Rest in Power

Rest in Power: Dr. Susan Love, Surgeon and Fearless Advocate for Breast Cancer Patients

Dr. Susan Love died on July 2, 2023, after a long struggle with leukemia. Love was a founder of National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) and a true advocate for patients.

Knowing that ending breast cancer requires advocate voices and action, Susan Love was part of a small group of women who came together in 1991 to form NBCC. Through the strength of her charisma, brilliance and firm belief in women’s power, she helped unite activists, survivors, researchers, policymakers and grassroots and national organizations to work together toward ending the disease for everyone.

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.”

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Female Candidates Are Often Discussed Using Gendered Terms; Rest in Power, Anita Cornwell

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Female candidates are more likely to be described as “emotional” or “compassionate,” while male candidates are more likely to be described as “strong” or “confident”; Anita Cornwell, a revolutionary Black lesbian feminist writer, died at 99; progress toward gender balance in the U.S. is frustratingly slow and uneven; Delfina Gómez won her gubernatorial election in the state of Mexico to become the first woman to hold this position in the state; and more.

Remembering Catherine Kassenoff and Continuing the Fight for Fair U.S. Child Custody Outcomes

Why would a brilliant attorney and mother of three take her own life? Because the dysfunctional U.S. family court system took her kids and drove her—like so many others—over the edge.

If a superwoman like Catherine Kassenoff—who had grit, plus training as an elite legal mind—was defeated by our American family court system, what does that say for the rest of women terrorized and victimized?

Dr. George Tiller: A Man Who Trusted Women (Summer 2009)

Dr. George Tiller was an abortion provider—one of only three in the U.S. who provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was assassinated by an anti-abortion extremist while serving as an usher at his church in Wichita, Kansas. He was known for mantras like “Trust women,” “I’m a woman-educated physician,” and “Attitude is everything.”

From the Summer 2009 issue of Ms. magazine: “Dr. George Tiller planned to be a dermatologist. He could have led a comfortable, secure life with his wife, Jeanne, their four children and, ultimately, their 10 grandchildren. Instead, Tiller decided to enlist in what shouldn’t be—but is—one of the most perilous jobs in the United States: women’s reproductive healthcare.”

Feminists and Friends Reflect on Pat Schroeder’s Legacy

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Since the news broke about Pat Schroeder’s death on March 14, there have been thousands of tributes, obituaries, tweets and social media postings in her honor. They described her as a maverick, pioneer, feminist champion, trailblazer, fearlessly independent politician, and an icon and role model for many elected officials, men and women. We agree—but for the feminist movement, Pat Schroeder was much more. On March 22, 2023, the House of Representatives will honor Schroeder with a moment of silence. In honor of this one minute—60 seconds—of silence, we’ve compiled 60 stories from people who knew and admired Pat Schroeder.

“Pat was best known for being a fierce advocate for women. And many young women asked her for advice. She told them to make sure women were in rooms where decisions were being made. And if they were not, to kick the door down and hold the door open for those behind them.”

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Michelle Yeoh on the Need for Women Leaders; Minnesota’s Push for Ranked-Choice Voting; Remembering Pat Schroeder

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Women Talking wins best adapted screenplay at the Oscars, a film about ““a radical act of democracy in which people who don’t agree on every single issue manage to sit together in a room and carve out a way forward together”; actor Michelle Yeoh on her experiences with crises and how they illuminate the need for women in leadership; allies in Minnesota are working toward ranked-choice voting; remembering Pat Schroeder, a women’s rights pioneer; and more.

Rest in Power: Judy Heumann, a Tireless Organizer for Disability Rights

On Sunday, March 4, the world lost a fierce, funny, tireless organizer for disability rights with the death of Judith Ellen “Judy” Heumann.

If you want to work for change, take her advice: “When other people see you as a third-class citizen, the first thing you need is a belief in yourself and the knowledge that you have rights. The next thing you need is a group of friends to fight back with.”

Keeping Score: FDA and Justice Dept. Improve Abortion Pill Access; Patty Murray Makes Senate History; Remembering Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Barbara Walters

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.

This week: two victories for abortion pills from the Biden administration; Patty Murray makes history as the first female Senate pro tem; Brittney Griner released from Russian prison; feminists mourn the loss of Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Barbara Walters; AAPI reporters are drastically underrepresented in news media; the U.S. House of will have twice as many committee chairs named “Mike” (six) as it will have women chairs (three); and more.