Weaponizing the Law to Punish People for Miscarriage

PUBLISHED 12/12/2023 by

A legal system that recognizes fetal personhood punishes people for their pregnancy outcomes and strips them of their rights in the name of protecting the fetus. One striking recent example comes from Texas, where the state Supreme Court recently ruled that Kate Cox could not have an emergency, life-saving abortion. And in October, an Ohio woman was charged with a felony after her miscarriage.

Miscarriage is normal. Subjecting people who have miscarriages to criminal punishment is needlessly cruel, counterproductive, and relies on a legal understanding that pregnant people are a lesser class of person.

The Trauma of Being Denied Abortion

PUBLISHED 12/12/2023 by

Abortion does not harm women’s mental health: Ninety-five percent of women who had an abortion say it was the right decision for them five years later, according to the Turnaway Study, groundbreaking research that documented the outcomes for women who received and were denied an abortion.

“Our failure as a society to acknowledge the sacrifice that pregnant people make when they have a baby is misogyny, ignorance and misogyny,” said Diana Greene Foster, the study’s lead researcher.

The Ms. Feminist Gift Guide: 2023 Edition

PUBLISHED 12/11/2023 by

This holiday season, many people are seeking options for gift shopping outside of monstrous global conglomerates—opting instead to shop from small, more ethical brands that align with their core values. Make gifting a more fun and joyful experience this year, with our feminist gift guide.

The White House Cannot Back Away From Asylum Protection

PUBLISHED 12/11/2023 by

With only a few days remaining before the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to adjourn for the winter break, the White House has signaled that it is willing to trade asylum protections and other immigration concessions to secure its foreign aid package. The reaction to this news has unleashed a torrent of criticism from human rights and immigration groups, but this is a moment that requires outcry from the broader public. 

Time and again, important policies and decisions are derailed by a small group of Republican legislators who exercise far more control over the future of our country than should be tolerated. In this case, the stakes are so high that the Biden administration appears to be willing to agree to Trump-era policies for managing the border in exchange for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other sensitive foreign policy objectives. 

Texas Supreme Court Overturns Ruling That Would Have Allowed Kate Cox to Terminate Nonviable Pregnancy

PUBLISHED 12/9/2023 by

After a week of legal whiplash and threats of prosecution from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Kate Cox has been forced to leave Texas to get healthcare in another state, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) announced on Monday. Cox’s fetus has a fatal condition and continuing the pregnancy threatens her future fertility. “Her health is on the line,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at CRR. “She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer.”

Paxton had petitioned the state Supreme Court just before midnight Thursday to intervene and stop a Dallas woman from having an abortion—after a Travis County district judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing Cox, 31, to terminate her nonviable pregnancy. Paxton also sent a letter to three hospitals, threatening legal action if they allowed the abortion to be performed at their facility. On Friday evening, the state Supreme Court temporarily halted the lower court’s order but did not rule on the merits of the case. The court said it would rule on the temporary restraining order, but did not specify when.

Women’s Rights Leaders Urge Full Investigation and Justice for Israeli Rape Victims and Survivors

PUBLISHED 12/8/2023 by

At a United Nations conference on Monday, Israeli officials shared harrowing accounts of sexual violence, rape, mutilation and torture of women at the hands of Hamas during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack. Now, women’s rights leaders and elected officials are sending a strong message to the United Nations about the need for action. 

Just When You Thought the Abortion Battle in Ohio Was Settled

PUBLISHED 12/8/2023 by

After a resounding win for abortion rights in Ohio, one would hope that the issue had at last been put to rest in the state. But now, the city of Lebanon, Ohio, is debating whether or not to retain its status as a sanctuary city for the unborn. 

It’s all in service of anti-abortion activist Mark Lee Dickson’s vision: “outlawing abortion, one city at a time.”

Expanding the Federal Judiciary Is Not About ‘Packing’ the Courts—It’s About *Saving* Them

PUBLISHED 12/8/2023 by

The Senate’s set to leave for the year on Dec. 15. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has urged his Senate colleagues to treat judicial nominations as a priority and to prepare “to stay in Washington until we finish our work.” (Trump had confirmed 187 judges by the end of 2019. President Joe Biden had secured 153 as of Thanksgiving.)

But it’s not enough to confirm nominees to the seats that exist; we need to expand the courts. Here’s the case for expanding the federal judiciary.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Sexual Harassment Is Pervasive in State Politics; Remembering Sandra Day O’Connor

PUBLISHED 12/8/2023 by

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Although Latinas represent 20 percent of California’s population, their representation in elected office lags far behind that; sexual harassment by sitting state lawmakers over the last decade is pervasive and ongoing; the urgent need for creating space for disabled leaders within the political sphere; former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; and more.

New DOJ Settlement Aims to Reunite Separated Families

PUBLISHED 12/8/2023 by

Five years after the Trump administration separated nearly 5,000 children and families in an attempt to deter migration, the Department of Justice has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit, Ms. L v. ICE, brought on behalf of those families by the ACLU. What began as a lawsuit representing one mother and one child quickly grew, as initial discovery in the case revealed that the scope of separations was far greater, and started far earlier, than May and June 2018, when the bulk of the separations took place.

“All of the consequences of such a horrific policy came, in part, because we don’t have an immigration system that actually centers the welfare of the child in decision-making.”