Category: Health

Women Deserve to Live in a Nation Free of Gun Violence: The Ms. Q&A with Kris Brown

This fall, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case about a Texas law that prevents individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. In a country where an abuser’s access to a firearm makes it five times more likely that he will kill his victim, where gun ownership continues to increase and where domestic violence and mass shootings are fundamentally entwined, a ruling overturning the Texas law (and making similar laws impermissible) would be disastrous.

“I believe America stands for the proposition that you can walk down the street and not get shot,” Kris Brown, president of Brady United Against Gun Violence, told Ms. “And I’ll never stop fighting for that.”

Billboards Throughout South and Midwest Advertise Abortion Access: ‘Pregnant? You Still Have a Choice’

For years, anti-abortion groups have dominated the American landscape with billboards. Now abortion rights supporters are battling back with their own.

Shout Your Abortion recently posted six abortion rights billboards along interstate 55 through five states that have banned abortion—from Memphis, Tenn., to Carbondale, Ill. The billboards include messages like, “God’s Plan Includes Abortion” and “Abortion is Okay: You Know What’s Best for You.” 

New England Advocates Build a Regional Model for Abortion Rights

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Massachusetts-based Reproductive Equity Now, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, announced an expansion of its work into Connecticut and New Hampshire to create a regional organization to strengthen abortion access across New England. As more states ban abortion, advocates hope this regional strategy will ensure abortion health care for New Englanders and patients traveling to the region for care.

“As 20 states have moved to restrict or ban abortion, wiping out access to care in broad regions of our country, we must focus on state-by-state work to build regional blocks for abortion access. This work will begin in New England, and we hope that this model can be replicated to advance reproductive freedom nationwide.”

‘Inverse Cowgirl’: My Life as an Intersex, Intersectional Activist in the Lone Star State

Turns out sharing your truth about being a woman born with balls for the first time in front of a panel of Southern legislators makes for a pretty interesting story—but I’m getting ahead of myself. I wrote a book called Inverse Cowgirl about my experience living intersex in Texas.

“Wendy Davis was right about one thing: We’re all on the same team. We’re all fighting for consent—to make our own decisions about our bodies rather than have someone else make them for us. Many intersex individuals, myself included, have undergone surgeries in our youth to force our bodies to fit the gender binary better. Some surgeries, like mine, involve sterilizing us without our consent—stripping us of our reproductive freedom. Sound familiar?”

A Government Shutdown Would Be Deadly for Hungry and Food-Insecure Americans

Congress is once again at a complete gridlock, barreling toward a government shutdown. Pundits are placing bets about the length of a potential shutdown, which party will cave first, and which government programs will be brought to a standstill.

But what has been minimized by some as merely a political temper tantrum will also have a deep and scarring impact on the 40 million Americans facing hunger.

Programs like SNAP, WIC and the child tax credit work effectively when they are sufficiently funded. Oh, and every dollar invested in WIC generates about $2.50 in healthcare cost savings. Shouldn’t this be a no-brainer?

As Abortion Returns to the Supreme Court, It’s Critical to See the Bigger Picture

While the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade one year ago was a shock to our system, we must recognize that overturning Roe is not the anti-abortion movement’s end goal—it is to upend sexual and reproductive rights and freedom for millions of people. And number one on their list of priorities is banning abortion across the country, at any point in pregnancy.

Like other restrictions on reproductive healthcare, the harm that will be done if the Supreme Court decides to overrule the authority of the FDA and to further restrict access to mifepristone cannot be overstated.

Our Abortion Stories: ‘I Didn’t Have the Support I Needed to Be the Parent I Wanted to Be’

Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding precedents of Roe v. Wade, representing the largest blow to women’s constitutional rights in history. A series from Ms., Our Abortion Stories chronicles readers’ experiences of abortion pre- and post-Roe. Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

“I wanted that baby, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

“The law was forcing this decision for me. I cried because I knew I needed to get an abortion but didn’t know how.”

“My life is better because of my decision.”

No, It’s Not True that People in Abortion Ban States Have ‘No Options’

Too often, we hear stories of people unable to obtain the abortions they desperately want and need—like Ashley, a 13-year-old rape survivor in Clarksdale, Miss., who was forced to continue her pregnancy due to financial constraints.

Resources like the National Abortion Hotline and other abortion funds could have helped Ashley and her mother understand their options, plan their travel and even cover the costs of gas, food and a place to stay during the trip. But Ashley’s doctor isn’t to blame for the incorrect and insufficient information given to Ashley and her mother—anti-abortion lawmakers and extremists are.