More Than A Magazine, A Movement
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.
This week: stories from Iran, Gaza, the International Olympic Committee, and more.
Tierra Walker was just 37 years old when her son JJ, 14, found her lying facedown and unresponsive on her bed. As he desperately called 911, he cried, “I need you, I need you,” and tried his best to bring her back to life with CPR, following the instructions of the emergency operator. It was too late. He lost his mother and best friend on his birthday.
Walker died at 20 weeks pregnant after multiple ER trips and hospitalizations. She had been examined by 90 doctors, including 21 OB-GYNs, during the previous months. Yet not one of those 90 medical experts Walker met with ever suggested that she do the only thing that could have definitively saved her life—undergo an abortion to end the pregnancy.
One doctor interviewed for this story sums up the chilling stakes Walker faced as she pleaded with dozens of doctors for care as her condition spiraled. “It’s unfortunate she didn’t come upon a physician who was willing to stick their neck out,” despite the legal risks. In Texas, that’s exactly what it takes to keep a patient like Tierra Walker alive.
The attorneys general of Louisiana, Idaho and Missouri filed a lawsuit in October 2025 in a Louisiana federal court, seeking to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 decision to allow telehealth abortion. (The Louisiana lawsuit is one of three currently active lawsuits filed by state attorneys general pushing the FDA to roll back access to mifepristone.)
Now, mifepristone’s manufacturers are moving to join the lawsuit and defend access to medication abortion.
On Feb. 3, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro—manufacturers of the brand-name and a generic of mifepristone—filed motions to intervene, opposing Louisiana’s request for a preliminary injunction and urging the court to dismiss the lawsuit. The drugmakers argue that mifepristone has a long-established safety record—proven safe beyond any doubt by over 100 peer-reviewed studies and 25 years of real-world use by more than 7.5 million women.
GenBioPro explained its reasons for filing the motion. “We are increasingly concerned by extremists’ complete disregard for the large body of scientific evidence supporting mifepristone’s use and safety,” said GenBioPro CEO Evan Masingill. “We will not stand by while politically motivated efforts put Americans’ access to medication abortion in jeopardy.”
The next hearing in the Louisiana et al. v FDA case is set for Feb. 24, when Judge David Joseph will hear arguments on Louisiana’s preliminary injunction motion to block telehealth abortion and pharmacy dispensing of mifepristone.
Let me tell you what it’s like to live in state-sanctioned, gender-based violence.
In prison, we wake up when male guards tell us to. We wear what they tell us to wear. We eat what they give us, when they decide to give it. We go where they permit, speak when they allow, and exist under their constant surveillance. Our bodies belong to the state. Our movements are controlled. Our communications are monitored. They have the power to deny or delay our medical care, and our complaints go ignored or punished.
Incarcerated journalist Kwaneta Harris explains that when we tolerate sexual assault in women’s prisons, we signal that the state can commit violence against people without consequences.
As mass protests and a deadly crackdown grip Iran, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh speaks from Tehran while her husband, activist Reza Khandan, calls in from Evin Prison—offering a rare, firsthand account of repression, resistance and the stakes for democracy inside the country.
“My message has always been to use all non-violent means to persuade governments to uphold democracy and human rights. Small actions can have big impacts.”
“… You can’t bomb a country into democracy.”
Speaking from a Texas prison, journalist Kwaneta Harris reveals how menopause is neglected and punished for those living under state control.
“You know what menopause looks like for most folks? Maybe some hot flashes at work, some joint pain and mood swings. Perhaps you adjust your thermostat frequently or get hormone therapy from your doctor.
“Now let me tell you what menopause looks like under state control. Imagine having a hot flash in a non air-conditioned cell with a recorded temperature of 119 degrees. The guards won’t let you have ice water. You’re bleeding through your state-issued white uniform because you had to beg an 18-year-old man-child for a pad this morning, and he said, ‘Maybe later.’ You get exactly five tampons a month, along with a handful of pads, if you’re lucky. Your hormones are all over the place, but there’s no hormone replacement therapy. Just Tylenol—if the guards remember.
“And here’s the kicker: They write you up for having an ‘attitude problem’ when you’re actually having hormone-induced mood swings from perimenopause. Those write-ups? They keep you from getting parole. So now you’re not just dealing with your biology changing, you’re trapped here longer because your biology is being criminalized.”
(This essay is part of the latest Women & Democracy installment, published in the middle of Black History Month, in partnership with Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause. Menopause is not only a physical transition—it is also cultural, social and political. Recognizing its full scope is essential to advancing true health and civic equity.)
In the coming days, Congress is poised to take up yet another vote on the so-called SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) America Act. While the bill has been debated before, its renewed momentum makes one thing clear: The implications of the SAVE Act for women voters and women’s political representation are no longer hypothetical. They are immediate.
To help unpack what is at stake, and to provide clear, nonpartisan context as Congress moves forward, RepresentWomen is hosting a public, educational webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The nonpartisan, virtual event brings together election experts and members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, including Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), to provide clear, fact-based context, as debate over the SAVE Act intensifies on Capitol Hill.
When access to the ballot narrows, representation narrows with it. The SAVE Act would make that trade-off explicit, and women stand to lose the most.
In each of our communities, every day seems to announce itself. Whistles and shouts for our neighbors punctuate each hour, as blades of helicopters and flight drills slice through the air into the night. Increased military and federal government presence is visible, splitting images between the corners of our everyday lives and active battlefields.
We write from two different places, often discussing them separately. We do, however, live as part of the same story.
From Minnesota to Puerto Rico, our struggles are one and the same. So is our strength. We are still here—not because the system is working, but because we work for each other. Maybe this is finally how we usher in a new world order.
(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)
The Department of Justice has released more than 3 million pages of records related to Jeffrey Epstein. For decades, survivors have begged for answers and accountability. But they say the latest tranche of documents—many containing unredacted names, contact information and identifying details—have left them retraumatized, exposed and furious.
Some describe the release as careless. Others call it deliberate. Many say it confirms what they have long believed: that survivors are still not being centered, protected or heard.
Read survivors’ reactions, in their own words.
“My sister Maria Farmer filed a lawsuit against the government for negligence in this case, and really as I see it this is just further examples of that—of the ways that we have not been protected and that DOJ has not done their job.”
“I can’t help but wonder why the DOJ has once again failed us. Again. It feels like they’re ignoring our need for protection, especially when they’ve taken the time to redact the names of powerful individuals … but not ours. This double standard makes it even harder for us to trust them.”
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
This week:
—For the first time, more Americans support than oppose abolishing ICE.
—Senate Democrats refused to pass a DHS bill that would fund ICE for this fiscal year. Instead they passed a two-week continuing resolution to give them time to negotiate reforms designed to prevent further brutality from ICE and CBP agents.
—Artists use Grammy acceptance speeches to denounce Trump and ICE: “Our voices matter,” urged Billie Eilish. “We are humans and we are Americans,” said Bad Bunny.
—Organizations raise alarms about Grok AI spreading nonconsensual intimate images on Twitter.
—Virtual reality may be a tool to change opinions about catcalling.
—Access to IVF has led to more unmarried women in their 40s choosing to have babies.
… and more.