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Project 2025 Would Establish an Unborn Uber Class

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Mostly without using the term “person,” Project 2025 lays out a plan for the next conservative president to use the federal government’s executive powers to enact nationwide policies that treat fertilized eggs as persons without needing to rely on courts or legislatures to achieve their goal—overriding the majority of Americans who oppose these measures.

Project 2025 would undermine public health, destroy and degrade women’s lives and inevitably lead to their criminalization.

We must understand Project 2025 as the culmination of the radical personhood agenda, launched in the 1970s, significantly advanced in 2022 by the Supreme Court decision overturning of Roe v. Wade and now poised to be fully achieved if Donald Trump is elected.  

Greedflation: Corporate Profits Are the Driver of High Prices

Depending on who’s doing the talking, inflation can be blamed on President Joe Biden or on his predecessor, Donald Trump. But one—and perhaps the greatest—driver of higher prices lies under the radar: corporate profits.

Women are the majority of the population, the majority of registered voters and the majority of those who actually show up at the polls. Let’s hope they do their homework and remember in November which candidates are coziest with the profit-mongering corporations picking their pocketbooks.

(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! )

Realizing Youth Power: Engaging Youth Beyond Elections

Ever since I could remember, the prevailing narrative about young people and elections has been that they don’t care and don’t vote. As a result, politicians have expressed no obligation to young people and their priorities. Yet, in August, as I watched the Democratic National Convention, I saw something different: Broadcasters and commentators referred to “the youth vote” as a meaningful voting bloc. For the first time, our political discourse was acknowledging the critical role young people have played in the last several elections.

Issues like climate change, reproductive justice, student debt, education and gun violence are life-and-death issues, with clear implications for young people’s daily experiences. Drawing from the work of foster care system and disability justice activists, young leaders rally for “Nothing about us without us.”

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy multimedia package focused on Gen Z and student voters. The future envisioned by young leaders is bright—it’s built on reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, sustainability, freedom from violence and economic opportunity. Explore essays, a brand-new podcast, videos and more from some of your most loved [or soon to be!] influencers and writers, brought to you by Ms., DoSomething, the nonprofit that helps make volunteerism “cool,” and The Anthem Awards, the social impact arm of The Webbys.)

Could You Be ‘Framed’? New Book Exposes How Domestic Abuse Victims Are Set Up in Family Court

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In their groundbreaking new book, Framed: Women in the Family Court Underworld, Dr. Christine M. Cocchiola and Amy Polacko expose the gender biased injustice in family courts. Through the stories of 22 real women from the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia the authors shine a light on how women are accused, arrested, abused and can even lose custody of their children—to their abusers. 

“Most people have no idea what really happens when you get divorced—until they find themselves entering the world of family court. It is an abuser’s playground,” said Polacko.

She Said, He Said: Your Fast Feminist Guide to the Harris-Trump Debate

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.

I Refused to Let Texas’ Abortion Ban Decide My Life. Other Women Aren’t So Lucky.

The following is Madysyn Anderson’s personal story, as told to Courier Dallas:

“SB 8 became Texas law on Sept. 1, and I found out about my pregnancy just a couple of weeks later. I didn’t want an unwanted pregnancy to prevent me from completing the biggest achievement in my life thus far. I decided that I wanted to share my experience with abortion and be an educational resource.

“Unless our country gets a reality check about who we elect to office and we educate ourselves on their positions, we women have no hope of deciding whether we want to start a family or not—or if we want to carry a rapist’s child. We stand no chance unless we fight for what we believe in.”

From the Frontlines of the MAGA War on Higher Education: The Ms. Q&A With New College of Florida Professor Amy Reid

“New College is a flashpoint for what’s going on. We’re a cautionary tale.” —Amy Reid

With Project 2025 promising to do to higher education across the country what DeSantis has done to New College of Florida, Ms. sat down with New College professor Amy Reid to discuss how the college has changed since the takeover, and how faculty are fighting back. Reid joined the faculty at New College as a French professor in 1995 and helped develop the gender studies program at the college. After the takeover, her peers elected her chair of the faculty, making her a member of the board of trustees.

Mother’s Equal Pay Day Is One ‘Holiday’ I Would Like to Stop Observing

On Aug. 7, activists across the country observe Mothers’ Equal Pay Day, raising awareness for working mothers and the unique challenges they face. This day calls attention to the earnings gap between mothers and fathers and highlights workplace policies that are unfriendly to moms. 

Together, we must work toward a world where women can care for themselves and their children without worrying about falling behind financially, and where professional progress doesn’t come at the expense of a healthy, supported family. Mother’s Equal Pay Day is one “holiday” that I would like to stop observing. Together, we can make this aspiration a reality. 

Project 2025’s Holier-Than-Thou Plans for Your Health

Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership is the radical vision for America’s future under the next Republican president. If you’re like me, you’re curious about where the $22 million to produce its 900-pages of planning and policy came from. The project claims it’s the product of over 100 organizations, headed by The Heritage Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit. It has a long and influential history with deep monied roots.

I focused on the health-related parts of Project 2025’s chapter on Health and Human Services—our nation’s department for medical and family concerns—as its authors rail against the Center for Disease Control, abortion access and abortion pills, childcare, fertility treatments, what makes a proper family, and more. It’s dystopian, to say the least.

The Case for Making Government Work for Single Cat Ladies

Nearly 20 years ago, social scientists Bella DePaulo and Wendy Morris described the prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination toward singles. Since their article, the number of single households has only been growing.

Single people serve their communities, have meaningful careers, benefit their families as aunts and uncles and are active participants in their faith communities. Do not use us to get attention on the news, and do not forget about us when you make policy.