Still, advocates refuse to back down. For many, providing abortion is more than a profession—it’s a calling. As Ruth Richardson, who herself was named on the Minnesota assassin’s target list, put it: “We can do hard things. We’ve had to do hard things. This isn’t new.”

The post ‘We Can Do Hard Things’: Abortion Providers Fight Back Against Rising Violence [Part 4 of 4] appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

“Their vision is violent at the outset,” says Frederick Clarkson, a longtime researcher of Christian extremism.

Advocates warn that rhetoric casting abortion as a holy war is not fringe—it is increasingly mainstream within the movement, fueling both deadly plots and everyday harassment of patients and providers.

The post ‘Dad Went to War’: The Radical Faith Behind the Minnesota Assassinations [Part 3 of 4] appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The threats extend beyond firebombs. In Pennsylvania this summer, antiabortion activists staged a Red Rose Rescue invasion, disrupting care with fake IDs, “holy water,” and “tickets to heaven.” Several participants had been pardoned by Trump months earlier. Advocates say such incidents show a growing pattern: emboldened extremists traveling across state lines to terrorize clinics.

The post The Long Shadow of Dr. George Tiller: Abortion Providers Under Attack [Part 2 of 4] appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

This tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of federal retreat: Trump pardoned extremists convicted of clinic blockades and violence, and his Justice Department declared it would largely stop enforcing the FACE Act, the law meant to protect providers. Advocates warn these decisions have emboldened extremists, leaving abortion providers more vulnerable than at any time in decades.

The post Murder, Pardons and Impunity: How Antiabortion Violence Escalated Under Trump [Part 1 of 4] appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

When I spoke by phone to Seema Ghani in February, there was something more. Unlike many women I had reached out to this year in countries that have relied on the United States for financial support, Ghani was not afraid to speak to me—even though her homeland, Afghanistan, is the world’s most oppressive for women.

The post Worldwide, Many Women Relied on the U.S. for Financial Support. This Afghan Woman Dares to Speak Out. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

“Since Inauguration Day, I’d say the Trump administration has immediately gone to work in reckless, heartless and shameless ways that have attacked sexual and reproductive health and rights [and] LGBT rights,” said Caitlin Horrigan, senior director of global advocacy for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The post The U.S. Aid Freeze: Counting the Global Cost of Chaos appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The seeming disconnect might be explained by the fact that many more voters were concerned about the economy, and felt they were personally harmed by inflation, than they were about abortion, according to exit polls. Or it might be explained by the fact that the United States never has elected a woman, let alone a woman of color, to be president—and wasn’t ready to do so now. That’s a question the exit polls did not ask.

The post Women Support Harris, but the American Presidency Remains a Male Bastion appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Being a man will do that for you.

The post Sexism in Politics: It’s the Same Old Story appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The phenomenon is not new, but it could make the difference in a presidential race that is projected to be unusually tight. And because polls predict what could be a record-setting gender gap—with the majority of women voting for Harris and most men backing former President Donald Trump—the possibility that even a small number of women will vote like their men has Harris supporters nervous.

The post Harris Campaign’s Message to Women: Vote Your Consciences appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Less known is the work that Trump and his appointees did to prevent women in other countries from obtaining the procedure.

The post A Trump Victory Could Reinvigorate a Global Antiabortion Pact: ‘Women Are Going to Die’ appeared first on Ms. Magazine.