More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Ms. spotlights stories of women making political change by holding office and pioneering legislation all over the world, from the local to the federal level—despite the sex discrimination they often face in their positions.
Trump and his Republican allies are manipulating the democratic process to rig the 2026 and 2028 elections—and unless Democrats are prepared to respond forcefully, they risk losing far more than congressional seats.
This is not a moment for procedural purity or political hesitation. As history shows, the outcome—the preservation of democracy—is the test of the act.
Late last month, a 60-hour “Protect Medicaid Vigil” took place on the National Mall across from the Capitol. Featuring live music, speakers and a collaborative art table, it was a space for collective grief, anger, joy and hope in response to steep Medicaid cuts in the recently enacted Republican spending package.
The event was organized by Caring Across Generations, a national organization of family caregivers, care workers, disabled people and aging adults advocating for social and political change. It spanned 60 hours to represent each year of the Medicaid program to-date. During the vigil, Caring Across Generations lit 8,000 candles as a visual representation of the nearly 80 million Americans who rely on Medicaid coverage for healthcare.
Feminist thought-leaders, including Audre Lorde and Judith Butler, have theorized that emotions (particularly grief and anger) are essential to any successful social movement. By holding a vigil followed by a joyful day of action, Caring Across Generations and its partners showed how emotion can fuel and sustain activism under Trump.
This week, more than 50 Democratic members of the Texas House made a wrenching decision: They left their homes, their jobs and their families, and fled the state. Their goal is to deny (or at least delay) Republicans the quorum needed to pass a mid‑decade redistricting plan, which they believe would erode minority voting power and engineer additional GOP seats in Congress.
“I fled the state today alongside my Democratic colleagues,” wrote Texas state Rep. Linda Garcia in a now-viral Instagram post. “I did it for democracy and I did it with my son.”
Texas lawmakers earn just $7,200 a year in base salary, and most must maintain day jobs to stay afloat—whether as attorneys, nurses, educators or small business owners. For many, walking out meant leaving aging parents, missing birthdays and putting finances further on the line.
In fact, the risks of leaving the state are not just political—they’re personal and, at times, terrifying. On Wednesday morning, a bomb threat was called into a hotel in Illinois where several Democratic lawmakers were believed to be staying, prompting evacuations and police searches. No explosives were found, but the incident underscored the danger facing those who dare to stand up and walk out. “We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred,” said Democratic Caucus chair Gene Wu, Mexican American Legislative Caucus chair Ramon Romero and Legislative Black Caucus chair Barbara Gervin-Hawkins in a statement.
In the wake of catastrophic flooding that killed more than 100 Texans and displaced many more, Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special legislative session. But instead of prioritizing recovery and emergency relief, policymakers are using this tragedy to push through a slate of dangerous bills to escalate their attacks on reproductive freedom, especially for teens.
Among the governor’s priorities are two proposals that failed during the regular session: one that would effectively ban abortion pills (HB 65, a version of SB 2880), and another that would criminalize anyone who helps a teen travel out of state for abortion care without parental consent (HB 70, a version of SB 2352). That could mean driving them, buying a bus ticket or even chipping in towards gas money. And what starts with teens won’t stop there.
These extreme proposals are also at the center of a broader political standoff in Texas. In early August, over 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state to block a quorum in the House, halting progress on the governor’s agenda—including these abortion-related bills. In response, Republican leadership voted to authorize civil arrest warrants to compel their return, escalating tensions at the Capitol.
This isn’t about one bill, or even one state. What’s happening in Texas is part of a broader strategy to attack abortion funds, criminalize community care, and expand the playbook to end abortion access for everyone, everywhere.
In June 1870, 13 Texas senators walked out of the Capitol to block a bill giving the governor wartime powers, depriving the upper chamber of the two-thirds quorum required for voting. Though the fleeing members were arrested, and the bill eventually passed, the “Rump Senate incident” established quorum-breaking as a minority party tactic that has persisted in Texas politics ever since.
After significant quorum breaks in 1979, 2003 and 2021, Texas House Democrats are once again employing this nuclear option, fleeing the state Sunday to block passage of a congressional redistricting map that would give Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House. The attempt represents the latest chapter for the maneuver that political scientists say, barring exceptional endurance on the part of the democratic delegation, is likely to be symbolic rather than directly effective in preventing redistricting.
“It’s a messaging move,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “It’s a last resort for Democrats who have run out of options legislatively and even legally.”
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 this biweekly roundup.
This week:
—States continue to develop strategies to pass antiabortion laws.
—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is still attempting to sue New York doctor Margaret Carpenter. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded, “Attorney General Paxton should focus more on his own private life instead of dictating the personal decisions of women across America.”
—Almost 300,000 Black women left the labor force in the past three months.
—Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), co-chair of the Voting Rights Caucus, is leading a bill to prevent unnecessary redistricting in between censuses.
—Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have introduced a bill preventing the unnecessary destruction of foreign aid food, medicine and medical devices.
—The Supreme Court enabled Trump to dismantle the Department of Education.
—Trans women were banned from U.S. women’s Olympic sports.
—Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) is sharing her own history with domestic abuse as part of her advocacy to support survivors: “For me, it’s just about trying to keep other people from having to go through what we did and for mothers and fathers—there are men that are victims too—to know that there are resources.”
—Chef José Andrés details the policy changes needed to save millions in Gaza from starvation: “A starving human being needs food today, not tomorrow.”
—Under a quarter of Americans can name a female historical figure, and only 6 percent of monuments honor women.
—South African runner Caster Semenya won her case at the European Court of Human Rights.
—After bipartisan criticism in Congress, the Trump administration will release $1.3 billion for after-school programs that has been withheld from states.
—A Kentucky appeals court agreed that Jewish woman Jessica Kalb may continue her suit against the state’s strict abortion ban, which violates her religious beliefs.
… and more.
As Texas reels from devastating floods, Republican leaders are rushing through a controversial mid-decade redistricting plan aimed at cementing their grip on power—at the direct urging of Donald Trump.
“Let’s not allow the White House to put its arms into Texas and divide our community,” said Texas state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins at a heated and packed public hearing last Thursday.
On a cold Sunday morning in January 2021, Qadria Yasini, a judge on the Supreme Court of Afghanistan in Kabul, set out for work with her colleague, Zakia Herawi. As they rode in the back seat of a government-provided car, they were gunned down in broad daylight by three assassins, who then fled on foot and by motorcycle. When Yasini’s possessions were returned to her family, a Mother’s Day greeting from her two teenage sons was found in her handbag, riddled by bullets.
This heartbreaking story opens British journalist Karen Bartlett’s deeply reported, troubling new book: Escape From Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind.
But Bartlett’s narrative also provides an inspiring tale of resilience.
At least 137 people are dead after devastating flash-flooding in Texas in early July, including many children. As climate change induced disasters grow more common and the Trump administration rolls back environmental protections, several organizations are pursuing creative legal strategies to defend children’s fundamental right to a safe, healthy and stable natural environment.
On behalf of 22 young people, Our Children’s Trust filed Lighthiser v. Trump in May as part of its multi-case Youth v. Gov effort, asserting that three of the president’s pro-fossil fuel executive orders violate their constitutional rights to life, health and safety.
On July 16, hundreds gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to hear from Lighthiser plaintiffs and members of Congress at a press conference hosted by Our Children’s Trust and several organizational partners.
The same day, the Children’s Fundamental Rights to Life and a Stable Climate System resolution was introduced by Sen. Merkley (D-Oreg.) and Reps. Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Raskin (D-Md.). More than 50 additional senators and representatives joined the resolution as cosponsors.
Eva Lighthiser and Lander Busse were also plaintiffs in Held v. State of Montana, in which the Montana Supreme Court ruled that state law restricting consideration of climate change in environmental reviews violated youth plaintiffs’ right to a clean and healthful environment. The suit saw success largely because Montana has a Green Amendment—a constitutional amendment in the Bill of Rights section of the state Constitution explicitly declaring the legal right to a safe, healthy and stable natural environment for all people. Thus far, only Montana, Pennsylvania and New York have Green Amendments. The organization Green Amendments for the Generations (GAFTG) is working state-by-state alongside community partners to get new state-level Green Amendments passed.
As abortion bans have swept the country, Massachusetts doctors are stepping up by providing thousands with lifesaving telehealth abortion care, regardless of their ability to pay.
On July 12, reproductive health advocates and local office holders filled the common room of a Northampton, Mass., co-housing community to celebrate and support the vital work of The Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project (The MAP). Based in Cambridge, the MAP is one of a handful of medical practices in the U.S. providing telehealth abortion care to patients in states with abortion bans or severe restrictions. Each month, MAP provides abortion pills to 2500 patients—nearly a third from Texas—using an asynchronous telemedicine platform built to provide prompt, private and convenient abortion care that is affordable to all.
“I want to thank The MAP from the depths of my soul,” one patient said. “You have saved me.”