Birth Control and Contraception

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

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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.

‘Thank You, Mike Johnson’ Campaign Donates Emergency Contraception—in the House Speaker’s Name

Less than a month into the new Trump administration, Republicans have already come for repro rights, removing reproductiverights.gov and reintroducing a bill to repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Now, it’s more important than ever to call out antiabortion extremism while supporting birth control access—and Cadence OTC’s new donation drive “Thank You, Mike Johnson” accomplishes both. Cadence OTC is a California-based public benefits company. They are currently working to make their birth control pills and emergency contraception available over the counter, including in states facing legal pushback to contraception access. In their new campaign, whenever House Speaker Mike Johnson or another political figure spreads misinformation or anti-contraception rhetoric, Cadence OTC donates emergency contraception to U.S. women—including in Johnson’s home state of Louisiana—in his name.

‘Money, Lies, and God’: The Rise of Christian Nationalism and the Battle for American Democracy

Katherine Stewart’s Money, Lies, and God exposes the alarming rise of Christian nationalism as a well-coordinated, anti-democratic movement seeking not just power, but the destruction of democracy itself. She describes this movement as “more political pathology than political program,” with its leaders intent on “burning down the house.” Stewart reveals how right-wing religious and political forces use disinformation, authoritarian alliances and targeted outreach—particularly through churches and media—to gain influence.

Despite internal contradictions, she warns that their strategy is effective: “A fractured and ill-informed public is easier to control than a well-informed one.”

However, she argues that a broad, pro-democracy coalition can push back, emphasizing the need to expose dark money, defend public education and strengthen the separation of church and state.

‘They’re Coming After Birth Control’: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher on the Fight for Contraceptive Rights

Despite overwhelming public support for contraception access, Republicans continue to block legislation protecting it. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher explains why the fight for birth control rights is more urgent than ever.

“The same people who have been crusading against abortion rights for decades aren’t stopping there. They have their eyes set on contraception and birth control.”

USAID’s Reproductive Health Funding Has Saved Millions of Lives. Now It’s Gone.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, boasted that he was gutting the federal agency tasked with providing foreign aid to its poorest. The agency’s funding in 2023 was about $40 billion, which represented less than 1 percent of the federal budget. “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk, the tech billionaire head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, posted on his social media platform, X.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 to provide foreign assistance to impoverished countries around the world through food aid and humanitarian and economic development work. It is also one of the world’s largest providers of contraception through its family planning program.

Research Supports New Medication Abortion Regime—But Some Fear Political Risks

Gynuity Health Projects has published new research in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that a double dose of ulipristal acetate (UPA), sold as an emergency contraceptive under the brand name Ella, taken in combination with the ulcer medication misoprostol, is an effective and acceptable medication abortion regimen with no reported serious adverse events. 

The current recognized clinical standard for first-trimester outpatient abortion is mifepristone and misoprostol, but mifepristone is tightly restricted by the FDA. Ulipristal acetate, on the other hand, currently has no such restrictions.

Some have expressed concern that this research could endanger access to Ella in the United States, and potentially also endanger the FDA-approved over-the-counter emergency contraception Plan B, made from the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel.

‘The Pill That Changes Everything’: The Ms. Q&A With Carrie N. Baker, Author of ‘Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Politics’

In recent years, the use of abortion pills has skyrocketed and now accounts for an estimated 65 percent of all abortions performed in medical settings, including through both brick-and-mortar clinics and telehealth providers.

Carrie N. Baker’s fascinating new book, Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Policy, tells the story of a decades-long struggle for acceptance of this safe, secure and private method of ending an early pregnancy. It’s also a story of antiabortion attempts to suppress abortion pills.

Mifepristone as Weekly Contraceptive Performs ‘Beyond Expectations’ in Clinical Trials

For decades, research has indicated that mifepristone may be a safe and effective contraceptive, but no one has conducted a large clinical trial to produce the evidence required to form the basis for government approval of the drug for this use—until now.

Pioneering reproductive health advocate Dr. Rebecca Gomperts recently announced preliminary results of a large clinical trial in Moldova showing that a 50 mg dose of mifepristone is very effective as a weekly contraceptive pill.

‘Guerilla Storytelling’ and Joyful Resistance: Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and the DWC’s Plan to Combat Project 2025

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. 

Keeping Score: Women Stockpile Plan B Post-Election; Feminists React to Trump’s Cabinet Picks; Harriet Tubman Finally Recognized for Military Service

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: Women stockpile emergency contraception and medication abortion after the election; one in five Americans gets news from social media influencers; House Republicans Nancy Mace and Speaker Mike Johnson harass incoming trans Representative Sarah McBride; Michelle Obama explains the double standards Kamala Harris faced; childcare costs more than rent for many families; Trump’s Cabinet picks spread sexist messages; Rep. Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas) became the 95th member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus after winning a special election to replace her late mother Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; acknowledging Native Women’s Equal Pay Day; Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was finally recognized for her military service; Trump’s margin over Harris will be about 1.5 points, the fifth-smallest gap since 1900; and more.