Dear John,
It has been a head-spinning week in the news.
Late on Friday, two federal district court decisions were issued that could dramatically impact access to medication abortion nationwide—even in states where abortion is legal. A federal judge in Texas issued his decision in the case brought by anti-abortion groups overruling the FDA’s two-decades-old approval of mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in over 50 percent of all abortions in the United States. He has given the federal government seven days to appeal the decision. A short time later, a federal court in Washington State issued a contradictory ruling in a case brought by more than a dozen Democratic states’ attorneys general, prohibiting the FDA from taking mifepristone off the market. Ms. contributing editor Carrie Baker delves into the details of both decisions and their implications for women seeking abortions.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, voters in the notoriously purple state of Wisconsin turned out in record-breaking numbers to elect progressive Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the state’s supreme court. Voters’ concerns over abortion played a decisive role in the election results. Now, for the first time in 15 years, progressives will have a majority on the court—which has huge implications for overturning he state’s recently implemented abortion ban and redrawing legislative maps in the country’s most gerrymandered state. Protasiewicz won by 11 points—a rare decisive majority for the often-contentious battleground state.
Also this week, In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills that repeal the state’s 92-year-old abortion ban, which was triggered by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision; the ban had prohibited abortions without exceptions for rape, incest or the woman’s health. The bills were passed after Democrats won a majority in the state’s legislature in the 2022 elections, propelled into office at the same time voters passed strong constitutional protections for abortion and reproductive health. Whitmer also signed laws that remove abortion-related felonies from the state’s criminal code, and prohibit spreading misinformation about contraception and abortions. “I am about to slay three zombies with one pen,” said Whitmer prior to the signing.
And on Wednesday, tens of thousands of students across the country walked out of their classrooms, to protest gun violence in the aftermath of yet another horrific mass shooting at a Nashville, Tennessee elementary school. Some held moments of silence, while others called out, speaking directly to lawmakers and gun manufacturers: “Our blood, your hands.” “Books, not bullets.” “Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids did you kill today?”
The protests at the Tennessee state capitol were large, and were joined by three Democratic state lawmakers who led chants on the floor of the legislature. Two of the three lawmakers have since been expelled by the Republican supermajority on the excuse that they had violated decorum. You can’t ignore the racism behind the expulsions: The two expelled are African American men, while the third, who escaped expulsion by a single vote, is a white woman.
Justin Jones, one of the two expelled lawmakers, said that the proceedings did “not seem like America.” He told reporters following his expulsion, “To expel voices of opposition and dissent is a signal of authoritarianism and it is very dangerous.”
In the 24 years since the Columbine High School massacre, there have been 377 school shootings, affecting hundreds of thousands of students. In America today, the leading cause of death among children is gun violence. How many more must die, before mostly Republican lawmakers (and some Democrats) in Congress and state legislatures decide to reject the millions of dollars of NRA and gun manufacturers’ contributions they receive?
Thank you for reading Ms. I urge you to stay connected as we bring you more developments in the coming days on these and other stories of fundamental importance for women’s equality and social justice.
Onward,
