The Ms. Must-Read

In a Summer of Protest, We Find Our Power

PUBLISHED 6/23/2025 by

There’s a lot worth protesting right now.

Last week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti affirming that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth is constitutional. (ICYMI Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented “in sadness.”)

There’s the ongoing battle to save Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP in Congress—where Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” continues to threaten programs that so many lives depend on.

The same day as the No Kings protests, news broke of the assassination of Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state legislator and former speaker. Since then, media accounts of the shootings have increasingly failed to mention the potential role of abortion in motivating the alleged shooter’s actions.

Trump’s Vanity Parades, Immigration Raids and Cuts to Medicaid Face a Feminist Wall

PUBLISHED 6/17/2025 by

This weekend, while Trump paraded tanks through D.C. in a $45 million display of ego, tens of thousands of peaceful protesters flooded streets across the country to say: No more kings. In cities like Los Angeles, we saw communities come together to defend their neighbors from the cruel realities of immigration raids, family separation and attacks on basic healthcare. The protests made one thing clear—especially among women, who overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s actions: We reject this vision of America. And we’re not backing down.

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

PUBLISHED 5/31/2025 by

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

PUBLISHED 2/24/2025 by

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

PUBLISHED 2/4/2025 by

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

PUBLISHED 1/14/2025 by 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.

PUBLISHED 9/30/2024 by

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.