Dear John,

We knew 2024 would be a big year for abortion rulings—but we couldn’t have predicted how quickly it would get started. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that emergency rooms are not required to provide life-saving abortions if the decision would run up against state law.

Let that sink in. A federal court has ruled that emergency rooms are not required to provide life-saving abortions. Let’s just call it the “let women die” principle. 

The case emerged in the wake of guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the ruling in Dobbs last year, reminding hospitals of their obligation to provide emergency care—including medically necessary abortions—under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). In response to the guidance, the state of Texas and several anti-abortion medical associations sued.

The decision, which came from the Fifth Circuit, is at odds with that same appeals court’s ruling last summer in the ongoing case against the abortion medication mifepristone—a case that is set to be decided by the Supreme Court sometime this year. In that case, the court ruled that the anti-abortion doctors challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone had standing because they were “required” to provide abortion care “under EMTALA.”

The new case adds another threat to women’s lives and the status of abortion rights across the country. We will keep you updated as it progresses. 

Today marks three years since a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an act of insurrection that shocked the nation and the world. As we reflect on the legacy of this historic event, heading into another election, we’re keeping in mind the threats to democracy posed by right-wing extremists. In the wake of the 2020 election and the Supreme Court’s gutting of the voting rights act, Republican efforts to pass restrictive voting legislation hit an all-time high—and those efforts continue today. 

And it’s more apparent than ever that threats to women’s rights are an important part of the right-wing crusade against democracy. As these attacks—which include the ongoing abortion battles in state legislatures and our nation’s courts—continue to mount, securing women’s constitutional equality with the Equal Rights Amendment is more urgent than ever. We cannot call ourselves a true democracy if women do not have the basic right to bodily autonomy—or full constitutional equality, for that matter. 

Finally, stay tuned to MsMagazine.com next Monday for our latest exciting offering from Ms. Studios: United Bodies, a podcast about the lived experience of health with disability writer, producer, and activist Kendall Ciesemier. Over the course of 11 episodes, Ciesemier and her guests (which include writers, activists and thinkers like Imani Barbarin, adrienne maree brown, Samantha Irby and more) will explore how different components of our health—mental, physical, social, and spiritual—interplay with one another and intersect with the whole of our identity. 

For equality,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

Report after report has shown that sexual harassment and assault are pervasive throughout the U.S. armed forces: at least 15.7 percent of military personnel and veterans reported military sexual trauma, a number that is likely smaller than the actual total due to shame and fear around reporting. But in the face of a culture that silences and disenfranchises women and survivors, some women are speaking out—and demanding change.
 

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U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms. has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.

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