The War on Women Report: Women Jailed for Miscarriages, Dragged from Town Halls, and Denied Healthcare

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—At a town hall in Idaho, men from a private security firm grabbed Teresa Borrenpohl and forcibly dragged her from the room.
—Georgia relaunched a new maternal mortality committee, but will not reveal who the new members are.
—In a win for Montana, a district court permanently blocked multiple restrictions that would have effectively eliminated abortion access for most patients on Medicaid.

… and more.

Keeping Score: Trump Threatens Students and Universities; Texas Midwife Arrested for Abortion Care; Americans Criticize Federal Worker Firings, ‘It’s Time to Fire Elon Musk’

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Trump pulled university funding and arrested student leaders over pro-Palestine protests; a Texas midwife faces felony charges for providing abortion care; Congress members avoid town halls after Department of Education and other federal agencies were decimated; abortion bans threaten the lives of Black mothers; and more.

How to Spot a Fake Abortion Clinic

I have a confession: Despite tracking antiabortion fake clinics and their seedy dealings for more years, I sometimes get tricked by one. They’re just that devious and deceptive that even I can get duped.

Here’s a check list of what to look for if you’re just not sure that center near you actually provides or refers for abortion.

‘Abortion Care Is an Act of Love’: What Abortion Providers Want You to Know About Practicing Today

With increasing attacks on abortion and the people who provide them, we talked to abortion providers across the U.S. about what they want their communities to know and what keeps them motivated to continue the work. 

Abortion providers Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, CEO of Power to Decide and practicing OB-GYN; Dr. Jamila Perritt, OB-GYN in Washington, D.C., and president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health; and Dr. Bhavik Kumar, medical director for primary and trans care at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast shared with Ms. their thoughts on an increasingly hostile federal government, what antiabortion lawmakers get wrong and what they think Ms. readers should know about being an abortion provider today.

War on Women Report: ‘Fetal Personhood’ Bill Introduced in Congress; Trump’s Antiabortion and Pro-Project 2025 Cabinet

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—A judge in Indiana has temporarily ruled to protect doctors from being forced to share abortion records with the government.
—Idaho became the sixth state to consider murder charges for abortion patients.
—U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson temporarily halted the Trump administration’s termination of DEI programs.

… and more.

New York Times’ Shameful Reporting on Planned Parenthood Bolsters Right-Wing Attacks on Reproductive Healthcare Access

The New York Times recently published a 3,000-word investigative report claiming to have found “scores of allegations” against Planned Parenthood for misconduct, medical malpractice, mismanagement and labor violations. Released within a month of Trump’s inauguration, the article appears timed to provide ammunition for the ongoing right-wing attack on reproductive rights. 

The NYT could have invested its significant resources into investigating how Planned Parenthood plays a unique and irreplaceable role in the U.S. healthcare system as the nation’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare and largest sex educator. By choosing to publish what reads as a hit job on Planned Parenthood at this political moment, while failing to devote any resources to investigating the opaque and unregulated antiabortion industry vying to defund and replace Planned Parenthood, the NYT has done a grave disservice to readers, especially women and girls who need reproductive healthcare.

Texas’ Abortion Ban Has OB-GYNs Working in an Environment of ‘Extreme Fear’

Texas OB-GYNs describe practicing in an environment of fear under the state’s extreme abortion bans, which have led to maternal deaths, delayed care and a mass exodus of doctors. Physicians say they are forced to wait until pregnancy complications become life-threatening before providing care, fearing legal repercussions.

With experienced OB-GYNs leaving and fewer medical students planning to stay, the future of reproductive healthcare in Texas is at risk.

N.Y. Defies Louisiana’s Arrest Warrant for Abortion Provider Dr. Margaret Carpenter: ‘Never Cower in the Face of Intimidation’

New York is taking a stand against conservative states’ attempts to criminalize out-of-state abortion providers. By refusing to extradite Dr. Margaret Carpenter to Louisiana, Gov. Kathy Hochul is reinforcing the state’s telehealth shield law, setting up a major legal showdown over abortion access across state lines.

Attacks on Clinics, Abandonment of Justice—And the Feminist Resistance Rising in Response

Trump’s pardon of 23 antiabortion extremists—followed by the Justice Department’s decision to stop prosecuting most FACE Act violations—has emboldened those who seek to terrorize clinic workers and patients. But feminists are fighting back. From lawmakers to grassroots organizers, the movement is rolling up its sleeves to defend reproductive rights and strategize for the battles ahead.