More Than A Magazine, A Movement
This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. On what would have been the celebration of 50 years of legal abortion throughout the U.S., we’re instead mourning the loss of our (apparently not-so) fundamental right to bodily autonomy.
But don’t let triumphant Republicans or smug Supreme Court justices fool you—the fight is far from over.
If 2022 proved anything, it’s that we must continue to organize and channel the collective rage that was triggered by the Court’s reversal of Roe, to not only restore abortion rights across the nation but to push forward toward our goal of full equality. There is no way the movement can be stopped.
It’s important to celebrate our wins and take stock of our losses at a time like this—because they are what will fuel us as we move forward into the new year and meet the new challenges it will bring.
What did abortion look like, in the pre-Roe era? If you lived in Chicago, there was a number you could call—and a woman named Jane would answer.
“The women of Jane performed 11,000 abortions between 1965 and 1973,” Booth said. “And when people take action we can save lives, we can make a difference, we can change the laws and change the future. And we have to take action as these very precious freedoms are under threat right now.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be remembered for many things: securing passage of the Affordable Care Act; recruiting more women and diverse candidates to run for office (“organize, don’t agonize” was her mantra!); and guiding the nation through the nightmare of the Trump years.
Quite simply, though, she’ll be remembered as the Best. Speaker. Ever.
Across the board, Democratic candidates and progressive ballot measures far outperformed expectations set by the pundits, who had all but declared that abortion no longer was the driving factor in voters’ decisions.
“It was abortion that made a huge difference in race after race,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners. “In well over half the races, it was the issue of abortion that increased turnout of Democrats and younger voters.”
As election season kicks off in earnest and with the consequential midterms fast approaching, pundits are speculating: What effect will the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision have on the election’s outcomes? It’s clear that abortion is on the ballot—but how will it sway turnout and decisions in an election that traditionally sees lower numbers of voters?
In the Fall issue of Ms., we’re tackling these questions, and much more. Join us as we delve deep into the current state of abortion access nationwide and the security of our very democracy.
In the Summer issue of Ms., we delve deep into the impact of the Court’s decision, the dark money behind the bans, and legal strategies that will determine where we go beyond Roe.
It’s been just over a year since we launched Front and Center—our series centering the low-income Black women of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust guaranteed income project in Jackson, Miss.
From the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, to the cruelty of Mississippi state legislators who refuse to expand postpartum Medicaid access, the disregard displayed toward Black women shows us that our work here is not done.
In a cruel betrayal of the women of this country, and for the first time in the history of the Supreme Court and the United States, a fundamental constitutional right has been taken away. The opinion will have wide-ranging consequences not just for abortion access and women’s health—but for rights like access to contraception, infertility treatments and sexual privacy.
For nearly 50 years, as anti-abortion legislators in states around the country have chipped away at the constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion, they have done so with the steady drumbeat of violence at their back. In the face of the recent leak of a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito that confirmed that the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion advocates and providers are bracing for a surge in clinic violence.
