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Midwife Frances Jones-Coleman, owner of Full Circle Family Services, performs a prenatal exam on expectant mother Washima Feese with the help of student midwife Mimi Bingham (right) on March 10, 2023, in Houston, Texas. The Supreme Court will soon rule on an effort from the Biden administration to ensure additional abortion access in hospitals located in states with bans, like Texas. (Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

BY JILL FILIPOVIC | Feminists often say that abortion bans make women second-class citizens. And it’s true: Abortion bans strip from pregnant women the basic right to bodily autonomy, which other people enjoy. This is true for any abortion ban. But this concept—that banning abortion puts pregnant women in a different class from “regular” people—is particularly apparent in laws that do not allow for a full range of emergency care to preserve a pregnant woman’s health. These laws put fetal life ahead of maternal life, and render women little more than fetus-sustaining objects.

In the coming months, the same Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade will now be asked to answer the question: Are pregnant women full people under the law?

(Click here to read more)

Jasmin Canada, 17, a senior at Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana, Calif., in an AP class. (Mindy Schauer / Digital First Media / Orange County Register via Getty Images)

BY KRISTEN KELLY, GABRIELLA PEREZ, SAMANTHA PYLE, KATE RAGATZ and SERENE WILLIAMS | Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lincoln, Roosevelt, King, Kennedy and Reagan each played critical roles in the history of our country and remain household names. Yet what of Murray, Chisholm, Eastman, Stone and Stanton? These women contributed greatly to the success of America, yet remain largely unknown to most Americans, including high school students. 

We are advocating to change this. As AP history students and educators, we propose the creation of a standalone AP United States Women’s History course. The youth of America are entitled to these stories traditionally left untold: the history of 50 percent of our population, who are currently a mere sidebar of token inclusion within a generic textbook on men’s history. 

(Click here to read more) 

An abortion-rights supporter attends the National Women’s March on Jan. 22, 2023, in Washington, D.C., marking the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. (Probal Rashid / LightRocket via Getty Images)

BY KENDALL TURNER | After reading about Kate Cox’s unsuccessful efforts to obtain an abortion in Texas, I needed an outlet for my ire. I took to social media, where I found reprehensible comments about abortion on Threads. I responded to them. I schooled my interlocutors with facts and links to research. I dazzled them with my correct grammar. I received tens of likes.

You may be shocked to learn that I changed no one’s mind. I was nevertheless surprised by some people’s misconceptions about abortion—many of which appeared to be shared by pro- and anti-abortion individuals. In the spirit of clearing the cobwebs out of our collective discourse, here are a few facts about abortion that have not been widely reported—starting with the fact that most people who obtain abortion care in America report using contraception in the month in which they became pregnant.

(Click here to read more) 

Listen to United Bodies—a new podcast about the lived experience of health, from Ms. Studios, on Apple Podcasts + Spotify. 

One of the most present themes in our lived experience of health in the past few years is the war on bodily autonomy, whether it’s the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the loss of legal abortion for millions, or the repeated pernicious efforts to ban gender affirming care for trans and nonbinary people. But the origins of the ideology driving these attacks is not new. It lies in the history of eugenics, racism, and ableism. And in many ways, it’s experienced in the everyday lives of disabled people. Think of us as canaries in the coalmine. Disability activist and creator Imani Barbarin says none of this is surprising. We’ve been dealing with this for a long time.

We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!

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