Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Says Legislature Should Clarify Abortion Law to Protect Mothers at Risk

PUBLISHED 1/22/2025 by

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Sunday said the legislature should amend the language of the state’s near-total abortion ban to address confusion over when doctors may terminate pregnancies. Patrick is the first major state elected official to offer support for changing the state’s abortion law in this legislative session.

“I do think we need to clarify any language so that doctors are not in fear of being penalized if they think the life of the mother is at risk,” Patrick said on the WFAA program Inside Texas Politics.

National Cathedral Bishop Asks Trump to ‘Have Mercy’ on Immigrants and LGBTQ Children

PUBLISHED 1/22/2025 by

At the end of her sermon at Tuesday’s inaugural prayer service, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde directly addressed President Trump on his first full day in office.

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”

Bishop Budde also asked Trump, who has repeatedly threatened mass deportation, to protect immigrants in the United States. She said, “The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”

‘The Pill That Changes Everything’: The Ms. Q&A With Carrie N. Baker, Author of ‘Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Politics’

PUBLISHED 1/22/2025 by

In recent years, the use of abortion pills has skyrocketed and now accounts for an estimated 65 percent of all abortions performed in medical settings, including through both brick-and-mortar clinics and telehealth providers.

Carrie N. Baker’s fascinating new book, Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Policy, tells the story of a decades-long struggle for acceptance of this safe, secure and private method of ending an early pregnancy. It’s also a story of antiabortion attempts to suppress abortion pills.

The Hidden Majority: Indian Americans Support Abortion Rights—So Why Aren’t We Speaking Out?

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

Indian Americans have built a reputation as one of the most successful and influential immigrant communities in the United States, celebrated for our dedication to education, hard work and family values. Yet, when it comes to reproductive rights, our community has largely remained silent, even as these rights come under increasing attack across the country. This silence, quite frankly, is no longer acceptable.

To my fellow Indian Americans, especially women: this is our moment to step forward. Speak up in your communities, join organizations fighting for reproductive rights, and vote for leaders who prioritize these freedoms.

Ahead of the Ban: How Advance Provision Abortion Pills Are Reshaping Access

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

An increasing number of healthcare providers are prescribing abortion pills in advance of pregnancy, and many people are ordering these pills to have on hand in case they or a loved one needs them. Between September 2021 and April 2023, over 40,000 people ordered advance provision abortion pills. In one recent national survey, 65 percent of respondents said they would be interested in having these medications on hand. Advance provision abortion pills can significantly shorten the time between the decision to end a pregnancy and having an abortion. Growing legal restrictions on abortion and threats of even more restrictions once Trump is back in office have made this option more important than ever. 

The Empire Strikes Back: Trump and His Oligarchs Return to the White House

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

What if many of the working and middle-class men who voted for Trump were misled into thinking that feminists and racial justice advocates were their antagonists, instead of the denizens of what David Graham referred to in The Atlantic as a new “Gilded Age,” who were seated right behind Trump at his second inaugural?

To use a Star Wars analogy: What if many of the average men who supported Trump fancied themselves members of the Rebel Alliance, but one day came to understand they were actually working for the Empire?

Democrats don’t need to convert the MAGA faithful. I’m convinced that millions of men and young men who voted for Trump have not gone that far down the rabbit hole of hero-worship, conspiracy and delusion. That’s the source of my defiant hope.

The Legal Status of the Equal Rights Amendment

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

Former President Joe Biden’s statement that the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified and should be deemed part of the Constitution is welcome and correct as to the law. But it also is likely to engender great confusion and unfortunately has no legal effect.

The law is clear: It is for Congress to decide whether an amendment has been properly ratified—not the president, not the archivist, and not the courts.

Reads for the Rest of Us: The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2025

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

As we enter a new year and an uncertain future, it’s clear that some of us need to read more than others, but we all need to read for relaxation, inspiration and knowledge. 

I hope you’ll make it a goal to carve out some time to read, and I’m here to give you my top 100 books that I am excited about this year.  I scour catalogs and websites, search my favorite authors, keep up with socials and try to get through as much email as I can to find the gems that I know Ms. readers will love and learn from. I look for feminist, queer, anti-racist, anti-colonial, original, radical and reflective books. Subversive books. Books that’ll make you think and feel. It’s a lot of work, but as a librarian and Ms. Feminist Know-It-All, it’s what I do! And it’s labor I love.