Environment

It’s Not Just the Supreme Court—It’s the Fossil Fuel Industry, Too

PUBLISHED 8/16/2022 by

The communities that disproportionately lack abortion and reproductive healthcare services are also the ones uniquely affected by environmental injustices. Decades of public health impacts have shown us that communities who struggled to access reproductive healthcare, even before Roe v. Wade‘s repeal, are the same ones who have faced decades of environmental racism and injustice.

I am one face of the millions of people on the frontlines of urban oil extraction who endured serious health affects as a result.

Opposition to Climate Action and Reproductive Rights Is a Public Health Failure

PUBLISHED 8/10/2022 by

Climate change continues to cause fatal flooding and heatwaves that are devastating the U.S. while the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022—legislation that would put $369 billion towards climate action and clean energy—is still on a tenuous path to passage. This bill would reduce carbon emissions roughly 40 percent by 2030 and mitigate the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis, such as life-threatening illnesses and housing and job instability—all of which affect the health of pregnant people.

Ms. Global: Iranian Women Unveil in Protest; Hungary Sued Over Anti-LGBTQ Law; Sierra Leone Overturns Abortion Ban

PUBLISHED 7/21/2022 by and

The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

The Overturn of Roe Could Mean the End of Fertility Medicine

PUBLISHED 7/13/2022 by and

Without the protections of Roe, we stand to see gross inequalities in fertility care and reproductive decision-making.

State laws defining ‘life’ as the moment an egg is fertilized will limit or prohibit the freezing or discarding of embryos—a process fundamental to successful fertility treatments. These practices could all but vanish in some places. These restrictions emerge at a moment where fertility technology is becoming ever more precise. Combined with existing anti-poor fertility policies, the reality is that poor women of color will have even less opportunity to determine the time and circumstance in which they decide to have a family.

I Am Not a Slave to the Biological Clock

PUBLISHED 7/11/2022 by

A biological pull, no matter how powerful, is not an imperative. In fact, while there is surely the possibility that I will one day regret not having had a child, there is an equal possibility that I would regret having had one—a possibility so terrifying that our failure to warn young people of its existence (just Google “I regret having children,” and be prepared for a ride) seems grossly negligent.

The Power of Mobilizing Women in the Climate Crisis

PUBLISHED 4/21/2022 by

Women are by far the group most disproportionately affected by climate change. Yet, they are regularly left out of the conversation on a global scale. The United Nations estimates 80 percent of all people displaced by climate change are women and girls, who make up only 30 percent of global and national climate decision-making bodies. 

When thinking about the climate crisis, it is easy to become overwhelmed by dread and feelings of helplessness. But learning about the work of incredible women activists can provide a sense of hope and optimism as we all march forward into the impending storm. If we’re willing to listen to these women, we might actually be able to make it out of this alive. And dare I say, even better than before.