More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. It develops in a woman’s cervix, the lowermost part of the uterus. Cervical cancer is almost always associated with an HPV infection, which can be sexually transmitted.
The first time Donald Trump was president, he imposed a strict, overseas antiabortion policy that caused 108,000 women and children to die and 360,000 people to contract HIV/AIDS, according to a journal of the National Academy of Sciences. If voters send him back to the White House, those numbers, staggering as they may be, would be dwarfed by what comes next, reproductive rights advocates contend.
A new state-by-state women’s health scorecard released this week by the Commonwealth Fund reveals mounting disparities in women’s health and reproductive care across the U.S.
Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island top the rankings for the scorecard, which is based on 32 measures of healthcare access, quality and health outcomes. The lowest performers were Mississippi, Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma.
The findings raise concerns over the state of women’s healthcare and the ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has significantly altered access to critical reproductive health care services.
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: the horrifying effects of Louisiana’s abortion ban; state lawmakers fight over access to contraception and IVF; Gloria Steinem turns 90; soccer players advocate for uniforms without white shorts; fighting against deepfake voter suppression efforts; West Texas A&M university bans drag shows; transphobia from healthcare providers; and more.
A federal district court judge in Texas issued a ruling on Thursday blocking certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements that insurers cover preventative care services with no out-of-pocket costs. The ruling applies nationwide.
The judge’s decision means millions of people could lose access to over 60 essential preventive services aimed at early detection of diseases, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, as well as breastfeeding support and pregnancy-related preventative care, including screenings for postpartum depression, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Research has shown that the ACA cost-free coverage of preventative services led to more people using them and narrowed care disparities in communities of color.
Since the news broke about Pat Schroeder’s death on March 14, there have been thousands of tributes, obituaries, tweets and social media postings in her honor. They described her as a maverick, pioneer, feminist champion, trailblazer, fearlessly independent politician, and an icon and role model for many elected officials, men and women. We agree—but for the feminist movement, Pat Schroeder was much more. On March 22, 2023, the House of Representatives will honor Schroeder with a moment of silence. In honor of this one minute—60 seconds—of silence, we’ve compiled 60 stories from people who knew and admired Pat Schroeder.
“Pat was best known for being a fierce advocate for women. And many young women asked her for advice. She told them to make sure women were in rooms where decisions were being made. And if they were not, to kick the door down and hold the door open for those behind them.”
Menopause has been sorely neglected by the mainstream medical establishment, by lawmakers, by employers and by just about everyone. As a result, millions of women are left to navigate its most debilitating symptoms with little support.
Menopause is clearly having a prime-time moment—and we think that’s worth cheering. We challenge the National Institutes for Health to design and launch a modern initiative to assert the long-term benefits of hormone therapy and accurately assess its risks.
A Trump-appointed federal district court judge in Texas will soon rule in a case that could have drastic consequences for abortion access and miscarriage care nationwide.
The lawsuit claims that the FDA did not have sufficient proof of mifepristone’s safety—and that the FDA unlawfully fast-tracked its approval—despite the fact that there is extensive evidence showing that abortion pills are safe and effective.
As asylum claims mount and U.S. immigration enforcement struggle to process them, border communities will remain overcrowded and detention centers will quickly fill up. Without deliberate humanitarian intervention, displaced Venezuelans at the U.S.-Mexico border will continue to suffer in inhumane conditions.
What can’t be overstated is the degree to which women and girls bear the brunt of this suffering.
Millions of troops and their families stationed on contaminated military installations were exposed to a deadly combination of toxins responsible for triggering fatal illnesses. North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune is perhaps the most notorious example of widespread contamination affecting U.S. army bases.
Congress passed the Honoring Our PACT Act in August to facilitate veterans’ access to improved benefits through the V.A. for service-connected toxic exposure. The bill recognizes 23 new diseases as presumptive conditions—but breast cancer still isn’t one of them.
This November, voters are calling the shots. The organizing led by Black women in states like Michigan and Kentucky makes it clear that we as voters are the face of hope in our country—not lawmakers or the elite few.