California

One in Three U.S. Women Is Stalked. A Harvard Study Is Finally Talking About It.

PUBLISHED 10/22/2025 by

When Tammy was being stalked by her ex, she didn’t know what to do or where to go. Tammy said it was the roughest part of her life, mentally and physically. Soon after, Human Options, a nonprofit based on Orange County, Calif., became her outlet and a safe haven for her to receive legal counseling and housing.

Tammy’s case is not isolated. In a recent study out of Harvard, 66,270 women were studied over a nearly 20-year period to determine the health effects of stalking: Women become more susceptible to heart disease.

Our Favorite Protest Signs From No Kings 2.0

PUBLISHED 10/21/2025 by , and | UPDATED 10/23/2025 at 1:13 P.M. PT

On Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, millions of Americans poured into the streets for the second No Kings protest this year. Organizers from hundreds of national and local progressive groups say nearly 7 million people participated in about 2,700 different No Kings events. In every state, in cities big and small, protesters used signs, costumes and chants to double down on democracy and accuse President Donald Trump of behaving more like a monarch than an elected official during his first 10 months back in office.

Marchers carried “We the People” signs and references to the U.S. Constitution, including: “The Constitution is not optional,” “Democracy not monarchy” and “No kings since 1776.” Signs and chants varied by region: In New York City, protesters dressed up as the Statue of Liberty; in Florida, signs said the Florida heat would melt ICE; in Texas, marchers called for Gov. Abbott and Sen. Cruz to stand up to the Trump administration’s abuses of power.

Here are some of our favorite signs from Saturday’s No Kings protests.

Cuts to Lifesaving Hunger Aid Could Impact Millions: ‘Our President and Congress Think Budget Cuts Will Help People Achieve Self-Sufficiency. They Won’t.’

PUBLISHED 10/8/2025 by

When Crystal FitzSimons became president of the 55-year-old, Washington, D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in May, she anticipated attacks on federal food and nutrition programs. But she calls what has unfolded unprecedented, and makes clear that unless Congress changes course and passes the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025, millions of U.S. residents will lose some or all of the benefits they’re receiving through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP.  

Other pending changes that FitzSimons is expecting will take the shape of denying SNAP to the few immigrants who were previously eligible for benefits, such as asylum seekers, refugees and international survivors of domestic violence.

“We are working at the state and federal levels and are collecting stories of different people who will be directly impacted by the cuts—the grandmother who relies on SNAP and helps watch her grandchildren while her daughter is at work; disabled people who use SNAP to support their independence; and older adults who are no longer able to work. We share their stories because we know that the real experiences of real people are critical in helping lawmakers and others understand who benefits from SNAP.”

“Every dollar spent on SNAP generates up to $1.80 in economic activity at the community level during economic downturns.”

This Hispanic Heritage Month, We Honor Immigrant Families by Fighting for Healthcare Justice

PUBLISHED 9/29/2025 by

My family immigrated from Mexico to California when I was 3 years old. My brother wasn’t walking and was showing signs of physical delays. Unable to find answers back home, my parents sacrificed everything—our home, their small business, a familiar life—in search of a diagnosis, treatment and hope. This Latine Heritage Month, I’m reminded of the strength of the women in my family in the face of migration and uncertainty, and the extraordinary community in the U.S. that welcomed us. 

Immigrants have long been unable to healthcare because of coverage gaps or restrictions. Immigrant and migrant women have had especially difficult times getting access to abortions.

Healthcare access, including the full spectrum of reproductive care, can make or break lives. Nobody should be denied healthcare, no one should have to choose between paying for healthcare and rent, and no one should fear deportation for going to the doctor.

All of us should have access to care. Period.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

IVF Promises, Healthcare Cuts: The New Reproductive Hypocrisy

PUBLISHED 9/23/2025 by

In today’s political landscape, fertility has become a brand—plastered across speeches and press releases as a symbol of family values and new life. But behind the fanfare (and empty promises) of IVF expansion lies a much darker truth: Healthcare systems are collapsing, maternity wards are closing, and protections against toxic chemicals are being rolled back. The result is a reproductive paradox in which women are pushed to give birth in environments that are increasingly hostile to their survival.

This is not a coherent pro-family agenda. It is chaos disguised as care—fertility promoted when politically useful, maternal health ignored when inconvenient, and science dismissed when it interferes with corporate interests. Families are promised new beginnings, but stripped of the very resources needed to support them.

Until mothers and children are placed at the center of policy—not as props but as the purpose—the reproductive hypocrisy will persist.

Why Attempts to Stop the Flow of Abortion Pills Into Texas Will Fail

PUBLISHED 9/14/2025 by | UPDATED 12/5/2025 at 10:44 A.M. PT

Shield laws, telehealth providers and international networks mean Texas’ new bounty-style restrictions are unlikely to stop abortion pills from reaching patients.

“It’s possible that some of the providers may step back, but access is still going to be possible by mail in Texas, regardless of this attempt to instill fear in people,” said Elisa Wells, co-founder and access director at Plan C, which researches and shares information about how people are accessing abortion pills in the United States. “The more crazy stuff that the Texas legislature does around this to try and block access, the more visible the option of pills by mail becomes.”

The War on Children

PUBLISHED 9/5/2025 by

American children die at stunning rates because of policy choices, and mostly because of policy choices made by the “pro-life” right.

The Republican Party has long claimed the mantle of defending life. The new Republican Party has promised to make America healthy again. Instead, they’re leaving kids sick and dead.

This is a war on children. It is also a war on women. The “women and children” framing can feel incredibly condescending, but the truth is that women’s and children’s lives and wellbeing are indelibly intertwined. Women make children with our bodies; if we are not well, they are not well. Women still do most of the work of raising and nurturing children; if they are not well, we are not well. This does not apply to every single woman on earth. But it applies to women as a class, and to children as a class.

Abortion Pill Crackdown, Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill and Discriminatory Maps: Texas GOP Escalates Retaliation After Democratic Walkout

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

When Texas House Democrats returned to the Capitol after walking out over the GOP’s new congressional map, they were cheered by supporters as bulwarks of democracy—then promptly bulldozed by Republicans fed up with their protest and intent on further marginalizing the minority party.

Republicans moved quickly to drive the map through both chambers of the legislature within a week of the Democrats’ return. But they also wasted no time advancing a host of conservative priorities that Democrats vehemently oppose, including bills cracking down on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills and requiring transgender people to use the bathroom aligned with their sex assigned at birth in government and school buildings.

Those measures stalled in the House during the regular session. And while Gov. Greg Abbott, who controls the special session agenda, had put them on the to-do list from the start, Democrats’ protest has only increased the GOP appetite to push them all through as retribution for the walkout.

“Now we’re not even going to negotiate,” said Rep. Tom Oliverson of Cypress and chair of the House Republican Caucus. “We’re just going to slam it through, too bad.”

Real Change for Women in Politics Requires Fixing Broken Systems

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

The fight for women’s equality isn’t stalled because women aren’t stepping up to run—it’s stalled because our systems are built to protect incumbents and the status quo. The good news is we know how to fix those systems. Tools like ranked-choice voting and proportional representation give voters more voice, create real opportunities for women and people of color, and help build a democracy that reflects us all. Change is possible, but only if we act.

From Alligator Alcatraz to National Guard Patrols: What Is the Cost of the Trump Administration’s Cruelty?

PUBLISHED 8/13/2025 by

Reserve forces of the U.S. Army, 800 National Guardsmen, and for some reason, 120 FBI agents, are being newly assigned by El Presidente to patrol our national capital—citing crime as his motive, though it’s dropped by a third in recent (Biden) years. He’s already done this in Los Angeles for the last 60 days and predicts other cities are on his list: Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, New York City—all places that just happen to vote blue.

Early on, the Pentagon testified it would spend about $134 million for the LA deployment, which sounds like a low-ball figure to anyone who’s recently shopped for groceries to feed 5,000 hungry young men three meals a day. And now, California’s governor is asking for the total cost to taxpayers of this “unlawful” deployment—because whether it’s political theater or not, we’re the ones footing the bill.