context—and in a post-Dobbs world where reproductive freedom is at risk— safe haven laws provide a critical resource for postpartum persons who may be unable to parent due to severe prepartum or postpartum health conditions.”
—Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, OB-GYN and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health. Dr. Sufrin is one of several physicians and reproductive health organizations that filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of Maryland. The court is considering a dangerous law that punishes people who use safe haven laws.
Milestones
+ Alex Pretti was killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. While witnessing their actions and protecting a fellow bystander, he was pepper sprayed in the face, tackled and shot multiple times while on the ground and unarmed. The 37-year-old was an ICU nurse at a VA medical center, and began protesting ICE’s abuses after Renee Good was killed on Jan. 7.
+ Senate Democrats refused to pass a DHS bill that would fund ICE for this fiscal year. Instead they passed a two-week continuing resolution to give them time to negotiate reforms designed to prevent further brutality from ICE and CBP agents.
+ In addition, members of Congress are moving to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem if she is not fired. Noem defended the killing of Pretti by labeling him (as well as Good) a “domestic terrorist” and lied about him brandishing his legally registered gun.
+ On the Grammys red carpet, some celebrities wore “ICE OUT” buttons organized by Working Families Power and other activists, in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. R&B winner Kehlani, country star Shaboozey, Best New Artist Olivia Dean and more spoke up in support of immigrants or against ICE.
+ After Grammys host Trevor Noah joked about Trump and Epstein’s connection, Trump threatened to sue and called him “pathetic” on Truth Social.
+ Adrian Conejo Ariasand his 5-year-old son Liam were released from ICE custody after more than a week, thanks to a court order. Liam was arrested on the driveway of his home in Minneapolis, potentially as “bait” to arrest his mother. His family had an active asylum case pending, and no order for deportation.
+ Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) visited the family detention center Liam was held at, and reported children “mentally broken because of the trauma that they’re experiencing,” not being educated (despite staff claims), and not eating or sleeping well.
+ Civil society organizations urged Apple and Google to remove X and Grok AI from their stores. Grok has been frequently used on X to create child sex abuse material and non-consensual “declothed” and deepfaked images of women.Grok has been generatingabout one non-consensual sexualized image per minute, and 85 percent of its images are sexualized.
“The proliferation of non-consensual deepfakes has irreversibly altered the lives of women and children who’ve been completely stripped of their privacy, autonomy, and safety,” said Jenna Sherman, campaign director at UltraViolet. “This may be a game to Elon Musk—who instead of taking down Grok entirely until proper safeguards were implemented made AI image abuse a paid feature—but it’s deadly serious for the thousands of users actively being harmed.”
+ Across the country, healthcare providers say concerns about ICE raids are leading more people to miss prenatal care. In Minnesota, the effects are particularly visible: Six providers in the Twin Cities report rising no-show rates for prenatal appointments.
+ Planned Parenthood is organizing “Care Continues” community events across the country to advocate for removing barriers to reproductive rights. The community organizing campaign will span from January to April, and interested partner organizations can get involved here.
+ The Senate passed the DEFIANCE Act, which would allow victims of non-consensual explicit deepfakes to sue the creators. It now goes to the House, where Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) are leading the effort. A 2024 report found that 25 women and one man in Congress were victims of non-consensual intimate imagery spreading on deepfake websites.
+ Jan. 23 was Ranked-Choice Voting Day, raising awareness of the policy that creates a more democratic path to elected office and makes elections more representative and competitive.
+ The Republican National Committee is suing Maryland election officials in an attempt to enact stricter requirements and purge entries from voter rolls. Current state law ensures voters who move between counties remain eligible to vote, which particularly protects renters, students and other frequent movers. The DNC is intervening to defend those voters from being disenfranchised.
+ After Missouri passed an abortion rights amendment in 2024, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood sued to challenge state bans on abortion. A preliminary injunction allowed some clinics to provide care. This month, the full court case began, with Abortion Action Missouri providing some coverage of the arguments.
+ The EEOC rescinded a 2024 guidance document that detailed the civil rights laws that protect people from workplace harassment. While removing the guidance doesn’t change the laws, it will make it more difficult to pursue harassment claims in court. LGBTQ workers will be disproportionately harmed, but women and people of color will also be affected.
+ Chloé Zhao is now the second female filmmaker Oscar nominated twice for Best Director. Zhao won in 2021, becoming the first Asian woman to win Best Director.
+ Natalie Portman called out the Oscars for nominating only one female-directed film out of 10 for Best Picture. “You just see the barriers at every level because so many were not recognized at awards time. We have a lot of work to do still,” she explained.
+ Texas Attorney general Ken Paxton sued Delaware nurse practitioner Debra Lynch for allegedly mailing abortion pills to Texas patients. Strong shield laws can protect providers like Lynch, but Delaware’s law is less clear than the eight states that explicitly allow providers to prescribe medication to patients in states with bans.
+ Immigrant families and workers are challenging the Trump administration’s visa ban on people from 75 countries. “The Trump administration’s unlawful visa ban separates families, undermines U.S. employers, and destabilizes communities,” said Joanna Cuevas Ingram, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. “These policies exceed the government’s authority, violate the Constitution, and strip families and working people of rights that the law squarely protects.”
+ South Carolina has the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. since it was declared eliminated in 2000. Over 847 cases have been reported since October, mainly in areas with high rates of unvaccinated children. As a result the U.S. may lose its measles elimination status.
How We’re Doing
+ When men are exposed to catcalling in virtual reality (VR), they experience heightened anger and disgust. This may lead to increased empathy for victims of street harassment, and even behavioral changes for those who have harassed others.
+ Thanks to increased access to IVF, the number of unmarried women in their 40s who have babies has increased by 250 percent in the last 30 years. Some have partners, but others are single mothers by choice.
Overall, 44 percent of women in the U.S. are single. Women with higher levels of education and higher incomes are more likely to use IVF, which is often out of reach for women with lower incomes.
+ For the first time, more Americans support than oppose abolishing ICE. Women are more likely to support abolishment. Half of all women are in favor, up from 28 percent in June.
+ Patients using Depo-Provera are almost four times more likely to develop meningiomas (brain tumors) than women who do not use hormonal birth control. The FDA recently ordered Pfizer to include that risk on the warning label, after more than 1,800 women sued.
+ Women now outnumber men in veterinary school four to one. They also outnumber men in law, medical, pharmacy, optometry and dental schools in the U.S. Overall, women earn 40 percent more doctoral degrees, and almost twice as many master’s degrees as men. This is likely due to fewer men earning undergrad degrees than in the past.
+ Between 2005 and 2024, at least 4,913 CBP officers or Border Patrol agents were arrested. That’s one every 24 to 36 hours, and roughly the amount of people as the entire Philadelphia police.
Look to these trusted groups if you or a loved one needs to know more about reliable abortion care:
- Safe websites to buy abortion medication: Aid Access, Plan C Pills, Abortion Finder, I Need An A
- If you need help affording abortion care, contact an abortion fund near you.
- To protect your digital privacy when planning your abortion, click here.
- For free legal help as a patient or doctor, call If/When/How’s Repro Helpline: 844-868-2812
- For medical advice, contact the Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline: 833-246-2632
- If you need to know the abortion law in your state, look to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
