[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
March 26, 2025
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.
‘We Have to Have Hope and We Have to Fight Hard’: The Ms. Q&A With Trailblazing Former Rep. Barbara Lee [[link removed]]
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(Kelly Sullivan / Getty Images)
By Marianne Schnall | This Women’s History Month, as we honor the many women who have helped shape this country throughout the years, I had the opportunity to speak with one such history maker, former longtime U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).
As the first Black woman elected to the State Assembly, State Senate and Congress from Northern California and the highest ranking Black woman appointed to Democratic leadership, Lee has had a trailblazing nearly three-decade political career. She is known for spearheading the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), being the sole no vote against the authorization of war after 9/11, and for fighting for peace, women’s rights, racial equity, climate action, ending poverty and increasing Black women’s representation in politics.
After serving as a U.S. representative for 27 years, Lee decided not to seek reelection in 2024 in order to run for Senate. Although she was defeated in the Senate primary and left Congress in January, Lee may be poised to make history a second time, as she is currently running for Oakland mayor and, if elected, would be the first Black woman mayor of Oakland.
In my conversation with Lee, she shares her take on what has been transpiring in Congress and the country since Trump took office, what lessons can we learn from history that can give us perspective or inspiration right now, what wisdom she imagines her mentor Shirley Chisholm would offer in this moment, her call to action and more.
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A Dangerous Rollback: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Student Civil Rights [[link removed]] Texas Arrests Midwife and Employee for Illegal Abortions Amid State’s Strict Ban [[link removed]]
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U.S. Plays Spoiler at Annual Gathering on Women’s Rights [[link removed]] Foreign Aid Cuts Will Lead to 34,000 More Pregnancy-Related Deaths in Just One Year [[link removed]]
What we're reading:
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
* "Domestic Violence and Maternal Mortality Are Rising. The NIH Just Defunded a Project to Study Both.” — Mother Jones [[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]] .
As we reckon with an administration hostile to equal rights, feminists will continue to fight. To help keep hope, we must remember and celebrate recent wins.
One of those wins is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect on June 27, 2023. This is a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures workplace accommodations related to pregnancy for workers. But is the PWFA safe, or will it be threatened by the Trump administration’s crusade against reproductive rights and justice?
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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