Politics

‘Progressive Pronatalism’ Is an Oxymoron: How Arguments Buying Into the Low-Fertility Panic Fail Women

It’s ironic that the U.S. federal budget was signed on the cusp of World Population Day, which is meant to raise awareness of population growth and reproductive rights. The budget reflects Trump administration priorities, including its aggressive pronatalism agenda, which attempts to cajole or coerce women into having more babies. It’s catnip for the GOP conservative base, and as a result, Trump’s symbolic $1,000 “baby bonus” got to remain in the budget bill, while other social spending like Medicaid and food assistance got cut.

But it’s not just conservatives anymore. Now, many progressives are also panicking over an alleged fertility “crisis.”

Hundreds of millions of girls and women worldwide are still unable to control basic aspects of their lives. Dangling pronatalist incentives like a “baby bonus” in front of them, encouraging them to pawn their reproductive choice for favors from pronatalist governments, is grossly misguided.

‘A Long Train of Abuses’—And a Long Road Ahead: 177 Years After Seneca Falls

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in! 

This week:
—177 years after Seneca Falls: “… it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.”
—The Washington Post on how to make elections fairer: “Ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting, would ensure that government officials could not be elected with just a sliver of a split vote. And semi-open primaries would give independent voters, who have long been shut out of the primary process, a voice in the city’s most important races. But many of D.C.’s elected officials — who might face some real competition under this new system — are stalling the reforms.”
—Short of gender quotas, no single electoral reform at the a national level would have as much impact on electoral opportunities for women candidates as the adoption of ranked-choice voting for all elections and the Fair Representation Act in Congress.
—Not a single country in the world has yet achieved full gender equality.
—The presence of women alone is not enough; it must be paired with the power and opportunity to lead and legislate effectively.

… and more.

‘They’re Not Following the Law—They’re Imposing Conservative Values’: Key Takeaways From the Ms. 2025 Supreme Court Term in Review

, and

Friday, June 27, marked the final day of the ’24-’25 Supreme Court term. This year brought a series of stunning, high-stakes decisions that delivered major setbacks for reproductive rights and civil liberties—from a landmark case threatening judiciary checks and birthright citizenship and a ruling that expands parental opt-outs in public schools, to the Court’s decision to uphold both South Carolina’s ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood and Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans teens.

On July 2, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University hosted its annual Supreme Court Term in Review, co-hosted by Ms. magazine, Ms. Studios, the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Constitution Society. The event brought together legal scholars, litigators, journalists and activists to reflect on the most consequential rulings of the 2024-’25 term.

“We should not have to have seances with slave owners to know what our rights are today.”
—Lourdes A. Rivera

“The president can, with the stroke of a pen, revoke your constitutional right to citizenship.”
—Jamelle Bouie

“The Supreme Court and Congress are basically enabling this. Not just being feckless, but enabling it.”
—Lourdes A. Rivera

“I thought Justice Barrett was extraordinarily disrespectful toward Justice Jackson in that opinion.”
—Mark Joseph Stern

“We get hope from our clients and the communities that are stepping up when many elite institutions are not.”
—Skye Perryman

‘Feminist Activism Plays a Long Game’: Jennifer M. Piscopo on the Lessons the U.S. Can Learn from Mexico

The professor and researcher has watched gender quotas transform the political landscape in Mexico over the last two decades. Here’s what she thinks feminists in the U.S. can learn from their example.

“There has always been resistance to expanding women’s rights—in Mexico, in the U.S., everywhere—whether in politics or different spheres, but we are at this moment where that resistance seems to be having its own moment, and has been able to walk back a lot of gains.

“The past 50 years have shown that democracy is bound up with gender equality. … Feminist claims have always been about making democracy work for those usually excluded.”

Hear more from Piscopo and other feminists on the newest Ms. podcast, Looking Back, Moving Forward—the first episode is out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

How Trump Gave America License to Roll Back Women’s Equality—And How We Take it Back

For decades before Trump’s political rise, we fought for women’s equality, advancing one hard-won victory at a time. Reproductive freedom. Economic independence. Workplace equity. Protection from harassment and violence.

In 2022, fewer than 30 percent of Republican men believed women should return to traditional roles. By 2024, that number jumped to 48 percent.

This isn’t just political polarization. This is a fundamental rejection of women’s equality fueled by a sitting president intent on rolling back women’s progress.
Trump’s presidency has unleashed a cultural and political backlash that threatens generations of progress toward women’s equality—demanding a bold, collective response.

Every woman and man who believes in equality can fight back.

Why Is the Trump Administration Destroying Almost $10 Million of Contraceptives?

After the richest man in the world shuttered the U.S. agency that provides aid for the world’s poorest, the government is now going to spend money destroying the contraceptives, medications and food items it chose not to distribute.

This includes $9.7 million in contraceptives that were bound for crisis areas—places like refugee camps and war zones. It includes $800,000 worth of high-energy biscuits, a kind of emergency food aid for people in the direst of circumstances—and enough of it to feed 1.5 million children for a week.

To be clear, all of these items have already been paid for by U.S. tax dollars. The Trump administration is about to spend more money to destroy them.

Black Activists Say Trump Administration’s ICE Raids Revive Jim Crow Tactics

“The ICE crisis is a Black issue, too,” said Myeisha Essex of Black Women for Wellness (BWW) at a recent press conference in Los Angeles. Essex was joined by leaders from other Black- and Latino-led grassroots organizations, including the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) and the California Black Power Network (CBPN). Together, they warned that Trump’s crackdown threatens the safety and civil rights of immigrants and citizens alike, underscoring the need for solidarity across communities of color—and with allies—amid deepening political and racial divides.

The uncertainty and fear of this political moment intensified last month when the Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s ability to deport immigrants to third-party countries—even when individuals have not had a fair chance to contest removal or raise credible fears of torture or harm. Advocates argue the ruling undercuts due process and erodes bedrock democratic principles, leaving both immigrants and U.S. citizens questioning what rights remain secure.

“We are the ones—Black people, regardless of citizenship—who must define what resilience and resistance look like in this moment,” said Nana Gyamfi, executive director of BAJI. “The first human beings who migrated, allowing people to exist all over this planet, were Black people.”

Why Trump’s Manhood Is Threatened by a Free Press

President Donald Trump doesn’t hate the media because it lies. He hates it because it tells the truth, and the truth frightens him. Despite nonstop lying, he’s managed to stay ahead of reality. But even with MAGA, his grip is slipping.

When Trump sneers, “The press is the enemy of the people,” he’s not showing strength; he’s revealing weakness. A truly strong man doesn’t need to crush dissent. That’s what weak men do.