Justice & Law

Virginia Will Choose Its First Woman Governor in November’s High-Stakes Election

PUBLISHED 10/9/2025 by

Over the next month into Election Day on Nov. 4, 2025, Virginia voters will decide not only the state’s next governor, but also control of the House of Delegates. The outcome will determine the direction of Virginia’s policies for years to come, and will send powerful signals about the nation’s political climate. 

The race is already historic. For the first time, both major party candidates for governor are women: former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R). Whoever wins will become the state’s first woman governor. 

Meanwhile, at the FDA: Menopause Progress, Abortion Gaslighting

PUBLISHED 10/9/2025 by

The FDA caused a stir last week when it approved a new, generic version of mifepristone—the abortion medication that has safely, effectively and privately ended pregnancies for 25 years. Many mainstream outlets made it sound like a dramatic policy reversal, but really it was a procedural box check. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is already laying the groundwork to undermine access, announcing a so-called “safety review” based on flawed data and false claims. As reproductive rights advocates like Mini Timmaraju have pointed out, this is gaslighting—pretending to be moderate while plotting restrictions. That’s why protecting mifepristone still matters now.

At least there was some progress this week in menopause care: The FDA signaled plans to remove the “black box” warning on certain hormone treatments that has long stoked fear and confusion. Experts say the label was based on outdated science and has caused real harm, leaving countless women to suffer unnecessarily. For once, the agency seems poised to get this one right.

Ms. Global: Indigenous Women’s Rights Violated in Greenland, Earthquakes in Afghanistan and Indonesia Affect Women and Children, and More

PUBLISHED 10/8/2025 by

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: news from Indonesia, Greenland, Gaza, and more.

One Megabill for the Megarich

PUBLISHED 10/7/2025 by

The Trump administration is calling its new budget “the most pro-family legislation ever crafted.” But for women like Bre’Jaynae Joiner, a single mother of two in Oakland, the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP threaten her family’s very survival.

Over the next decade, more than 11 million Americans—mostly women and children—are expected to lose health coverage, while deep food assistance cuts and work requirements will push even more families into crisis. Advocates call the bill a massive transfer of wealth to the rich at the expense of the poor, a policy that will shutter rural hospitals, deny essential care and worsen maternal mortality.

As Sen. Raphael Warnock puts it plainly: “If you cut $900 billion out of Medicaid, people are going to die.”

How the Government Shutdown Is Hitting the Healthcare System—and What the Battle Over ACA Subsidies Means

PUBLISHED 10/7/2025 by

Major rifts over key healthcare issues are at the heart of the federal government shutdown that began at the stroke of midnight on Oct. 1, 2025. Without a budget agreement in place, Trump ordered most federal agencies to wind down their nonessential activities. The shutdown will continue until Congress passes either a short-term or long-term funding bill and Trump signs it.

Government shutdowns are nothing new, but as a health policy expert, I worry this time around the impasse may have far-reaching effects on healthcare.

‘We Heard You’: Judge Addresses Victims After Handing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a Four-Year Sentence

PUBLISHED 10/6/2025 by

A federal judge sentenced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday to 50 months in prison—just over four years—marking an end to a trial against one of the most influential names in entertainment. Combs must also pay a $500,000 fine.

“To Ms. Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you,” Judge Arun Subramanian said after he pronounced the sentence.

Americans Oppose Criminalizing Abortion. Too Many Policymakers Aren’t Listening.

PUBLISHED 10/3/2025 by and

Since the Supreme Court decided on Dobbs v. Jackson and overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more than half of U.S. states have passed laws that dramatically restrict and criminalize abortion. These laws assign criminal penalties—including fines and prison time—not only to healthcare providers who provide abortions or write prescriptions for abortion pills, but in some cases, also to people who assist abortion seekers. Yet, a growing body of research suggests these punitive measures do not reflect the views of most Americans.

Trump and RFK’s Pseudoscience Is Another Tool to Control Women

PUBLISHED 10/2/2025 by

We have reached the point in American politics at which a sitting U.S. president sees fit to decree pregnant women must “tough it out.”

We all would be wise to strenuously push back on junk science—not just for our safety here and now, but in service of a future that doesn’t create new inroads for punishment of pregnancy.