Ava Slocum, Author at Ms. Magazine

She Was an Antiabortion Poster Child. Now She’s a Reproductive Freedom Activist.

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

At the age of 15, Charlotte Isenberg took to social media to process complicated feelings about a miscarriage after alleged sexual abuse. That was what first brought her to the attention of antiabortion groups.

"Almost immediately, anti-abortion actors threaded a narrative for me between my grief, my miscarriage and anti-abortion sentiment. I clung to it with desperation,” Isenberg wrote.

Feeling isolated from peers due to both her traumatic experiences and the COVID-19 pandemic, Isenberg found a sense of belonging in these online spaces.

But in May 2024, at age 20, Isenberg says her birth control failed, and she became pregnant for the second time. The timing was devastating: She was unemployed, without stable housing or transportation, and preparing to relocate for college—the first in her family to access higher education.

When she couldn’t find adequate support for her unplanned pregnancy, Isenberg scheduled an appointment at her local Planned Parenthood for an abortion consultation, unsure of what she would ultimately decide. Another prominent antiabortion activist, one of Isenberg’s best friends in the movement, found out about her appointment; she and other members of the group intervened aggressively.

Despite this pressure, Isenberg was able to make the decision that was best for her and her body. Since her own abortion, she’s become a reproductive freedom activist, educating others about extremist antiabortion tactics and promoting systemic protections for people navigating reproductive healthcare.

The post She Was an Antiabortion Poster Child. Now She’s a Reproductive Freedom Activist. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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War on Women Report: Antiabortion Extremist Charged in S.C. Shooting; Army OB-GYN Accused of Abusing Over 85 Women Patients

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:56:03 +0000

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, making it the 13th state with a near-total ban on abortion.
—Trump ordered Catherine Lucey, a woman reporter for Bloomberg, to be "quiet, piggy."
—The U.S. moved to categorize countries with state-sponsored abortion and DEI policies as violators of human rights.
—Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has sued Planned Parenthood over allegedly “misrepresenting the safety” of abortion pills.
—On Thursday, Dec. 4, an unprecedented law banning doctors from shipping abortion pills takes effect in Texas.
—"The country’s most respected newspaper hosted a conversation about whether women’s equality and freedom was a mistake."
—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. As of Monday, 85 victims have come forward.
—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.

… and more.

The post War on Women Report: Antiabortion Extremist Charged in S.C. Shooting; Army OB-GYN Accused of Abusing Over 85 Women Patients appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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The War on Women Report: Government Shutdown Continues; Another Woman Denied Emergency Abortion Care; FDA Approves Generic Mifepristone

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:20:36 +0000

Since our last report:
—Turning Point hosted an event at the University of Alabama advocating the death penalty as punishment for abortion patients.
—After being denied care for her ectopic pregnancy by an antiabortion OB-GYN, a 28-year-old woman in Illinois was forced to travel to multiple hospitals and healthcare centers before receiving life-saving care.
—Vocal abortion opponent Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Prohibiting Abortion and Transgender Procedures on the Exchanges Act, seeking to halt any healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from funding abortions, even in states that preserve abortion access.
—The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that judges can decline to marry same-sex couples if doing so goes against their religious beliefs.

... and more.

The post The War on Women Report: Government Shutdown Continues; Another Woman Denied Emergency Abortion Care; FDA Approves Generic Mifepristone appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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Our Favorite Protest Signs From No Kings 2.0

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:14:44 +0000

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.

The post Our Favorite Protest Signs From No Kings 2.0 appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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After the War: Author and Aid Worker Claudia Krich Challenges the Myths of Vietnam

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

American humanitarian worker Claudia Krich—co-director of the American Friends Service Committee medical relief program from 1973 to 1975—was one of only a handful of Americans who stayed in Vietnam past April, 30, 1975, after the war ended. (She and her husband finally left in July 1975.)

Fifty years later, in April, Krich published her full journal from those months in Vietnam. Those Who Stayed: A Vietnam Diary, now available from the University of Virginia Press, combines Krich’s 1975 diary—including sections originally published in Ms.' July 1976 print issue—with extra historical content and some first-person accounts by people mentioned in or relevant to the book.

To celebrate the book’s release earlier this year, Claudia Krich communicated with Ms. about her book and her experiences as an American woman living and working in Vietnam during this historic moment.

“People think the war was North versus South, but that’s not true. ... I hope my book motivates more people to travel, to take risks, to be outspoken, to record what they experience.”

The post After the War: Author and Aid Worker Claudia Krich Challenges the Myths of Vietnam appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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The War on Women Report: New Texas Law Targets Abortion Pills; More Planned Parenthoods Close Amid Federal Funding Cuts

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 21:38:08 +0000

Since our last report:
—A judge in Missouri is currently deciding whether a proposed amendment that would ban abortion in the state’s constitution can appear on the 2026 ballot ... even though Missourians voted just last fall to keep abortion legal in the state.
—The Trump administration announced in August that it would remove gender-affirming care from the health services offered to federal workers.
—Mississippi declared a public health emergency as the state’s infant mortality rate soars to a rate nearly double the national average.

… and more.

The post The War on Women Report: New Texas Law Targets Abortion Pills; More Planned Parenthoods Close Amid Federal Funding Cuts appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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How E. Jean Carroll Fought Trump in Court—And Won

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

At least 27 women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, with allegations ranging from harassment to sexual assault and rape. Trump has denied every charge, often dismissing the accusing women by claiming he’d never met them—or suggesting they weren’t attractive enough for him to assault.

In 2019, during Trump’s first term, author, journalist and longtime Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll came forward with the allegation that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf department store’s dressing room in New York City in the mid 1990s. As usual, Trump denied the allegations, prompting Carroll to sue him for defamation as well as battery under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.

But the jury believed Carroll. In 2023, she won the lawsuit.

The post How E. Jean Carroll Fought Trump in Court—And Won appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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War on Women Report: State Department Mass-Burns Contraceptives; GOP Budget Decimates Medicaid; Texas Crisis Pregnancy Center Funds Paid for CEO’s Smoke Shop

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 22:09:43 +0000

Since our last report:
—After a highly publicized trial, a jury acquitted music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of the most serious charges—sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
—Texas’ funding pipeline for antiabortion crisis pregnancy centers allowed CPCs to spend millions of taxpayer dollars with little oversight into how the money was used.
—A Texas man is suing a doctor in California who he claims sent abortion pills in the mail to his girlfriend.

… and more.

The post War on Women Report: State Department Mass-Burns Contraceptives; GOP Budget Decimates Medicaid; Texas Crisis Pregnancy Center Funds Paid for CEO’s Smoke Shop appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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Young Men May Not Be as Conservative as You Think

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:59:07 +0000

Gen Z men in their teens and twenties are leaning further right than ever… or so mainstream media would have you believe.

For months before and since the November 2024 election, news articles, podcasts and polls have been pointing to the widening gender gap between young men and young women. (Young white men in particular voted for Donald Trump by a 28-point margin in 2024, compared to 2020 when young white men between 18 and 29 supported Joe Biden over Trump by six points.)

However, new polling from the Young Men Research Project (YMRP) suggests there might be more to the story.

“The share of young men who say they voted for Trump in 2024 but no longer view him favorably, it’s on the order of 5 to 8 percent of young men,” John Ray, YMRP team member and senior director of polling at YouGov, told me in an interview.

The post Young Men May Not Be as Conservative as You Think appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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Fast Facts About Bea Feitler, the Pioneering Graphic Designer You’ve Never Heard Of

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:02:17 +0000

For our Summer 2025 issue, Ms. is going retro. The cover for the latest print issue is an homage to the October 1975 issue, which offered a “Special Issue on Men.” Both covers, 50 years apart, show a man in jeans and a T-shirt (the 1975 model was, no joke, Robert Redford) with a rolled-up issue of Ms. in his back pocket, honing in on the idea that women’s rights is a men’s issue too.

It’s the perfect time to remember Bea Feitler, the early Ms. art director who designed the 1975 men’s issue cover. Despite being a prominent designer (she art-directed Harper’s Bazaar and other magazines throughout the 1960s and ’70s), Feitler is largely unknown today.

In honor of her incredible legacy, which inspires Ms. staffers to this day, here are some of our favorite facts about Feitler and her remarkable life and work.

The post Fast Facts About Bea Feitler, the Pioneering Graphic Designer You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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