From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) during a news conference on the Right to Contraception Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 05, 2024. (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

BY DANIELLE CAMPOAMOR | Last Wednesday, Republicans killed a bill that would have federally protected an individual’s right to access birth control and a healthcare worker’s right to distribute it.

The Right to Contraception Act passed a Democratic-led House in 2022. Since then it has been blocked by Senate Republicans at every turn.

The latest attempt to pass the measure was considered a “messaging” or protest vote and in the end only Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) crossed the political aisle to vote in the affirmative. The rest of the GOP cohort gave a defiant thumbs down, claiming that any effort to codify the right to contraception in federal law is unnecessary. 

“‘Democrats’ fear mongering and lies on contraception are nothing more than a means to infringe on Americans’ political and religious rights,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Contraception is legal, to my knowledge—it’s not in any jeopardy,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) claimed on the Senate floor. “And yet Sen.Schumer wants to schedule a show vote that suggests that somehow it is, maybe striking fear or anxiety in the minds of some.”

It is wonderful to hear anti-abortion legislators with a well-documented lust for power reaffirm the long-established right to access and provide birth control. There’s just one painfully obvious problem with their feeble assurances: They’re lying. 

Republicans have been lying about the safety, effectiveness and use of contraception for decades with the sole purpose of curtailing access to various methods of birth control. 

(Click here to read more)

Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:

• "Inside the maternal mental health crisis” — The Hill
• "What the US asylum process is really like, in applicants’ own words: ‘I’ve waited 10 years’” — The Guardian

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

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

In this episode, we continue our series: Fifteen Minutes of Feminism—The Trump Indictments: Found Guilty! (with Moira Donegan). On May 30, 2024, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts by a New York jury. In this episode, we unpack the criminal charges that Donald Trump engaged in illegal business, electoral and campaign activities. This week, we’re rejoined by Moira Donegan to discuss why the New York trial was about more than about “hush money” and how the case marks the first time a former president has stood trial for criminal prosecution and been convicted.

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

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