Tag: Texas

Abortion Funds in Texas Are Unsure if They Will Resume Supporting People After Court Ruling

Funds have halted abortion-related work since June, when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Resuming that work could affect hundreds of pregnant people in Texas, which is the largest state to ban abortion.

An Austin-based federal judge last month temporarily blocked Texas prosecutors from pursuing legal action against organizations that help people secure abortions in states where it is legal. The ruling offers a rare spot of relief for abortion rights proponents in Texas and comes as state lawmakers are increasingly targeting organizations that help people leave the state for an abortion. 

War on Women Report: Mike Pence Calls for Nationwide Ban on Abortion Pills; Minnesota Is First State to Protect Abortion Rights in 2023

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 month: New mother Arleta Ramirez was ordered to use a bottle instead of breastfeeding; tracking multiple attacks on access to medication abortion; CNN co-anchor Don Lemon knows when women are in their prime; both Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly were sentenced, and more.

Abortion Restrictions Are Racist. Freedom Means Full Access for All, Full Stop.

A Texas case could soon force the FDA to revoke its approval of the abortion pill, mifepristone—a critical lifeline post-Roe and one of two drugs commonly used in a medication abortion, the procedure that currently accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country.

This abortion restriction would impact people of color the hardest. Why? Because abortion restrictions and bans are inherently racist. 

Democratic AGs File Counter-Lawsuit to Expand Access to Abortion Pills

As people wait nervously for an anti-abortion judge to rule in a Texas lawsuit aimed at removing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market nationwide, Democratic attorneys general from a dozen states are fighting back with a lawsuit of their own.

On Feb. 24, attorneys general of Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking a Washington federal court to declare that mifepristone is safe and effective and that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone is lawful and valid. Experts see the lawsuit as an attempt to produce a contrary ruling from the Texas judge, whom observers predict will order the FDA to remove mifepristone from the market.

Abortion Legal Assistance Network Launched: ‘A Strong Defense Against Bullies’

Six leading reproductive rights organizations formed a new Abortion Defense Network to connect people facing legal threats related to abortion with attorneys who can provide legal advice and representation in civil and criminal proceedings. 

“This initiative brings together some of the best lawyers in the country to provide legal advice, as well as criminal and civil defense. In this daunting post-Roe reality, we want everyone to have legal support and to know their rights.”

Ranked-Choice Voting Is on the Rise—From the Academy Awards to the Texas Legislature

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

This week: Academy Award nominations used multi-winner, proportional ranked-choice voting; Columbia University names its first woman president; some members of the New York City Council continue to have questions about ranked-choice voting, despite its giving voters more voice and more choice; and more.

Reads for the Rest of Us: The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2023

I have spent the last few months scouring catalogs and websites, receiving hundreds of books and even more emails from authors, publicists and publishers, reading your book Tweets and DMs, all to find out what books are coming out in 2023 that I think you, my exceptional, inquisitive and discerning Ms readers, will want to hear about. 

Here’s your TBR (to be read) for the year. Enjoy!

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.