Abortion’s Old Craft Can Still Be Cultivated

Today, disconnected from the resourcefulness we cultivated before institutionalized science, women have come to rely on surgery and Western pharmaceuticals to end pregnancies they don’t wish to continue.

As a writer who spent the last two years researching the herbal remedies of the granny midwives of Appalachia for my novel in progress, I began with the question of how “abortion” worked before modern medicine. It turns out this question is far too specific: Women didn’t always have that language for stopping pregnancy from advancing. The contemporary imagination that draws lines between fertility, conception, and personhood is relatively new. When doctors were unwilling to treat women, ancestral lore allowed them to care for themselves and each other.

Anti-Abortion Politics Hinder Access to Important Fibroid Treatment: Mifepristone

Millions of U.S. women are debilitated each year by fibroids, which are noncancerous growths of the uterus that can cause heavy periods, severe pain, and difficulty conceiving. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, over 26 million in the U.S. have fibroids. Fibroids are often treated with invasive surgery to remove the fibroids or with hysterectomies.

Research has shown that mifepristone can significantly reduce fibroids. Yet, it is not available for that use in the United States.

Our Abortion Stories: ‘I Want Greg Abbott to Look Me in the Eye and Tell Me I Deserve What Happened’

Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding precedents of Roe v. Wade, representing the largest blow to women’s constitutional rights in history. A series from Ms., Our Abortion Stories chronicles readers’ experiences of abortion pre- and post-Roe. Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

“I want Greg Abbott or anyone who voted for this law to look me in the eye and tell me that I deserved what happened. That I deserve to be punished by the law for what I’ve gone through. I want them to look me in the eye.”

Congressional Resolution Condemns Criminalization of Abortion, Contraception and Gender-Affirming Care

On Thursday, June 29, Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) introduced a resolution in Congress opposing the criminalization of sexual and reproductive healthcare in states across the country. The resolution criticizes the “the use of State power against people in the United States seeking essential health care” and “State punishment of people for their pregnancy outcomes.”

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are introducing companion legislation in the Senate next week.

Rest in Power: Peg Yorkin, Feminist Trailblazer and Supporter of Women in Politics

Peg Yorkin—leading U.S. feminist, philanthropist and strategist, as well as theater producer—died on Sunday, June 25, 2023, at the age of 96. In the midst of our collective grief, we honor and pay tribute to a co-founder as well as the one and only chair of the board of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), publisher of Ms. Since the day FMF started in 1987, Peg Yorkin was important in conceptualizing the organization’s mission and potential significance in the struggle for equality and women’s rights.

“Peg was impatient. She wanted to see change now,” said Kathy Spillar, executive editor of Ms. and executive director of FMF. “She would constantly remind us of her age and wanted to see the changes in her lifetime. She thought big and had total confidence we could make a difference.”

Without Roe, Abortion Pills Are More Important Than Ever. We Must Remove Barriers.

Since the fall of Roe, at least 66 clinics have stopped providing abortion care. Many people have found essential care by purchasing abortion pills online and having them delivered by mail.

As we continue into the post-Roe future, we must address the inequalities that limit these innovations in states where telehealth is legal, but also in states where it is illegal.

The Anti-Abortion Movement Is Pumping Resources into Promoting Fake Clinics—And Google Is Helping

Abortion opponents are now targeting states where abortion remains legal, such as Massachusetts, by pumping resources into a spider web of anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) that work to entrap people searching for reproductive healthcare. And Google made $10.2 million over the last two years running deceptive advertisements for these fake clinics.

“Google … is more than willing to allow advertisers to lie, deceive, limit users’ rights to good information and to healthcare, as long as they get paid in the process.”

Dismantling Seven Abortion Myths—With Reproaction’s Shireen Shakouri

From old myths to new claims that abortion threatens endangered species through toilet water, anti-abortion disinformation is on the rise.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Reproaction and other abortion advocacy groups seek to fight disinformation propagated by anti-abortion advocates. Shireen Rose Shakouri, deputy director of Reproaction, joined Ms. to debunk seven myths promoted by Students For Life.

USOW Wants to Help You Organize for Abortion Access One-Year After the Fall of Roe

Over the last year, women, feminists and allies have marched, shouted, cried and organized together to have the right to our bodies solidified in law.

The nonprofit United State of Women (USOW) is helping people prepare to fight anti-abortion laws locally and nationally. This month, USOW is hosting a month-long virtual series dedicated to educating future and current organizers on how to rally around reproductive autonomy through digital organizing.