[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | April 6, 2024
Dear John,
Abortion seekers who live in the Southeastern U.S. have lost the last state where abortion was available up to 15 weeks. In a Monday ruling, the Florida Supreme Court allowed a six-week abortion ban to take effect May 1. Activists have called the ban “catastrophic,” and providers in North Carolina—the nearest state where abortion is legal up to 12 weeks—are bracing for an influx of patients that they aren’t sure they can handle.
On the same day, the Florida Supreme Court also cleared the way for a proposed constitutional amendment which would guarantee the right to abortion “before viability” to go before Florida voters in November. The state now joins a number of others where voters will weigh in on the right to abortion this November—including in Maryland, and potentially in Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Arkansas and South Dakota where petitions to qualify are being circulated. And in New York, an Equal Rights Amendment that will specifically ensure reproductive rights, is before voters this fall. Amendments enshrining abortion rights like Florida’s, when put on the ballot, have seen a resounding success in other states, including Michigan, Kansas, California and Ohio.
State Equal Rights Amendments are proving to be a powerful basis to challenge state abortion restrictions. In Nevada, a district court recently ruled that the state’s Equal Rights Amendment safeguards Medicaid funding for abortions, and in Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court found that abortion providers can challenge the state’s ban on Medicaid funding for abortions on the basis of sex discrimination.
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling shows that sex equality is the solid foundation for reproductive rights in the future,” wrote the ERA Project’s Ting Ting Cheng in our recent “The ERA is Essential to Democracy” series [[link removed]] . “Now, more than ever, it is clear that abortion access (and the right to reproductive care in general) is not guaranteed without sex equality, and sex equality cannot be achieved without abortion access.”
If you want to learn more about how the federal ERA can safeguard abortion rights, I encourage you to check out the entire project [[link removed]] , including our On the Issues [[link removed]] podcast interview [[link removed]] with Susan Frietsche, co-executive director of the Women’s Law Project.
A notable advocate for the ERA is being honored this week: I encourage you to read Ms . contributor Kathy Bonk’s piece [[link removed]] on how First Lady (and Republican!) Betty Ford—who is being commemorated on a new USPS Forever stamp—played a major role in the campaigns for the ERA. “We miss her now more than ever, as the ERA has a serious chance at becoming the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” said Ellie Smeal, co-founder and president of the Feminist Majority, who as president of the National Organization for Women, worked closely with Ford and actor (and Ms . contributor) Alan Alda, co-chairs of the ERA Countdown Campaign.
And finally, in big news this week, the Justice Department announced a $4.14 million settlement from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, for Title IX violations. The DOJ found that the university had for years allowed a former head coach to sexually harass male student athletes, and discriminate against female student athletes. “This settlement should send a resounding message to our nation’s colleges and universities: sexual assaults and harassment of students will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Two generations after the passage of Title IX, which broadened opportunities and funding for women’s sports from elementary to high school to college, we’re seeing just how big an impact it had in the robust and growing interest around women’s basketball. Fan favorites Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are just two examples of the type of excellence that comes from supporting women’s sports. As we tune in to the final March Madness games, we’re watching what the feminist movement always believed was possible!
Onward,
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Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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State ERAs Can Protect Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs [[link removed]] Celebrating First Lady Betty Ford and Her Work for the Equal Rights Amendment [[link removed]]
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‘Turbocharge’ Gender Equality—Like Caitlin Clark [[link removed]] Beyoncé’s Country Accent in ‘Cowboy Carter’ [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
The fight to enshrine gender equality in the U.S. Constitution is more urgent than ever. Nobody knows this better than Susan Frietsche—who recently secured an incredible victory for women in the state of Pennsylvania in terms of then power of the Equal Rights Amendment as it relates to reproductive freedom. In this episode, we delve into how Susan’s work sets an important precedent for protecting women’s rights—and how it relates to the fight to secure the federal ERA in the Constitution.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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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 [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
READ THE REST [[link removed]] | GET THE MAGAZINE [[link removed]] | SUPPORT MS. [[link removed]]
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