Author: Livia Follet

Livia Follet is an editorial intern for Ms. and a recent graduate from The University of Colorado Boulder where she earned bachelor's degrees in English literature and women and gender studies. Raised in rural Colorado, her interests include environmental justice movements, Indigenous feminisms and reproductive justice. She is based in New York City.

‘Abortion Care Is an Act of Love’: What Abortion Providers Want You to Know About Practicing Today

With increasing attacks on abortion and the people who provide them, we talked to abortion providers across the U.S. about what they want their communities to know and what keeps them motivated to continue the work. 

Abortion providers Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, CEO of Power to Decide and practicing OB-GYN; Dr. Jamila Perritt, OB-GYN in Washington, D.C., and president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health; and Dr. Bhavik Kumar, medical director for primary and trans care at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast shared with Ms. their thoughts on an increasingly hostile federal government, what antiabortion lawmakers get wrong and what they think Ms. readers should know about being an abortion provider today.

As the Trump Administration Sets the Stage for Anti-Intellectualism, This Author Is Fighting Back

Last school year, over 10,000 book bans were issued, targeting 4,240 titles—more than double the number of bans in the previous year, according to PEN America research. The incoming Trump administration’s Department of Education has already made fighting the bans increasingly difficult, dismissing 11 complaints against school districts for removing books calling the bans a “hoax.”

“We know that reading books and hearing stories builds empathy. As a former high school teacher, I cannot stress how important that is,” New York Times bestselling author and former English teacher Samira Ahmed tells Ms.

Our Abortion Stories: ‘Without Abortion, You Would Be Visiting My Grave’

“There just aren’t any bereavement days for a child that never was. … . If you know me and love me: Without abortion, you would be visiting my grave. You would be remembering me. You would be telling my motherless children about me.”

Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

“I truly am one of the lucky ones. We cannot go back. We need to forge ahead, shining the brightest of lights on this issue, to stand behind our fellow women in their darkest of hours. A wise woman once told me, our stories are powerful and this is my story. Dedicated to all six of my children, living and non-living, and to all of my fellow warriors who have suffered in silence.”

For Survivors of Gender Violence in NYC, There Is Still Time to Pursue Justice

On Feb. 28, 2025, the lookback window under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA) will expire, erasing an essential opportunity for survivors of gender-based offenses, sex trafficking, sexual assault, workplace harassment, reproductive coercion and other forms of violence to seek justice. 

The National Organization for Women, New York City, urges individuals to act quickly to protect their right to file civil claims for incidents of gender-motivated violence.

Feminist Roundup: The Best and Worst Quotes of 2024

“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not.”

“I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too.”

“Our ability to end a pregnancy with just a few pills—safely, privately, at home and without shame—was too much for them to take.”

“The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact check.”

“Birth control really screws up female brains.”

A collection of this year’s most inspiring and infuriating things said by and about women.

Building Strong Homes and Businesses: Empowering Cherokee Women Founders Through Access to Capital

Under 2 percent of women founders receive venture funding, and it’s not getting better, according to Lesley Robinson, director of education at the Ayana Foundation. Venture capital funding for Indigenous Native American women is significantly lower: just .0013 percent of venture capital funding.

The University of Tulsa Cherokee Women’s AcceleratHER Fellowship is working to change that.

“[It’s] not just understanding who you are as a founder and really focusing on the business, but really more about the identity and intersectionality of who you are. Then having this really beautiful, intentional, impactful handshake in the Cherokee Nation, and then the resources as a business woman that you can begin to cultivate from there,” said Robinson. 

‘Forced to Return to the Butcher’s Lair’: The Reality of Abortion Before Roe and the Fear of What’s to Come

and

Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

“Instead of protecting our right to freedom of choice, they would have women go through what I went through and perhaps die in the process.”

“The night before the procedure, the nurse gave me a sleeping pill and as I became sleepy, I shed a few tears. But, I knew that it was the only decision for me as the baby was unplanned. I was too young and my spirit had to be eternally free to create and experience my own type of utopia.”

From Maine to Georgia in 40 Days: Tara Dower’s Fastest Known Time on the Appalachian Trail and the Community that Got Her There

The fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail has never been held by a woman, until now. Just minutes before midnight on Sept. 21, Tara Dower became the fastest known person to hike the Appalachian Trail, reaching Georgia’s Springer Mountain 39 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes after she began her journey in Maine. 

Averaging 54 miles a day, Dower crossed 14 states and hiked 2,189 miles with 465,000 feet of vertical gain—dropping 13 hours off the previous record set in 2018. 

Ms. spoke with Dower about being a woman in ultra-endurance sports, her recent FKT and love for the Appalachian Trail.