More Than A Magazine, A Movement
For 30 years, federal law has disarmed domestic abusers who are subject to domestic violence protection orders. Last month, in United States v. Rahimi, the Supreme Court rejected the gun lobby’s effort to upend that status quo.
But make no mistake: this Supreme Court, along with lower courts attempting to follow its flawed precedents, remains a grave threat to the health and safety of women and countless others.
Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)
Author Anne Shaw Heinrich reflects on her abortion story, motherhood and how it connects to the characters in her book, God Bless the Child.
Fifty years ago, scientists discovered “Lucy,” a nearly complete fossilized skull and hundreds of pieces of bone of a 3.2-million-year-old female specimen of the genus Australopithecus afarensis, often described as “the mother of us all.”
Though Lucy has solved some evolutionary riddles, her appearance remains an ancestral secret.
Popular renderings dress her in thick, reddish-brown fur, with her face, hands, feet and breasts peeking out of denser thickets.This hairy picture of Lucy, it turns out, might be wrong.
A wave of lawsuits—including against major companies—is coming after the PUMP Act gave employees the right to sue over a lack of workplace accommodations.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for the first year of a child’s life, a standard that is difficult to meet in the United States because postpartum workplace protections are very limited.
Women lawmakers are leading efforts across the aisle to expand some childcare and contraception benefits and also limit abortion-related travel expenses.
“It seems as if Republicans are really working to use the National Defense Authorization Act—much like other pieces of legislation—to reverse a lot of the progress women have made across the country,” said Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.
The Supreme Court handed down its decision on EMTALA last week and vacated the case. This conclusion—at least temporarily—protected a small sliver of the safety net that pregnant patients can count on for care. For the time being, this means that patients in need of emergency abortion care will no longer need to be airlifted out of Idaho, which has been happening since the start of 2024. You would think this decision would be comforting.
It is not.
Instead of doing what it should have done, which was affirm that pregnant people have the same protections as anyone else, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts and left the door open for other extremists to bring this argument again.
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Alyia Gaskins secured the Democratic nomination for mayor of Alexandria and is on track to become the first Black woman mayor in the city; over 100 women are on the November ballot, aiming for seats in the Texas House next year; women across the nation report salary as a key consideration when deciding to run or remain in office; and more.
Women are being incarcerated at record rates in the U.S. With 190,600 women currently incarcerated, incarceration rates are rising twice as fast as men’s. Women now make up a larger portion of the prison population than ever before.
Despite this dramatic increase, the reentry needs of formerly incarcerated women remain largely unaddressed. Over 18 million women in the U.S. now bear the weight of a criminal record. What support exists to help them rebuild their lives?
Asian American and Pacific Islander women have become a formidable force in influencing electoral outcomes in recent years. Although historically underrepresented in politics, the AAPI community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, actively shaping the electoral landscape through increased voter turnout and civic engagement. These trends highlight the importance of the AAPI vote in November’s election, which can significantly sway political races in battleground states and uplift diverse voices and concerns.
Ms. spoke with Christine Chen, executive director and founder of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, and Sung Yeon Choimorrow, the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, to discuss the issues that matter most to AAPI women—like the rising cost of living, access to reproductive healthcare and threats to democracy.
The late Faith Ringgold was a feminist, an activist, a teacher, a mother and an artist known for her innovative use of mediums, ranging from the more traditional oil on canvas, murals and mosaics, to story quilts, protest posters and soft sculptures.
(This article originally appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)