Author: Carrie N. Baker

Carrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D., is the Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman professor in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College. She is a contributing editor at Ms. magazine. You can contact Dr. Baker at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @CarrieNBaker.

Women’s Rights and Legal Advocates Continue Push for Recognition of Equal Rights Amendment

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On Wednesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of Illinois v. Ferriero—a lawsuit brought against the national archivist to compel him to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit was brought by two of the three final states to ratify the ERA: Nevada and Illinois. Immediately following the oral arguments, ERA advocates held a press conference and a rally outside the court.

“We are hopeful that this will result in the certification of the ERA,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), co-sponsor of H.J. Res. 28, the Equal Rights Amendment. 

U.S. Senate Republicans Introduce Nationwide Abortion Ban: ‘This Once-Hypothetical Nightmare Is Here’

Just weeks before the midterm elections, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S. C.) and Chris Smith (N.J.) introduced a nationwide ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. The move was a reversal for Graham, who recently said abortion regulation should be left to the individual states. Democratic members of Congress and abortion advocates condemned the proposed legislation.

‘Catholics for Life’ Ask Supreme Court for Nationwide Abortion Ban and Full Constitutional Rights for Fetuses

Immediately after the draft opinion in Dobbs leaked in May, Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists announced they were working on legislation to ban abortion nationwide. But Catholics For Life (CFL), impatient to achieve that goal sooner, have asked the Supreme Court to do just that in a petition filed on September 1. CFL is asking the Court to ban abortion nationwide by ruling that “unborn human beings” have full constitutional rights.

If the Court rules in their favor, they will undoubtedly also rule that these “persons” have rights greater than any born person has: namely the right to inhabit and use a woman’s body against her will.

New California Law Protects Digital Privacy of Abortion Seekers Nationwide

Last week the California legislature passed a bill providing groundbreaking digital privacy protections for abortion-related communications sent through California tech companies. Assembly Bill 1242, introduced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), bars telecommunications companies in California from providing records of digital communications related to abortion to law enforcement officials.

“California continues to provide a blueprint for what is possible when policy centers people, equity, science and medicine; and trusts each person to make the best decisions for themselves and their family about their healthcare options.”

Michigan Judge Rules Abortion Ban Violates Women’s Equal Rights, Bodily Integrity and Dignity

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled last week that the state’s 1931 abortion ban violates the Michigan Constitution.

In a forceful, 39-page order permanently blocking the law, Gleicher ruled that the abortion ban violated both the due process and equal protection clauses of the state Constitution. She rejected Republicans’ argument that pregnancy is not an intrusion on women’s bodies: “Bodily autonomy is inherent to human dignity” and “eliminating abortion access will force pregnant women to forgo control of the integrity of their own bodies.”

‘Four Winters’ Reveals Jewish Women’s Armed Resistance to Nazis During World War II

In the new documentary Four Winters, award-winning filmmaker Julia Mintz shatters myths of Jewish passivity during World War II. “Jewish women were not part of the battles of history that they had been taught about. They learned to use a gun. They learned to adapt and become what they needed to be. I’m trying to give these women their rightful place in history.”

“The resiliency and self-determination, the courage, ingenuity and grit these women embodied—it’s our collective legacy. I hold them as my sheroes.”

Women’s Equality Is *Still* Not Guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution

Despite achieving all of the requirements to become an amendment to the Constitution, recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment was blocked by the Trump administration.

In January of this year, the Office of Legal Counsel issued a new opinion stating that Congress may take action regarding ratification of the ERA—but Republicans have used the filibuster to block the measure in the Senate. To make the ERA a reality, Democrats need to keep the House and win 52 Senate seats in the fall elections, so they can remove the filibuster and pass the ERA resolution.

Groundbreaking Massachusetts Law Protects Telemedicine Abortion Providers Serving Patients Located in States Banning Abortion

Massachusetts just passed a sweeping new reproductive rights law. In addition to provider protections, it removes cost barriers to abortion care, expands access to third-trimester abortions in cases of grave fetal diagnosis, increases access to emergency contraception and medication abortion, and guarantees the right to gender-affirming care.

The U.S. Just Got One Step Closer to Over-the-Counter Birth Control

Reproductive justice advocates recently achieved a major milestone: the U.S. FDA received its first-ever application for an over-the-counter birth control pill.

The FDA approved the birth control pill for distribution in the United States by prescription in 1960, but it is only available by prescription from a doctor or pharmacist. If the OTC application is granted, Opill would be available on the grocery shelf next to tampons and condoms.

Pregnancy as Punishment: The Impact of Abortion Bans on Incarcerated Women and Girls

The Dobbs decision is falling hard on young and low-income women, who don’t have the resources to travel out of state to obtain abortion healthcare. But an often-overlooked population especially hard hit is incarcerated women and girls, and those on probation and parole.

Close to 900,000 women and girls are under the control of federal, state and local carceral systems in the U.S. Prisons in states banning abortion can entirely block incarcerated pregnant women and girls from seeking abortion healthcare out of state and can even block those on probation and parole from traveling out of state to obtain abortions.