More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Today the U.S. approaches the end of a Supreme Court term unlike any other—leaving many to wonder about the Court’s commitment to equality, inclusion and nondiscrimination.
On July 6, Michele Goodwin will be joined by leading experts in constitutional law, criminal justice, women’s rights, administrative law, the Second Amendment, and free speech; together, they will give an overview of this term, what’s at stake, and what comes next.
In 1972, when abortion was still illegal throughout most of the country, 53 well-known U.S. women courageously declared “We Have Had Abortions” in the pages of the preview issue of Ms. magazine. The Washington Post credited the petition with the “start of a powerful strategy in the U.S. abortion rights movement: ending the secrecy that had kept many women out of the fight.”
The next year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution. This year, the Supreme Court appears poised to reverse this position. In this perilous time, Ms. is relaunching the petition—with the encouragement and support of some of the original 1972 signers. This year alone, the petition has garnered almost 7,000 signatories.
In the Spring issue of Ms., we examine the backlash against feminist progress in the U.S.—from increasing restrictions on abortions at the state level, to restrictions on voting rights, to attacks on LGBTQ rights, and more.
Join a special event streaming from NPR’s studio in New York City on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
Panelists will dig deep on key questions:
*How should we consider parallel affronts to participation and representation—the wave of voting restrictions and outsize role of big money in politics?
*Can we look to state courts to provide new avenues in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling?
*What are the legal and societal impacts of criminalizing pregnancy and abortion, especially on communities of color?
As Ms. marks 50 years, we are proud to announce the launch of a new podcast platform out of our very own Ms. Studios; an expanded leadership team to build out Ms.’s next generation of vision; and a forthcoming book, Fifty Years of Ms., featuring a half century of the very best of Ms.
The Supreme Court has once again lurched to the right, and reproductive rights are in danger.
Given the dire circumstances, Ms. is once again relaunching its “We Have Had Abortions” petition, with the encouragement and support of some of the original 1972 signers—including Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, the author of the original “We Have Had Abortions” article that appeared in Ms.
“While the Supreme Court may, because of the machinations of the one party, eviscerate Roe v. Wade, now is not the time to give up,” said Diamonstein-Spielvogel.
On November 6, 2003, President Bush signed what he called a “partial birth abortion ban,” prohibiting doctors from committing an “overt act” designed to kill a partially delivered fetus. One of the unintended consequences of this new law is that it put people in my position, with a fetus already dead, in a technical limbo.
We told our doctor we had chosen a dilation and evacuation. But I didn’t realize that pressures extending all the way to the boardrooms of hospitals, administrative sessions at medical schools and committee hearing in Congress, were going to deepen and expand my sorrow and pain.
In its 1972 preview issue, Ms. magazine ran a bold petition in which 53 well-known U.S. women declared that they had undergone abortions—despite laws in most states rendering the procedure illegal. We know it is time again.
Today in Texas, abortion has been outlawed for the vast majority of women and girls. And in a few short months, the Supreme Court is likely to rule in a case that is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and will impact abortion access nationwide.
Add your name to the petition.
January 22 marks the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. But it may very well be its last. In a few short months, we face the likelihood the Supreme Court will overturn Roe, endangering abortion access nationwide.
In the Winter issue of Ms., we delve deep into the current state of abortion access and rights in America. We make the case that abortion is essential to democracy. We relaunch a historic Ms. campaign from 1972: “We have had abortions.” And we examine how to ensure our rights are protected—reminding you that without the Equal Rights Amendment, women still do not have full constitutional equality!
It’s been a hell of a year for feminists.
But we didn’t sit around. We took to the streets, to protest the attacks on our right to decide what happens to our own bodies. To protest the lack of progress on voting rights, immigration, police and gun reform, and on finally enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. We wrote letters, sent messages, tweet stormed, rallied, called Congress, and gave money to support our causes in a year when budgets were tight—because we knew it was the right thing to do.
Happy new year from all of us at Ms., and thank you for sticking with us through the hard times.
