For my final entry of the year, we thought it worthwhile to offer a snapshot—a year’s worth of reporting on the depth of damage this administration has wreaked on women’s health, with real-time Contrarian reporting noted.

The post A Very Bad Year for Women’s Health appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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A new documentary from ProPublica, Before a Breath—based on the outlet's Pulitzer Prize finalist reporting—follows three mothers who turn their grief from stillbirth into advocacy for safer pregnancies and better outcomes for expecting parents.

The post Twenty Thousand Stillbirths a Year, and No Federal Plan to Prevent Them appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

"He recommended terminating the pregnancy because I was so low on amniotic fluid that Connor would most likely pass away before birth, which would put me at serious risk for infection. ... I was aware Wisconsin had an abortion ban, but I was shocked to learn only two hospitals would do D&Es for someone 20 weeks pregnant.

"There was so much nonsense just for a woman to get essential care. ...

"I received a huge amount of support from many people, even those I didn’t expect. That opened a door for me to use this experience to help other moms. ... When Roe v. Wade fell, I wondered, 'How do I help?' But I felt insignificant, like my voice wouldn’t matter. But after this happened with Connor, it gave me a way to get involved and a reason to speak out about how abortion is healthcare."

The post Her Pregnancy Wasn’t Viable. Wisconsin’s Laws Still Made Her Fight for an Abortion. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

On Oct. 23, a coalition of Michigan women, physicians and patient advocates filed a lawsuit, Koskenojo v. Whitner, challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s pregnancy-exclusion law that forces life support on pregnant women by denying incapacitated pregnant patients the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment. The case relies on a voter-approved 2022 constitutional amendment that explicitly protects “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy.”

One plaintiff—Nikki Sapiro Vinckier of Birmingham, Mich.—explained her objections to Michigan’s pregnancy exclusion law. “As a woman and a mother, it’s infuriating to know that my body can still be regulated more than it’s respected. As a trained OB-GYN physician assistant, I know this law protects no one—it only punishes those who can get pregnant. The pregnancy exclusion clause isn’t about safety or care. It’s about control. There is no place for a law that discriminates against pregnant people in a state that claims to trust women."

The post Repro Groups Sue Michigan Over Law Denying Pregnant Women Control of Their Bodies in End-of-Life Decisions appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

In fact, SNAP recipients are 45 percent less likely to experience food insecurity, demonstrating that SNAP is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs we have in the U.S.

The post A Hunger for Justice: Why SNAP Cuts Are a Feminist Public Health Issue appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

That is why the recent signing of AB 260, the Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Act, and AB 55, the Freedom to Birth Act, represents a watershed moment.

The post Two New Laws Could Transform Black Maternal Health in California, If We Get Implementation Right appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Alice Walker writes, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.” It is this self-defeating pattern in the face of authoritarianism that the current U.S. federal government is counting on. And sadly, a pattern to which some of our most powerful institutions have succumbed. Fear and chaos are tried and true tools of oppression. Vision and courage, however, are exponentially stronger.

America’s birth care system can be reset, but not by fearfully resisting its collapse or playing in its rubble.

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

The post How We Can Turn Away From Medicalized Birth Culture and Reset the U.S. Birth Care System appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Julia Ioffe’s book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, reminds us that today’s Russia rejects feminism precisely because it once knew what it could do: ignite revolutions, upend hierarchies and reimagine power itself.

The post Russia Was Once a Revolutionary Feminist Motherland appeared first on Ms. Magazine.