More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Being able to decide if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child has allowed me to have a family on my timeline and a fulfilling career.
Unfortunately, the ability to access contraception is largely dependent on an individual’s zip code, insurance status and income level. Even in the face of these challenges, I am hopeful that we can continue to move in the right direction with policies and practices that center the reproductive health and well-being of all people.
Nearly 85 percent of Indigenous women said they had experienced violence and about half of Indigenous women have experienced sexual violence and physical violence by an intimate partner. The vast majority of Native American survivors also report being harmed by a non-Indigenous person.
Sixty percent of Americans believe the Supreme Court should uphold its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which established the constitutional right to abortion. Just 27 percent believe it should be overturned.
In the run-up to oral arguments on Dec. 1 in the Supreme Court case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Gallup poll shows Supreme Court approval at 40 percent—the lowest number recorded since the poll first started tracking this question in August of 2000.
The Build Back Better Act represents an opportunity to begin to address the deep inequities and injustices the patriarchy places on women, particularly women of color. If our lawmakers really care about us, they will pass it.
In 102 anti-trans bills in seven states, the word “transgender” appears just eight times—part of an effort to deny trans kids’ existence even as the legislation affects what they can and cannot do.
Efforts from scientists trying to identify “gay genes” are part of a longstanding, problematic tradition of research focused on how minority groups are genetically different.
It’s high time we moved the fight for LGBTQ+ recognition and survival away from the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate and into new directions.
The Supreme Court has yet again declined to block Texas’s S.B. 8, the most restrictive abortion ban in history—meaning it will likely be in effect when the Court considers the upcoming Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on Dec. 1, a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
“Though this is in one sense about abortion, it is really about much more,” the dean of Berkeley Law School Erwin Chemerinksy told Ms. “It’s about: Can the state adopt a law that blatantly violates the Constitution and then immunize itself from federal court review? … Ultimately, it’s about whether states have to follow the Constitution. It’s about the very structure of American government.”
Women policymakers and veterans are pressing the Biden administration to protect Afghan refugees, specifically women and children.
“Women have been on the frontlines—and not just in Afghanistan—of promoting democratic values in an important way,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill. “So if we want to see an Afghanistan that does not look like an Afghanistan of 20 years ago, then supporting women is a critical piece of that … Our job is not done.”
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 in this biweekly round-up.
This week: COVID-19 pandemic reaches death toll of 5 million globally; House passes $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill; State Dept. issues first passport with “X” gender marker; Michelle Wu is first woman of color elected Boston mayor; and more.
The Supreme Court faces a rule-of-law crisis of its own making.
We residents of the United States who are governed but not protected by its laws must now wonder: Which right will be next? And for whom? And if the Court does not exist to respect rights, why does it exist and why should it be respected?