Comstock Act

In 1873, the Comstock Act banned sending obscene literature, abortifacients, contraceptives or sexual information through the U.S. mail system. The language regarding contraception was later removed in 1971 after the Griswold v. Connecticut ruling. Antiabortion advocates have suggested that Comstock Law could be used as a backdoor method of enforcing a national abortion ban by restricting the shipment of abortion drugs as well as medical equipment used in abortions.

‘Mife No Matter What’: Community Abortion Providers Pledge to Continue Sharing Free Abortion Pills, Even if FDA Imposes Restrictions

PUBLISHED 11/4/2025 by

Since 2022, community providers have built a nationwide network discretely mailing free abortion pills to those in ban or restricted states.

People can find community providers through several platforms that research and share information about abortion pill access, including Plan C, I Need An A and Red State Access. On these sites, visitors can search for options by their state or territory. Once the client reaches out, community providers typically respond within 24 hours and mail the pills within 48 hours. The medication typically arrives within seven days, and are shipped in an unmarked, discrete package.

More than 100 people are involved in community provision across the United States. One provider told Ms. why she stepped in to become a community provider: “I saw a great need and I could do it,” noting she is single with no children and is white, making her less vulnerable to police surveillance. “I love helping people. It’s rewarding.”

A recent client wrote back to her community provider with a message of gratitude: “I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation. What you guys are doing is saving lives and giving us a choice when we don’t have the means of money or the resources. Thank you so much. I received the package and it worked as intended. Thank you for being here for me and millions of other girls that are in need.”

New California Shield Law Protects Abortion Pill Patients, Prescribers and Pharmacists

PUBLISHED 10/25/2025 by

California’s new shield law, AB 260, represents a bold reimagining of what it means to protect reproductive freedom in a post-Dobbs America. By allowing prescribers and pharmacies to omit identifying information from mifepristone labels—and by ensuring that confidential logs can’t be accessed by out-of-state authorities—the law does more than safeguard privacy. It dismantles the machinery of fear and surveillance that antiabortion extremists have built to track, intimidate and punish people for exercising bodily autonomy. In a nation where a single prescription can become evidence in a courtroom, California has declared: not here.

The legislation’s power lies in its refusal to accept intimidation as the cost of care. It shields patients, prescribers and pharmacists alike, and even mandates coverage of mifepristone regardless of the FDA’s shifting political winds. At its core, AB 260 is both a legal and moral statement—that access to abortion medication is not a privilege to be defended in court, but a right to be protected in law. For anyone navigating pregnancy in hostile states, California’s message carries weight and relief: You can seek care without fear that your name, your doctor’s name or your pharmacist’s name will be weaponized against you.

Meet Dr. Lincoln, the Internet’s Favorite OB-GYN

PUBLISHED 10/18/2025 by

You may know—and love—Dr. Jennifer Lincoln already. If you are unfamiliar, she’s a board-certified OB-GYN and a famous content creator with 2.8 million followers on TikTok and large platforms on Instagram and YouTube. Dr. Lincoln is also a practicing OB-hospitalist who works in labor and delivery, night and day.

She makes content to dispel medical misinformation, a frequent tool of the patriarchy. As ‘MAHA’ influencers decry everything from birth control to Tylenol, at the expense of women, she’s pushing back with evidence-based information.

Like most Americans, I felt uninformed about sexual reproductive health, even after my in-school health classes. In high school, I searched YouTube for information about reproductive health, where I found my way to Dr. Lincoln, who not only provided the health class I never had, but also ignited my interest in reproductive justice. Without her influence, I likely would not have become a feminist writer at Ms.

Over Zoom, I had the privilege of chatting with Dr. Lincoln about her journey from OB-GYN to viral educator, how the post-Dobbs landscape has reshaped her work, and why she believes accurate, inclusive sex education is one of the most powerful tools we have for liberation. Our conversation spanned everything from social media strategy to Christian nationalism—and what it really means to fight misinformation with empathy.

Three Years After Dobbs, Abortion Numbers Have Surprisingly Gone Up

PUBLISHED 6/25/2025 by and

After the Supreme Court paved the way for a dozen or more states to ban abortion for the first time in almost half a century, abortion access is thriving in ways no one predicted.

How did such a counterintuitive phenomenon happen? Our recent book, After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion, helps explain what’s going on behind the numbers. In simplest terms, this increase came about through a combination of an extraordinary mobilization on the part of abortion providers and their allies, the grit and determination of people who decide to have an abortion, and the massive amount of money poured into pro-abortion groups after Dobbs.

Three Years After Dobbs, a Coordinated Campaign Aims to Eliminate Abortion Pills Nationwide

PUBLISHED 6/23/2025 by

Medication abortion has become the most popular form of abortion in the U.S. post-Dobbs, providing potentially lifesaving access to people residing in states with abortion bans in place. Because of this, the antiabortion right-wing machine’s dogged attacks on mifepristone should be seen for what they are: an attempt at a backdoor national abortion ban.

Revoking access to mifepristone is key in the antiabortion machine’s fight to maintain control over pregnant women’s bodies and lives.

The Forgotten Mother of the Contraceptive Pill

PUBLISHED 5/8/2025 by

As reproductive rights continue to be under siege, we remember Katharine Dexter McCormick, a key figure in expanding access to birth control pills in the U.S.

At one point in the late 1940s or early ’50s, McCormick had been one of the richest women in America, but what made her truly remarkable was what she did with that wealth: Defying countless contemporary social norms, mores and medical taboos, she provided almost all of the funding necessary to make oral contraception a reality. McCormick’s fortune, fearlessness and feminism mean that she can lay claim to being the mother of the modern pill. Her name is barely known.

Keeping Score: Rep. Jasmine Crockett Questions Trump’s ‘Fitness to Serve’; Women Carry Two-Thirds of Student Debt; Congress Votes to Criminalize Revenge Porn

PUBLISHED 5/7/2025 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 this biweekly roundup.

This week: HHS promotes conversion therapy-like policies and opposes gender-affirming care; new executive order could lead to discrimination from credit lenders; Trump guts the Women’s Health Initiative; Wyoming abortion clinic celebrates a TRAP law injunction; Olivia Rodrigo received Planned Parenthood award; and more.

Roe Is Gone, Abortion Isn’t: Authors Carole Joffe and David Cohen on the Resilience of Reproductive Freedom

PUBLISHED 4/24/2025 by

Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and denied women a right to abortion that had existed for nearly half a century. Fourteen states have since banned the procedure completely, with almost no exceptions. Four more have passed time limitations so onerous that the services are effectively unavailable.

And yet abortions continue to take place across the country, in numbers equal to or greater than before. How has this been possible?

In their new book, After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion, sociologist Carole Joffe and legal scholar David C. Cohen uncover and analyze the courageous and innovative work of medical providers, politicians, lawyers, advocates and private donors, working tirelessly on the ground to secure continued access.

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’

PUBLISHED 3/27/2025 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 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.