At a United Nations conference on Monday, Israeli officials shared harrowing accounts of sexual violence, rape, mutilation and torture of women at the hands of Hamas during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack. Now, women’s rights leaders and elected officials are sending a strong message to the United Nations about the need for action.
Tag: Reproductive Justice
War on Women Report: New White House Research on Women’s Health; N.J. Prison Closed After Sexual Abuse by Guards
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
This week: Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women shuttered after years of documented physical and sexual abuses by guards; a new White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research; Trump-appointed judges deal blow to Voting Rights Act; and more.
‘Torn Apart’: Ms. Magazines New Podcast Shows How the U.S. Welfare System Destroys Black Families
On Monday, Ms. Studios is dropping a brand-new podcast: Torn Apart: Abolishing Family Policing and Reimagining Child Welfare, hosted by Dorothy Roberts, which investigates how the U.S. child welfare system destroys Black families.
Over four episodes, Professor Roberts brings listeners front and center with the oppressive child protection system and what we need to do to reimagine child welfare.
The Republican Crusade Against Issue 1: Ohio’s Reproductive Freedom Amendment
In the face of a referendum that could add a right to reproductive freedom to the Ohio constitution, state Republicans have organized a campaign to confuse voters and undermine the democratic process.
As Ohioans United started collecting signatures to make sure the Reproductive Freedom Amendment would be on the ballot in November, state Republicans started plotting. They first tried to make it more difficult to pass referenda. Thankfully, Ohio voters showed up during an August special election to defeat the amendment—by a 14-point margin. Unfazed by the loss, state Republicans embarked on a crusade to push voters away from the Reproductive Freedom Amendment.
The Last Salem Witch Has Been Exonerated
More than 300 years after the Salem witch trials, a class of middle schoolers helped exonerate the sole remaining woman legally classified as a witch.
Originally expected to be a simple class project, the path to clearing Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s name took three years and the help of a Massachusetts state senator, Diana DiZoglio (D). Unwed women were viewed with suspicion at the time of the trials, and many individuals convicted were later exonerated by their own descendants. With no descendants to clear her name, Johnson’s wrongful conviction remained in place—making her the last remaining witch in Salem history—until Carrie LaPierre’s class came to her aid.
Filmmakers Annika Hylmö and Dawn Green tell this story in their upcoming documentary, The Last Witch.
House Speaker Mike Johnson Has Long Opposed Abortion and LGBTQ+ Rights
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s path to the speakership was circuitous, but it puts an ally of one of the country’s most influential anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion groups third in line for the presidency.
The Hyde Amendment Continues to Be a Barrier for Accessing Abortion Care
Even in states where abortion is still legally protected, many in need of financial support may not be able to obtain abortion care due to the Hyde Amendment.
This amendment, passed 47 years ago last month, prevents federal funds from being used to cover the cost of abortion services except in very limited circumstances. Many people enrolled in public programs—such as Medicaid—have to pay out-of-pocket for their abortion care.
This November, Abortion Is on the Ballot in Ohio. Here’s What You Need to Know to Vote
This November, Ohioans will decide whether to add to the state’s constitution the right for individuals to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions, including abortion. Early voting in the election has already begun.
A coalition of reproductive, women’s and civil rights organizations, Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, is urging voters to vote YES on Issue 1 to protect reproductive freedom.
Ohioans, here’s all you need to know about how to vote in this election.
‘Babies Are Good. More Babies Are Better’: Pro-Natalism Takes Center Stage in Austin
On Dec. 1, 2023, the Natal Conference will be held in Austin, Texas. Promising to gather the “brightest minds in the world,” the conference is aimed at turning around the world’s “shrinking population,” which represents “the greatest population bust in human history.” The meeting will solidify links between the far right and right-wing influencers. Fiercely anti-feminist speakers will join them.
“It’s not surprising to see far-right folks, eugenicist types and white nationalists joining forces at a conference like this,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project on Hate and Extremism. “They have become bedfellows.’”
When Any Birth Outcome Can Be a Criminal One
Anti-abortion and right-wing prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are warping child neglect, abuse and endangerment statutes to criminalize behavior during and after pregnancy.
Dobbs “will further accelerate an existing crisis, putting anyone who is pregnant or has the capacity to become pregnant at even greater risk of arrest, prosecution, and conviction,” according to a new report from Pregnancy Justice.