Menstrual regulation has a long history in the United States where, for centuries, women have used a wide range of herbs and medicinal teas to “induce” or “bring down” a late period when they did not want to be pregnant. Today, period pills—also known as “missed period pills” or “late period pills”—are medications that you can take if your period is late and you suspect you’re pregnant—but don’t want to be. Advocates believe period pills can help avert the negative consequences of new abortion bans, now in effect in over a dozen states across the country.
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 cbaker@msmagazine.com or follow her on Twitter @CarrieNBaker.
Anti-Abortion ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Face New Accountability Post-Roe
Post-Roe, the anti-abortion movement is funneling more resources to crisis pregnancy centers that use these tactics in order to block access to abortion healthcare, both in states with bans and in states that protect reproductive rights.
Over 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S. provide virtually no medical services, spreading fabricated claims about the dangers of abortion. Public officials are taking actions to hold CPCs accountable for their deceptive practices.
Need-to-Know Midterm Ballot Measures for Feminists
Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Republican-dominated state Legislature to severely restrict access to abortion. In the midterms, there will be five more ballot measures on abortion across the U.S.—the most on record for any single year.
Other noteworthy initiatives include minimum wage amendments in Nevada and Nebraska; a collective bargaining measure in Illinois; a right to healthcare amendment in Oregon; Medicaid expansion in South Dakota; and a New Mexico amendment to direct public money to early childhood programs. Five states—Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont—will decide whether to repeal language from their state constitutions that allows for enslavement as punishments for crimes.
Women’s Rights and Legal Advocates Continue Push for Recognition of Equal Rights Amendment
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.