Everything you missed at Ms. this week.
Ms. Weekly Digest | April 25, 2020

Dear John,

This week, the President and some state governors called for work places to reopen – at any cost. We’ve even seen protestors in Michigan and Virginia, some of them carrying their AR-15 rifles, flaunting public health guidelines to ask for a return to “normalcy.” Normalcy simply does not exist at this time. Public health officials across the board have opposed such measures and warned of a resurgence in coronavirus infections. When the stakes are so high, we cannot afford to make rash decisions.

And yet—making informed decisions is complicated when we’re seeing a complete and utter lack of leadership from the President. Trump would rather insult women reporters in his daily press briefings and suggest the viability of drinking disinfectants to cure coronavirus than uphold his responsibility to keep the American public safe.

As Ms. has been reporting, women – who constitute the majority of “essential workers” and healthcare providers – are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the President announced his “Opening Our Country Council” last week, it included 220 men and a paltry 20 women. Wherever there are decisions being made, women must have a seat at the table—and that is especially true now.

Meanwhile, some governors are more focused on taking advantage of this public health crisis to restrict abortion access than they are on keeping their residents safe. But feminists are fighting back. This week, an historic coalition of women’s rights, civil rights, human rights and reproductive justice groups filed an amicus brief in the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals supporting a district court’s ruling that Alabama cannot ban abortion as a part of their COVID-19 response. State officials had also moved to potentially criminalize abortion providers who defied the state’s order.

Some much needed good news to close this letter to you: in a unanimous decision on Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that heard the appeal denied Alabama’s request to halt abortions—upholding the constitutional rights of women in the state.

BY MARTHA BURK | Where are the women? That’s been the question on our minds since President Trump announced his “Opening Our Country Council” last week—made up of 220 men and a paltry 20 women.

BY FEMINIST NEWSWIRE | An historic coalition of women’s rights, civil rights, human rights and reproductive justice groups filed an amicus brief this week in the 11th Circuit Court, supporting the federal district court’s ruling that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state’s response to the coronavirus.

BY JACKSON KATZ & JEAN KILBOURNE | "The President makes clear that he views the purpose of the nightly news events less as an opportunity to inform an anxious populace in the grip of a terrible pandemic than as a chance to remain on stage as the star of his reality TV presidency."

BY CARRIE N. BAKER | In the second installment in this multi-part series, Baker examines the half-century fight to add women to the U.S. Constitution—and a game plan for where the Equal Rights Amendment goes from here.

BY FIONA PESTANA & ROXY SZAL | Did you know that it's completely safe to stop your period? It's actually safer than having a monthly period, according to many health experts.

BY CYNTHIA RICHIE TERRELL | Our friend, Cynthia Terrell, founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, is back with a new installment of her weekly column! Each week, she compiles some of her favorite stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world.

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