Antiabortion Laws

Antiabortion laws in America vary significantly by state, with some states imposing severe restrictions that effectively ban most abortions, often as early as six weeks into pregnancy. These laws have sparked intense legal and social debates, with reproductive rights advocates emphasizing the importance of women’s autonomy and access to safe medical procedures. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has further fueled activists’ efforts to protect reproductive freedom and ensure equitable healthcare access across the country.

Our Gilded Progress: ‘Great Gowns,’ Pop Culture and Reproductive Freedoms

PUBLISHED 5/11/2022 by

This year’s Met Gala invited A-list celebrities in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, racial divides, rising inflation costs, and the widening gap between the top 1 percent and everyone else. 

During this event a leaked draft of the majority opinion from the Supreme Court immediately sent shockwaves, as the public learned that our highest court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guarantees the right to abortion. Suddenly, the extreme wealth on display at the Met Gala seemed to represent all the “gilded” hubris of an historical era that seemed more “golden” than it really was—as we are now thrust back to a dystopian and despairing future we must confront and resist at all costs. 

States Must Act Now to Protect Teenagers’ Reproductive Healthcare

PUBLISHED 5/9/2022 by

Laws requiring parental consent for minors requiring abortion care do not help teenagers—they only delay much needed healthcare for vulnerable youth.

States overwhelmingly allow a teenager to independently consent to pregnancy care and medical treatment for her child, and even to give up her child for adoption, without notice to her parents, yet require parental notice or consent for abortion

Will My Period Tracking App Betray Me? Menstrual Surveillance in a Post-Roe World

PUBLISHED 5/9/2022 by

Menstrual data and period tracking has already become a lucrative industry for apps. Selling private and personal reproductive health data to companies has created income many fertility apps.

The availability of this data already poses a unique threat to the lives of all people with uteruses, but in a world without Roe the risk of this data becoming a weapon for the anti-abortion movement. They have been known to use such data to influence decision making and reproductive choices. In order to keep this vital data out of their hands action needs to be taken to provide protection and safe alternatives for menstruators.

The Anti-Abortion Movement Has a Long History of Terrorism. A Roe Repeal Will Make It Worse.

PUBLISHED 5/6/2022 by

For nearly 50 years, as anti-abortion legislators in states around the country have chipped away at the constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion, they have done so with the steady drumbeat of violence at their back. In the face of the recent leak of a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito that confirmed that the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion advocates and providers are bracing for a surge in clinic violence.

What Would Alito’s Draft Opinion Mean for Women’s Rights?

PUBLISHED 5/5/2022 by

The Alito opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson fails to mention how lack of access to abortion might disrupt education, employment or other aspects of women’s lives—giving America a glimpse into a dystopian future where the Constitution would offer no protection for women’s rights because they are not “deeply rooted in the country’s history and traditions.”

If Alito has his way, the police and politicians could very likely once again be searching our bedrooms for those telltale signs of illegal sexual behavior.

SCOTUS Wants Reproductive Rights Left Up to the States—Whose Representatives Are Still Overwhelmingly White and Male

PUBLISHED 5/5/2022 by

The Supreme Court says it is time to “return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” But state legislatures are overwhelmingly white and male: Women hold just 31 percent of statehouse seats, and only 9 percent are women of color. Rates of women’s representation are much lower in states that will ban abortion if and when Roe is overturned.

Luckily, we know how to transform the demographics of U.S. law-making bodies. We just need the political will.

‘This Is An Emergency’: America Left Reeling in Wake of Likely Roe v. Wade Reversal

PUBLISHED 5/3/2022 by

Late Monday night, shock waves could be felt across the U.S. after a leaked draft opinion signaled the Supreme Court’s majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case concerning a 15-week abortion ban out of Mississippi. The leaked opinion, if and when it takes effect at the end of the Supreme Court’s term (likely in June), represents the biggest blow to women’s constitutional rights in the last 50 years. 

Reactions from feminists, lawmakers, reproductive rights advocates and legal scholars have been pouring in as America begins to grapple with the gravity of what abortion access will look like in a post-Roe world.

The Fate of Women’s Rights Is Tied to the Fate of Democracy. How Can We Secure Both?

PUBLISHED 5/2/2022 by

It’s been women’s progress—the right to vote, to own property, for reproductive rights and for civil rights for all people—that has led to an expansion of democracy globally in the 20th century. We must be prepared for what is nothing less than major battles for the survival and advancement of women’s rights—and our very democracy. 

New Report Reveals Six ‘Sinister’ Tactics of Extremist Anti-Abortion Centers

PUBLISHED 4/27/2022 by

Anti-abortion centers target young, low-income populations who face difficulties accessing abortion care, further endangering them by delaying their access to necessary healthcare. A new report, “In The Grand Scheme: Six Sinister Tactics Employed by Anti-Abortion Centers,” documents the tactics used to aggressively spread anti-abortion propaganda and interfere with access to reproductive healthcare.

Keeping Score: Capitol Statues Honor RBG and Sandra Day O’Connor; Military Survivors Launch Campaign to Address Sexual Assault

PUBLISHED 4/26/2022 by

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 in this biweekly round-up.

This week: Michigan governor appeals to state Supreme Court to enshrine abortion rights in constitution; track star Allyson Felix plans to retire; Florida and Oklahoma move to criminalize abortion; Ukrainian refugees face a lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare; U.N. funds Bilan Project to give a voice to female journalists in Somalia; and more.