The Ms. Must-Read

This Is Not Just a Budget. It’s a War on Women.

They didn’t just vote to gut programs. They voted to gut women’s lives.

Last week, in the dark of night, House Republicans passed a budget bill that slashes billions in federal spending on Medicaid, SNAP (food assistance), childcare, home energy assistance and disability support. The budget bill will cut direct support to tens of millions of working-class families—and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, millions more will lose their health insurance through changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. This is not just cruel. It’s calculated. And it will hit women hardest.

We have one month to stop these devastating cuts.

Trump’s Second Term: A Month In, And Americans Are Already Fed Up

We’re just over a month into the second Trump administration, and the reviews from the American public are in. Across four major polls this week, Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to the mid-40’s, down from closer to 50 in January.

A headline from CNN proclaims that “pessimism [is] on the rise” among Americans. We’re not surprised. Many of the initiatives and departments Trump’s targeted for downsizing or tried to shut down are actually quite popular with the American public—like the Department of Education, which he’s been gearing up to obliterate. Or take the case of the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau (CFPB)—the oversight agency that’s responsible for protecting consumers like you or I from things like predatory lending rates, excessive credit card fees, and other unfair and undisclosed fees and practices. 

As long as the administration keeps acting against Americans’ best interest, Americans will keep fighting back—from the courts to the streets, and from coast to coast.

Attacks on Clinics, Abandonment of Justice—And the Feminist Resistance Rising in Response

Trump’s pardon of 23 antiabortion extremists—followed by the Justice Department’s decision to stop prosecuting most FACE Act violations—has emboldened those who seek to terrorize clinic workers and patients. But feminists are fighting back. From lawmakers to grassroots organizers, the movement is rolling up its sleeves to defend reproductive rights and strategize for the battles ahead.

What We Save, What We Lose: A Letter from Ms. Amid the Fires

and

Many of you have reached out to us, asking how the Ms. office and our staff are faring through the hellish Los Angeles fires. Thank you. I’m relieved to report that so far, none of us have lost our homes, though some have been evacuated and await the all-clear that they can return safely.

As we’ve watched the ash drift past our office windows like strange snow, we have been thinking about how many of our Ms. community members have had to gather quickly together what matters most as they prepared to leave their homes—photo albums, children’s drawings, medical records. Those precious fragments that make up a life. Each with their own story, their own particular moment of leaving. Taking one last look, wondering what would remain when they returned.

Women’s lives are made up of these crucial moments—the things we save, the things we lose, the way we hold each other up afterward.

Abortion *Is* an Economic Issue. Pundits, Please Take Note.

Why is it that pundit after pundit has argued that the economy will be the dominant issue this election? In doing so, they are ignoring the fact that abortion is an economic issue for women and their families.

How many times do we have to remind them about the impact of having a child on parents’ earning abilities, and the economic harm to women who do not have paid pregnancy/family or medical leave? Not to mention the cost of raising a child—which can go well over a quarter of a million dollars, between food, medical expenses, clothing, and education. 

Republicans Want to Reverse Over a Half-Century of Hard-Fought Progress for Women and Girls

The women and girls of Afghanistan are in my thoughts lately, as the recently released U.N. special rapporteur’s report sheds light on the devastating impact of the Taliban’s gender apartheid regime in the time since they came back to power. Women and girls in the country are living under a brutal system of gender apartheid, experiencing the “deliberate systematized step-by-step eradication of their rights and freedoms.”

And to be honest, it seems like the right wing in America is trying to push women in this country in the same direction. Just look at their policy objectives outlined in Project 2025—a roadmap for a Republican presidency that would reverse over a half-century of hard-fought progress for women and girls.

Pride Month Begins, as Attacks on LGBTQ+ Rights and Women’s Rights Escalate

The anti-abortion playbook that uses violence and threats as a crucial tool has been co-opted by other movements—including anti-trans extremists, who are employing many of the same tactics as anti-abortion extremists.

From targeting specific doctors, to bombarding clinics with phone calls and protests, these groups incite violence against clinicians who are providing care that is widely regarded as best practice by all major medical associations.