More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010, granted healthcare coverage to more than 31 million Americans. Republicans have consistently tried to kill the ACA since its passage. The loss of the ACA would have devastating impacts on Americans’ health, especially women as the ACA bans sex discrimination in health insurance, mandates coverage for maternatiy and pregnancy care and requires coverage of birth control and mammograms without copays or deductibles.
Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of women, covering essential healthcare needs like pregnancy care, elder support and long-term care.
Proposed cuts to the program would not only harm women but also ripple through families, workplaces and communities—driving up healthcare costs and deepening economic instability.
Women’s rights and maternal health are under relentless attack. Just one week into Donald Trump’s presidency, the rollback of reproductive rights, threats to healthcare access and emboldened restrictions on bodily autonomy have left women more vulnerable than ever. With abortion bans expanding and maternal health protections at risk, the fear is no longer hypothetical—it is urgent.
But amid this crisis, there are leaders refusing to stand by. One of them is Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), a public health nurse turned member of Congress, who remains steadfast in her belief that real progress is still possible.
“Every mother deserves access to quality care, and every child deserves a healthy start,” Underwood told Ms. “No one can argue with that.”
Under President Joe Biden, enrollment in Medicaid hit a record high and the uninsured rate reached a record low. Donald Trump’s return to the White House—along with a GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives—is expected to change that.
Republicans in Washington say they plan to use funding cuts and regulatory changes to dramatically shrink Medicaid, the nearly $900-billion-a-year government health insurance program that, along with the related Children’s Health Insurance Program, serves about 79 million mostly low-income or disabled Americans.
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: Getting pregnant doubles the risk of dying by homicide for women under 25; Biden has appointed a record 40 Black women to federal judgeships; Louisiana’s abortion ban has a chilling effect on maternal healthcare and miscarriage treatment; N.C. Republicans try to overturn the fair election of a Democratic justice; the psychological toll on children in Gaza is severe; Biden’s Title IX protections struck down; Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against actor and director Justin Baldoni for repeated sexual harassment and retaliation; Trump’s Cabinet will be the wealthiest in American history; and more.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) this week announced the election of Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) as DWC’s chair for the 119th Congress, which starts in January. Leger Fernández served as the DWC vice chair in the 118th Congress and will now lead the largest ever DWC, which includes a record-breaking 96 members in the new Congress.
Ms. executive editor, Kathy Spillar, sat down with Rep. Leger Fernández, to discuss priorities for the DWC—both to fight back against what will be repeated attacks by the Trump administration on women’s rights and programs benefiting women and their children, as well as strategies for moving forward toward equality.
Though President-elect Donald Trump has waffled on how his administration might handle abortion policy, antiabortion activists are already exerting a pressure campaign for the incoming Trump administration to take a hardline approach and undo many of the policies set in place by the Biden administration.
Still, with two months left before Biden leaves office, there are some areas where legal scholars and attorneys suggest the outgoing administration could still take action, even if the impact may be narrow or short-lived.
The Biden-Harris administration last week announced a new proposed rule that would significantly expand access to no-cost birth control under the Affordable Care Act. The rule would require private health insurance to cover all forms of contraception without co-pays, including over-the-counter contraceptives.
This expansion of contraception coverage is important in light of steep declines in prescriptions for birth control and emergency contraception in states banning abortion.
Project 2025’s endorsement of fertility awareness-based methods—which are less effective than other birth control methods—would require nothing short of a national campaign in menstrual and cervical mucus literacy.
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris had their first and only debate on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. According to CNN, Trump spoke for about 42 minutes and 52 seconds, while Harris spoke for 37 minutes and 36 seconds. Trump spoke 39 times to Harris’ 23 times.
Here’s what each candidate said on some of the issues feminists care about—including access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare, the Affordable Care Act, childcare, immigration, racial unity and the economy.
Part one of a three-part series about the 900-plus-page right-wing “misogynistic manifesto”:
Project 2025 promotes traditional heterosexual marriage, stigmatizing single parenthood and same-sex spouses, and cutting programs to support single mothers and their children.
(This article originally appears in the Fall 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)