MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report…
+ North Dakota’s Supreme Court reinstated a total abortion ban, ruling that the ban does not violate the state’s constitution in a reversal of a 2024 trial court ruling. This makes North Dakota the 13th state with a near-total ban on abortion, with only very narrow medical and rape/incest exceptions.
+ Trump ordered Catherine Lucey, a woman reporter for Bloomberg, to be “quiet, quiet piggy” in response to a question about the Epstein files.
+ The State Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to treat the following as human rights violations when compiling reports on other countries:
- state-funded or state-supported abortion (including counting and reporting estimated annual abortion numbers);
- gender‑affirming medical care for minors;
- workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or affirmative‑action policies;
- “hate speech” and online‑safety laws, which they frame as infringements of free expression; and
- policies described as facilitating “mass” or “illegal” migration.
+ Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has sued Planned Parenthood over allegedly “misrepresenting the safety” of abortion pills. Numerous studies have shown that abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol are safe for patients, but Uthmeier’s lawsuit baselessly claims that Planned Parenthood misleads patients by presenting the pills as being safer than they are.
+ On Thursday, Dec. 4, an unprecedented law banning doctors from shipping abortion pills takes effect in Texas. HB 7 will create civil penalties for healthcare providers who mail abortion pills to patients in Texas, which has outlawed abortion in almost all cases.
Let’s not forget what else was sent our way last month …
Tuesday, Nov. 4: Feminists Celebrate Wins in Elections Across the Country
After last November’s losses, Democrats swept the country in this year’s elections, winning crucial races in New Jersey, Virginia, New York and California, among others. Voters across the country also elected many women to governorships and crucial offices, filling this election season with much-needed feminist wins.
- Mikie Sherrill was elected New Jersey’s first Democratic woman governor. She beat opponent Jack Ciattarelli, who has opposed abortion rights and voted in the past to “defund” Planned Parenthood.
- Abigail Spanberger was elected governor of Virginia. Spanberger and Sherrill are close friends and were roommates on Capitol Hill.
- Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, defeating Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women. Women also maintained their supermajority on the 51-member New York City Council, increasing their seats from 31 to 32.
- California passed Proposition 50, which fights back against Texas’ redistricting attempts to send more Republicans to the House by redistricting California to send more Democrats.
- In Pennsylvania’s judicial election, judges Kevin Dougherty, Christine Donohue and David Wecht were voted in for another term, preserving the state Supreme Court’s 5-2 majority on progressive issues.
- In Texas, one race for a Houston congressional seat is headed to a runoff between Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards. Both are Democrats, guaranteeing that the seat will remain under Democratic control.
Thursday, Nov. 6: Supreme Court Conservatives Uphold Trump Administration’s Anti-Trans Push to Require Passports to List Sex at Birth
In a shadow docket ruling, conservative justices granted the Trump administration an emergency request requiring the inclusion of biological sex at birth in passports, forcing trans people to out themselves in order to travel, which can lead to harassment and even violence.
“The ruling leaves transgender people who obtained updated passports under the prior policy in limbo—and all transgender travelers facing profound uncertainty—as the administration now weighs further actions against their documents under a Court that has signaled it is willing to greenlight those efforts,” according to journalist Erin Reed.
The initial lawsuit, Trump v. Orr, traces its origins to an executive order issued on Trump’s first day in office back in January which mandated various forms of discrimination against trans and non-binary individuals under the weak justification of “restoring biological truth.” This Supreme Court ruling lifted an injunction which had paused the executive order from going into effect.
Shadow docket rulings are often controversial due to their rushed nature; critics, including dissenting justices, have long attacked its ability to issue decisions without oral argument or full briefing. Justice Jackson, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan, wrote in her scathing dissent:
“The Court nonetheless fails to spill any ink considering the plaintiffs, opting instead to intervene in the Government’s favor without equitable justification, and in a manner that permits harm to be inflicted on the most vulnerable party. Such senseless sidestepping of the obvious equitable outcome has become an unfortunate pattern.”
Thursday, Nov. 6: Trump’s State Department Directs Officials to Deny Visa Eligibility Based on Applicants’ Health Status
The directive orders officers to begin considering factors such as age and pre-existing health conditions to reduce the number of visas granted to those expected to require public benefits—primarily healthcare services—upon their arrival to the U.S. The guidance sent to embassies and consular officials abroad included conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and even obesity. This has the potential to disqualify millions of applicants from eligibility for U.S. citizenship on the basis of health and ability.
Health checks are not by any means a new part of the visa application, but these new aspects that punish people for conditions they have little to no control over, are ethically indefensible, not to mention ableist. No previous policy denied citizenship in preliminary screening due to pre-existing, non-contagious health conditions.
Thursday, Nov. 6: New York Times Op-Ed Asks If Women ‘Ruined’ the Workplace
The New York Times drew widespread criticism for publishing an episode of columnist Ross Douthat’s Interesting Times podcast and an accompanying op-ed titled “Did Women Ruin the Workplace? And can conservative feminism fix it?” A few hours later, facing complaints, editors switched the headline to “Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?” and then “Have ‘Feminine Vices’ Taken Over the Workplace?” Regardless of the title, the impact remained.
The podcast opens with the statement that “men and women are different” and that liberalism and feminism “have come to grief by pretending that the sexes are the same.” One podcast guest, an anti-feminist writer, went on to criticize “wokeness” and the #MeToo movement, saying, “It suddenly became mandatory for us to believe all women, no matter how credible or not credible their testimony might be.” In reality, false accusations account for only 2 to 8 percent of all sexual assault reports, while two-thirds are never reported at all.
In response, feminist journalist Jessica Valenti cited some of the most recent attacks on women’s rights in the U.S., including ongoing abortion bans, and wrote, “The country’s most respected newspaper hosted a conversation about whether women’s equality and freedom was a mistake. This is not a game, or some theoretical debate without real-life consequences.”
In a viral piece for Ms., Jodi Bond Norgaard analyzed the podcast and op-ed:
By suggesting feminism “pretends” the sexes are identical, the host misrepresents a movement that has always sought to expand human possibility, not erase difference. He then poses the question: Should the right “roll back the feminist era” or is there a “conservative feminism” that corrects liberalism’s mistakes?
There is no such thing as conservative feminism. The phrase exists because patriarchy has learned to speak the language of empowerment. It borrows feminist words—“choice,” “agency,” “strength”—but drains them of their radical meaning, using them to defend inequality. It’s liberation without justice. It’s empowerment without equality.
Wednesday, Nov. 12: Congress and Trump Approve Government Spending Bill, Ending the Longest Federal Shutdown in U.S. History
After 43 days of disagreement, austerity measures and disapproval from the public, the government shutdown finally came to an end. The shutdown had widespread ramifications, resulting in millions of hours of unpaid labor, delays and cancellations of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and slowdowns in healthcare access, just to name a few.
The shutdown was initiated due to Democrats’ push for ACA health insurance provisions which were rejected by congressional Republicans as the 2026 budget was finalized, ultimately as a consequence of Trump’s July budget reconciliation bill.
Millions of women will burden the consequences of the shutdown, particularly with the issue of ACA subsidies remaining unresolved. An estimated 6 million women will be (or already are) subject to new work requirements since the July bill went into effect, and if Congress fails to extend ACA subsidies, ordinary Americans could see upwards of a 300 percent increase in their healthcare premiums. Realistically, this would force millions to go into extreme debt to receive necessary care, or drop their healthcare coverage altogether.
Perhaps most alarming was the impact the shutdown had on SNAP recipients. In 2023, 55 percent of the nearly 43 million total recipients were women, and one-third of non-elderly recipients were women of color. SNAP benefits began to slow down beginning Nov. 1, to varying levels by state, resulting in physical and psychological harm to many who rely on this essential program.
Thursday, Nov. 13: U.S. Army Launches Investigation Against OB-GYN Accused of Secretly Filming and Sexually Abusing Women Patients
Doctor Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN at Fort Hood military base in Texas, the third-largest base in the country, is under investigation for sexual abuse against patients. At the time of this article’s publication on Monday, Dec. 1, 85 victims have come forward, represented by at least four different law firms. The Army has contacted more than 1,400 patients seen by McGraw throughout his tenure at Fort Hood. Earlier allegations are also coming to light, including complaints from his time at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.
Sexual assault is endemic in the U.S. military, with the Department of Defense reporting 8,195 assaults in 2024. The actual number is almost certainly much higher, and the majority of victims are women.
In September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who himself has received allegations of sexual assault, vowed to lift restrictions on certain forms of hazing and harassment in the military. As writer Adrienne Spires wrote for Ms., “Rape is deeply rooted in power and control, and Hesgeth’s calls for violent masculinity as policy only point to the pervasive problem and practice of sexual assault in the military.”
Friday, Nov. 14: Antiabortion Extremist Charged in Shooting Outside South Carolina Planned Parenthood
Fifty-six-year-old Mark Baumgartner, director of antiabortion group A Moment of Hope, was arrested after he was caught on video shooting someone outside a Planned Parenthood in Columbia, S.C. In the video, Baumgartner appeared to pepper-spray someone with whom he was having a verbal argument. Baumgartner and other antiabortion protesters then tackled the victim to the ground before Baumgartner seemed to shoot the victim in the leg. The video shows Baumgartner and another man in his group holding guns.
Baumgartner and his group regularly stand outside Planned Parenthood and have a history of aggressive interactions with patients. Like many antiabortion protesters, they wear neon vests to attempt to trick patients into thinking they are clinic escorts or staff.
According to the National Abortion Federation’s annual reports, violence at abortion clinics and against abortion providers and patients has spiked over the past few years—especially after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision. In 2024, NAF recorded 296 death threats against abortion providers and 128,570 instances of antiabortion protesters picketing outside clinics. There is also a history of gun violence in the antiabortion extremist movement, including the murders of Dr. David Gunn in Pensacola, Fla., in 1993 and Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kan. in 2009.
Before this recent attack, Baumgartner endorsed SB 323, the radical legislation that would have allowed abortion patients in South Carolina to be charged with murder, which just barely failed to pass earlier this month.
Tuesday, Nov. 18: South Carolina’s Proposed Bill to Ban Birth Control Defeated in the State Senate
SB 323, or the so-called Unborn Child Protection Act, was a direct attempt to impose a total abortion ban from South Carolina Republicans in the state, along with effectively banning certain forms of birth control. Contraceptive methods, such as mifepristone, misoprostol or “any other chemical or drug dispensed with the intent of causing an abortion,” would have been banned under the pretense of being “abortifacients.” A strict six-week abortion ban has already been in place in South Carolina since May 2023.
The bill was first introduced back in February and was first heard in the state’s Congress on Oct. 1. Backlash to the bill rapidly gained traction as it advanced through the legislature. South Carolina residents and pro-choice advocates showed up to the all-male Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee hearing to protest and testify against the extremist bill.
The bill also sought to impose criminal racketeering charges on organizations providing abortion care, including Planned Parenthood, and threatened to impose stricter definitions of “medical emergency” exceptions for abortion.
Tuesday, Nov. 18: Congress Votes to Release Epstein Files
With Jeffrey Epstein survivors watching from the gallery above, the House agreed in a near-unanimous vote to force the release of all files related to the investigation of the convicted sex offender. After the House vote, the Epstein Files Transparency Act quickly made its way through the Senate before Trump signed it into law. The bill passed despite months of enormous opposition from Trump, who has repeatedly called the files a “hoax,” and other Republican leaders. The bill gave the Department of Justice 30 days to deliver the files in a searchable, downloadable format available to the public.
Trump’s well-documented friendship with the late Epstein has received significant media attention, including when reporting in July revealed that Epstein’s 50th birthday book included a drawing and letter with Trump’s name and signature. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have since published some documents and emails from Epstein’s estate, including one from Epstein to his associate Ghislaine Maxwell that refers to Trump as “that dog that hasn’t barked.” Another email implied Trump had met Epstein’s victims.
In the latest episode of Ms.’ podcast On the Issues with Michele Goodwin, Epstein survivor Jess Michaels described her experience of post-traumatic stress for years, as well as her healing process over time. To other survivors, she said, “You can heal, and you can thrive, and you do not have to be weighed down by what has happened. You can alchemize it into whatever fulfilling purpose you find, and that can be anything. It can mean creating the most beautiful garden that brings beauty to the world.”
“First and foremost, this vote is in tribute to and honor of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes—and any victim or survivor of sexual abuse,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) after the Senate passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Wednesday, Nov. 19: Another Texas Woman Dies After Being Denied Needed Abortion
This month, ProPublica reported that yet another woman has unnecessarily died in Texas after being denied a medically necessary abortion. On Dec. 30, 2024, 37-year-old Tierra Walker died of preeclampsia after she couldn’t access an abortion despite multiple underlying health conditions that made her pregnancy dangerous. She repeatedly asked for an abortion as her conditioned worsened, asking one physician, “Wouldn’t you think it would be better for me to not have the baby?”
Walker passed away on her 14-year-old son’s birthday, leaving him and her husband behind. In investigating her case, ProPublica spoke with multiple OB-GYNs who confirmed that ending her pregnancy would have saved her life. Walker’s name joins the growing list of American women who have died under post-Dobbs abortion bans, including at least five in Texas alone.
