Here at Ms., we’re looking forward to the new year, and are prepared for the battles that are in store for us, from Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court to statehouses and ballot boxes, workplaces and classrooms and in our day-to-day lives.

And if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that women will play a decisive role in the outcomes of these decisions—whether in their roles as lawmakers on Capitol Hill, in statehouses and mayors’ offices across the country; in media and in newsrooms; or as a powerful voting block.

As we enter this new year, with so much at stake, know that you can depend on Ms. to keep providing the thoughtful feminist reporting and analysis you count on to stay informed—and ready to fight back.

Here’s to another year of reporting, rebelling and truth-telling. We’re so glad you’re with us!

The post Letter From the Editor: Welcome to 2026! Women Are Shaping What Comes Next. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

But the resistance to this cruelty has been just as astounding. Millions taking to the streets, again and again. Neighbors stepping in and preventing ICE from kidnapping neighbors they may not even know. Democracy defenders taking to the courts, fighting the onslaught of unconstitutional executive actions. Courageous networks of doctors, nurses, midwives and regular people distributing abortion pills into red states and ensuring women have access to safe abortion no matter where they live. And of course, the major feminist victories in November’s elections—in which women made a decisive difference for our democracy. 

The post It’s Been a Hell of a Year for Feminists appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Without the extension, more and more ACA marketplace enrollees will drop their increasingly costly health insurance plans. This comes at a time when the ACA is more popular than ever—recent polls show that across the political spectrum, three quarters of voters support extending the tax credits.

Could the administration's latest attack on transgender young people be the administration’s way of deflecting attention from the disaster unfolding in real time for millions of families in need of healthcare?  

The post Congress Went on Recess. Americans Got Higher Healthcare Bills. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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Project 2026 lays out a government redesigned to control women’s bodies, erase LGBTQ+ lives, dismantle civil rights protections and roll back decades of hard-won progress. Wrapped in the language of “family,” “sovereignty” and “restoring America,” it is a direct attempt to impose a narrow, rigid ideology on an entire nation.

Make no mistake: This is a plan for forced motherhood, government-policed gender and the end of women’s equality as we know it.

But Project 2026 is not destiny. It is a warning—and one we must answer with the full force of a movement that has never accepted a future written for us by someone else.

The post Project 2026 Declares Open War on Women’s Rights appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Now, Republicans are seeking to use the debate over the tax credits to pursue what Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has warned is a “national backdoor abortion ban” by expanding the scope of the Hyde Amendment.

Since 1977, the Hyde Amendment has prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion except under limited exceptions for cases where the life of the woman is in danger, or in cases of rape or incest. But opponents of abortion in Congress want to prohibit ACA marketplace plans from covering abortion even in states where abortion remains legal. This means that even if a state requires insurance plans to cover abortion, and uses its own funds to do so, federal law would block it. Private insurance plans sold through the ACA marketplace would also be impacted.

A vote on the issue is expected in the Senate on Thursday, Dec. 11. 

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We recognized The Contrarian’s Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen for building an independent media platform willing to call out authoritarianism plainly; Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman for her organization’s record-breaking wave of legal challenges against the Trump administration; and the creative team behind the Broadway hit Liberation—playwright Bess Wohl, director Whitney White, and former Ms. writer and editor Lisa Cronin Wohl—for reminding audiences that storytelling is itself a democratic act.

"The number one tool that autocratic actors use to try to consolidate power and take away power from the people, is to convince people that they have no power," said Perryman. "Their toolbox is one of isolation. They want you to feel alone."

"I grew up miles from here, family hamburger stand," said Eisen, "and now to be here, to have this opportunity with my colleagues to fight for this democracy that took my country, and my parents. ... When my mother was living, she loved to say the Nazis took us out of Czechoslovakia on cattle cars, and my son flew back on Air Force One. So, how can I not be hopeful?"

The post The Ms. Q&A With Democracy Defenders Norm Eisen, Skye Perryman and Jennifer Rubin appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

But, unfortunately for them: The resistance has also been everywhere all at once, too.

There is no doubt that when historians look back on this sordid moment in history, they will conclude that it was women, and feminists, who led the way out of it.

The post The Resistance Is Everywhere appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Lucey returned two days later—undaunted. Her courage was met with more schoolyard taunts: “You are the worst … I don’t know why they even have you.”

That is the tell of a man losing control: a loud desperation masquerading as swagger. The sound of someone terrified that truth might be closing in.

And we will keep telling the truth about Trump, about Epstein, about the women and children harmed, exploited, dismissed, erased. We owe it to the victims who never got to ask their own questions.

The post Trump’s War on Women Journalists Reveals His Fear of Truth appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

She will be remembered for many things: shepherding the Affordable Care Act into law, standing firm against Trumpism, pushing for ERA ratification, and proving—time and again—that women can wield power with both strength and grace. But what stands out most to me is her unwavering belief in women themselves. “Be not afraid,” she told women and girls everywhere. “Be ready for whatever opportunities come along, and know how important your contribution is, because when women succeed, everyone succeeds.” Quite simply, Nancy Pelosi showed us what leadership looks like.

The post Nancy Pelosi, Feminist Icon and Political Powerhouse, to Retire in 2027 appeared first on Ms. Magazine.