Reproductive Justice

Reproductive justice is a framework created by Black women and women of color in the 1990s. It refers to the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy and have children, not have children, and/or parent children in safe and sustainable environments

A Conservative Blueprint Calls for More Abortion Surveillance

Dr. Nisha Verma wants her patients to know that they don’t have to tell any doctor that they have ever had an abortion. She wants them to know that no doctor can tell the difference between a natural miscarriage and one caused by medication, and she wants her patients to know that they don’t have to report what’s causing their bleeding if, for some reason, they visit an emergency room for care.

Verma, of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe has made women scared to seek reproductive care. November’s election results could make matters profoundly more serious. So it’s OK for women to protect their medical information from a threat of increased government surveillance, she said in an interview.

Almost 100 Percent of U.S. Women Use Contraception—So Why Doesn’t Birth Control Have More Republican Support?

As if the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the ensuing introduction of total abortion bans in 14 states, isn’t dystopian enough, the United States has become a country where there isn’t enough congressional support for contraception in order to pass a bill protecting the right of patients to use it and the right of providers to prescribe it. This should horrify everyone.

Abortion Opponents Use Deaths of Two Georgia Women to Push Dangerous Lies About Abortion Pills

After reports emerged that two women died as a result of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, abortion opponents are callously using these tragic deaths to fuel false claims that abortion pills are dangerous and to push for FDA removal of mifepristone from the market.

Rather than calling on legislators to clarify life-saving exceptions, abortion opponents are doubling down on misinformation they’ve been peddling for years about the safety of abortion pills.

Utah’s Near-Total Abortion Ban Placed on Hold… for Now

In early August, the Utah Supreme Court ruled to place a near-total abortion ban on hold, effectively blocking the law until a lower court can assess its constitutionality. For now, abortion will remain legal in the state until 18 weeks. 

“This is an individual choice, and it should be between that individual and their healthcare provider, and their healthcare providers should not be afraid that they’re going to be put in prison,” Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero told Ms.

New York Voters Overwhelmingly Pass ERA Ballot Measure ‘to Protect Abortion and Reproductive Freedom’

A New York ballot measure to create constitutional protections for abortion and create explicit protections for people who experience discrimination, passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday.

Proposal 1, the first U.S. constitutional amendment of its kind, will establish comprehensive safeguards against discrimination and explicitly protect reproductive rights, including the right to abortion for state residents. According to New Yorkers for Equal Rights (NYER), a broad coalition of more than 300 diverse groups that support the initiative, the effort is different from other equal rights amendments because it includes protections for reproductive rights.

NYER campaign director Sasha N. Ahuja spoke to Ms. two months before Election Day: “We have to set the path for other states to pursue equality and provide the strongest possible protections in their constitutions.”

Misogynist Manifesto: Project 2025 Says Yes to ‘Biblically Based Marriages’ and No to Reproductive Rights

Part one of a three-part series about the 900-plus-page right-wing “misogynistic manifesto”:

Project 2025 promotes traditional heterosexual marriage, stigmatizing single parenthood and same-sex spouses, and cutting programs to support single mothers and their children.

(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!)

I’m a Queer Nurse, Pick Me Up at the Abortion Clinic

As a gay woman, abortion wasn’t something I thought about too often; but the lawmakers in my home state were villainizing and legislating abortion the same way they villainized and disenfranchised the LGBTQ+ community, so I figured it was my turn to be an ally. 

As of this month, 22 states have banned some or all abortions. If you’re like me and your home state has closed your local abortion clinic—well they’re probably anti-LGBTQ too, and this is your call to get involved: to volunteer, donate and fight abortion stigma wherever you can. But if you’re a queer person with a nursing license looking for somewhere to work where you can be yourself and make a profound impact, check to see if your local abortion clinic is hiring.

Tim Walz’s DNC Speech Was a Masculinity-Themed Populist Pep Talk

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz introduced himself to the country with a rousing acceptance speech at the DNC. He used blunt, evocative language as one might expect from a man who’s been a high school teacher, Army master sergeant, football coach and politician.

Once he had established himself as a powerful, confident man and assertive leader, Walz was ready to pivot to Kamala Harris’ qualities of leadership and why he supports her, helping her to rebuild her identity as a tough prosecutor. Perhaps more than anything, this is the role that Walz plays on the Democratic ticket. His very presence and persona says to men—including some fairly traditional white men in the Midwestern battleground states—that Kamala Harris is someone they, too, can and should support.