From The Vault: We Have Had Abortions (Spring 1972)

In what The Washington Post says “changed the course of the abortion rights movement,” Ms. published “We Have Had Abortions” in its first issue, featuring the signatures of 53 prominent American women. Women who have had abortions have spoken out many times during the past 50 years, and millions of women and men have marched in countless rallies and demonstrations for abortion rights.

For more ground-breaking stories like this, order 
50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION (Alfred A. Knopf)—a collection of the most audacious, norm-breaking coverage Ms. has published.

The Same Groups That Helped Overturn Roe and Attack Abortion Pills Are Also Lobbying Against the ERA

From supporting the Supreme Court’s right-wing faction responsible for overturning Roe, to spreading misinformation around medication abortion, anti-abortion groups are fighting to eliminate abortion access on multiple fronts.

Their anti-reproductive justice efforts also include lobbying against the Equal Rights Amendment. Lobbying disclosures reveal that far-right, anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA, formerly Susan B. Anthony List), National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), Concerned Women for America (CWA) and Students For Life America (SFLA) have spent unknown sums lobbying against the ERA in 2021 and 2022.

The Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett—and the End of Roe as We Know It

The result of an Amy Coney Barrett confirmation is clear: It will lurch the Court significantly to the right. The tenuous balance struck in June Medical Services will be lost.

The next abortion case to reach the Court (maybe a gestational limit, a fetal heartbeat law, a ban on an abortion procedure, or ban on sex and race selection) will likely find a much friendlier audience in this new Supreme Court.

Pearl Ricks: Race and Privilege are Major Gatekeepers to Abortion Care

The recent June Medical Services vs. Russo decision safeguarded the right to abortion access for vulnerable communities in Louisiana—but it was a small victory in the larger battle for abortion rights and access. Ms. talked to Pearl Ricks, Executive Director of the Reproductive Justice Action Collective, about the June Medical decision and the gatekeeping of abortion in the U.S.—and who it affects most.

“People in the South want to be able to access abortions—whether they ever get one in their lives or not. But who are the louder voices? Who are the ones most adamantly going out and voting?”

June Medical Services: A Precarious Victory

After yesterday’s fractured opinion, legislatures will continue passing ever-more restrictive laws, and states will press hard to get them back in front of this unsettled Supreme Court.

June Medical Services presented the Court with a second bite at the apple. Louisiana couldn’t get Roberts to bite this time. But there’s a lot of the apples in the tree, and it only takes one.