More Than A Magazine, A Movement
A Texas case could soon force the FDA to revoke its approval of the abortion pill, mifepristone—a critical lifeline post-Roe and one of two drugs commonly used in a medication abortion, the procedure that currently accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country.
This abortion restriction would impact people of color the hardest. Why? Because abortion restrictions and bans are inherently racist.
The long awaited defamation trial between Lukasz Gottwald and pop star Kesha has been given a July trial date after almost 10 years. In the wake of the Depp-Heard case, we cannot let another woman’s trauma be mocked and meme-ified across the internet.
Postpartum depression occurs in about 6.5 to 20 percent of new mothers. It is imperative that the U.S. review and revise its approach to maternal mental health to recognize and treat mothers in need of help.
As people wait nervously for an anti-abortion judge to rule in a Texas lawsuit aimed at removing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market nationwide, Democratic attorneys general from a dozen states are fighting back with a lawsuit of their own.
On Feb. 24, attorneys general of Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking a Washington federal court to declare that mifepristone is safe and effective and that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone is lawful and valid. Experts see the lawsuit as an attempt to produce a contrary ruling from the Texas judge, whom observers predict will order the FDA to remove mifepristone from the market.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a long-time advocate for access to abortion pills who held the first congressional hearings on mifepristone in 1990, is calling on the Biden administration and the FDA to defy any ruling restricting abortion pills.
“There are moments in history where Americans and their leaders must look at circumstances like this one and say, ‘Enough.’ Not ‘let’s see how the appeals process plays out,’ or ‘Let’s hope Congress can fix this down the road.’ Just, ‘Enough.’”
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday—the first Senate committee hearing on the ERA since 1984—constitutional law scholars will testify that Congress has full authority to amend the Constitution and that the ERA is not subject to the filibuster. These groundbreaking arguments have given new hope to lawmakers and ERA advocates that the amendment will finally be recognized.
Education is largely based on perspectives that do not reflect the fact that more than half the world’s population are people of color and female. It’s only when all students are able to recognize themselves in history that they can imagine a future in which they play an important role in the progress and achievement of the world.
(This story also appears in the Summer 2023 issue of Ms. magazine. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get the Summer issue delivered straight to your mailbox!)
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Jennifer McClellan will be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in the House of Representatives; as an older generation steps back from political positions, more younger women step up to lead;
California prides itself in having many survivor-friendly laws and in 2019 announced its much-hyped 10-year statute of limitations for civil remedies for adult survivors of sexual assault. Too many survivors have not benefited from this 2019 law (CCP 340.16).
But, as of Jan. 1, 2023, CCP 340.16 clearly outlines that the 10-year statute of limitations applies retroactively to sexual assaults that occurred before the statute was first enacted on Jan. 1, 2019. To rectify prior confusion, the amended statute provides for a three-year window, until Dec. 31, 2025, wherein survivors can file their civil claims for sexual assaults that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2009.
A new documentary film entitled Oh, Sister! features the stories of six Ukrainian women who are facing the challenges of the ongoing Russian invasion, and fighting for peace, justice and freedom in their country.