War on Women Report: Trump’s Mistreatment of Women Is His Downfall; Louisiana Labels Abortion Medication a Dangerous Substance; Mississippi’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Law

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report: Harvey Weinstein made his first appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court after his 2020 conviction was overturned; FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg will resign once a successor is confirmed; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer placed the Right to Contraception Act on the Senate calendar for a vote in June; the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected attempts from an anti-abortion activist group to retry Doe v. Minnesota; and more.

Texas Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Abortion Laws

The Texas Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the most significant challenge to Texas’ new abortion laws yet, ruling Friday that the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough to withstand constitutional challenge.

The initial lawsuit was filed in March 2023, and unlike previous wholesale, pre-enforcement challenges to abortion bans, this case focused on a very narrow argument—women with complicated pregnancies were being denied medically necessary abortions because doctors were unclear on how and when they could act. Amanda Zurawski, the named plaintiff in the suit, was 18 weeks pregnant with a daughter they’d named Willow when she experienced preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. Despite the condition being fatal to the fetus and posing significant risks to the pregnant patient, her doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy because there was still fetal cardiac activity. Eventually, Zurawski went into sepsis and spent three days in the intensive care unit. While she survived, the infection has made it difficult for her and her husband to conceive again.

“The people in the building behind me have the power to fix this, yet they’ve done nothing,” Zurawski said. “So it’s not just for me, and for our Willow, that I stand here before you today—it’s for every pregnant person, and for everyone who knows and loves a pregnant person.”

Feminists Discuss Trump’s 34 Felony Counts, His Mistreatment of Women and Stormy Daniels’ Revenge

On May 30, 2024, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts by a New York jury. On the latest episode of On the Issues With Michele Goodwin: Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, Goodwin is joined by Moira Donegan, feminist writer and opinion columnist with the Guardian U.S., to discuss why the New York trial was about more than just “hush money”—it’s about a coverup, election interference and mistreatment of women.

Here are some of our favorite takes from the episode.

Three New Best-Selling Books on Menopause

A new, modern menopause movement is underway, mobilized by a diverse coalition of doctors, journalists, and social and racial justice activists.

In particular, we recommend: The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change With Purpose, Power, and Facts by Dr. Mary Claire Haver; Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy by Dr. Sharon Malone; and The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence by Dr. Lisa Mosconi.

(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!)

My Sexts Were Leaked in High School. I Learned the Hard Way How Sexuality Is Weaponized to Silence Women.

Each instance of gendered and sexualized narratives against high-profile women—and even ordinary people, including students like myself—serves as a warning to thousands of other women and those close to us. Witnessing these attacks often leads them to reconsider their own participation in public discourse.

The message is clear: Speak out, and your sexuality will be weaponized against you.

Institutional Courage: What It Takes to Keep Harvey Weinstein, and Men Like Him, Behind Bars

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s opinion piece in The New York Times on Harvey Weinstein’s appeal offers an excellent opportunity to interrogate the larger systems in the U.S. that enable violence against women. But Vance’s article excluded a critical piece of the story: his decision not to press charges against Weinstein in 2015 after Ambra Battilana Gutierrez presented a recording of Weinstein admitting to groping her breast.

Women who experience sexual and physical violence are often criticized for delays in reporting. But if institutional inaction and underhandedness are more common responses than not when women do report, then why would they?

Menopause Is Fueling a Movement

A new generation of women are demanding that the next chapter of their lives no longer be ignored, overlooked or squandered.

Dr. Sharon Malone, author of Grown Woman Talk, will be in conversation with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf at Ms. headquarters (433 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif., 90212) on Thursday, June 27, at 8 p.m. PT—or come at 6 p.m. to watch the presidential debate! RSVP for the free event here.

(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!)

For the Women Who Accused the Trump Campaign of Harassment, It’s Been More Harassment

At least four women of color involved in the 2016 Trump campaign are embroiled in legal fights over workplace harassment, discrimination or violations of nondisclosure agreements. They have been subjected to scorched-earth tactics.

Trump is a well-known bully who has belittled and sought to dominate political rivals. It turns out that Trump’s campaign used similar bullying tactics against its own workers. These fights have been waged out of the public eye against women with few resources to stand up against the campaign’s battery of lawyers, paid from a seemingly bottomless trove of campaign money.

D.C. Experimented With Giving Childcare Workers Big Raises. The Project May Not Last.

Lawmakers tried to reform D.C. childcare by giving big raises to many early childhood educators—which they used to pay down credit cards, move into new apartments, buy or pay off cars, schedule overdue dental procedures, help care for family members and even buy first homes.

But that project may be on the chopping block due to budget shortfalls.

It’s Been a Year Since Catherine Kassenoff’s Assisted Suicide. Has Anything Changed in Family Court?

After she lost custody of her three daughters in a divorce proceeding that labeled her behavior “harmful” and unhinged, Catherine Kassenoff decided to end her life in a Swiss assisted suicide facility on May 27, 2023.

“She couldn’t live without her children and the court was saying she couldn’t live with her children,” said Wayne Baker, the executor of Kassenoff’s estate, “so where did that leave her?”

Many in the family court reform movement thought the dramatic death of an astute legal mind like Catherine—who still couldn’t win in our backward system—would finally mark a watershed for reform. One year later, what has changed?