As we approach the first year in nearly 50 without the federal protections Roe offered, local and state leaders have a clear mandate to follow the science and meaningfully expand abortion access. There is still so much more we can and must do to ensure all who need abortion care can access it—and elected representatives have no excuse to not push proactive bills forward.
Category: Health
We Heart: The Giant Abortion Pill Snow Drawing at Sundance, Celebrating Reproductive Autonomy
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Sunday, Jan. 22, Swedish-American artist Michele Pred created a 50-foot snow drawing of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol in a park nearby the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where the film PLAN C about abortion pills premiered the next day.
Two New Lawsuits Challenge State Restrictions on Abortion Pill Access, Arguing Federal Law Preempts State Laws
On Jan. 25, reproductive health advocates filed two federal lawsuits—one in North Carolina and West Virginia—challenging state laws imposing medically unnecessary restrictions on physicians prescribing the abortion pill mifepristone to their patients. Both cases argue that state laws are preempted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules allowing telemedicine abortion and mailing of mifepristone.
“States cannot substitute their medical and scientific judgments for judgments FDA has made, and doing so undermines not only access to medication, but the country’s entire drug regulation system.”
Menstruation Is an Afterthought in Research. Here’s Why That Needs To Change
By neglecting to collect data on menstruation, researchers are potentially missing key indicators of women’s health.
Menstruation is the “fifth vital sign” in the clinic. It’s time it becomes more than just an afterthought in the laboratory.
Employers, Take Note—Young Women Are Planning Their Lives Around State Abortion Laws
Among employees ages 18 to 34, 47 percent of women and 44 percent of men believe they won’t have the career they’d planned, hoped for and dreamed of because politicians are now in control of their personal reproductive decisions.
“We’re looking to future generations of business leaders and managers and employees and we have nearly half of them saying, ‘I don’t think I will have the career I planned because of the decision by the Supreme Court,’” said Heather Foust-Cummings, Catalyst’s senior vice president for research
RSVP: Reproductive Rights on the 50th Anniversary of Roe
The 19th, a fellow nonprofit newsroom focused on gender news, will mark January’s consequential milestone with high-level conversations on the legal, historical and cultural impact of Roe, and what the future holds without it. The program will feature thought leaders in the reproductive rights and justice space—including our very own Ellie Smeal, Ms. publisher and president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
ICYMI: Everything You Need to Know About Abortion Pills
People in red and blue states are now ordering pills online and using them in the privacy of their own homes without having to take time off work, travel long distances to clinics and pass through anti-abortion protesters to get the care they need.
How do abortion pills work? Are they safe? And how are people getting them? In a Ms. webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 18, reproductive health advocates Lauren Dubey of Choix and Melissa Madera of Plan C joined Ms. editor Carrie Baker, to break down everything you need to know about abortion pills.
Feminists React: 50 Years After Roe, the Fight Is Far From Over
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.
The Supreme Court Dobbs Leak Never Really Mattered. They Just Told Us So.
The leak was a distraction meant to shift focus away from where is should have been: the disastrous harm that overturning Roe for the women, trans and nonbinary people who depend on abortion access to obtain the reproductive healthcare they deserve.
The Court cares more about its power than it does this leak—and so should we. Supreme Court reform is essential to protect against the next decision that does such harm to our rights, whether it’s leaked or not.
New York State Will Vote on a State-Level ERA in the 2024 Elections
Lawmakers in New York will soon vote on an Equal Rights Amendment that explicitly protects reproductive rights.
“The ERA covers everybody’s issues. It’s an opportunity for people to come together and break down some of the silos that usually divide us. It is the embodiment of the values of reproductive justice.”