[[link removed]] | MAY 2025
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Missouri Lawmakers Aim to Undo Abortion Protections Passed by Voters [[link removed]]
ALEX LALLI | MAY 27
Last November, 52% of Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 [[link removed]] to the state constitution, presenting a beacon of hope for women’s bodily autonomy post- Dobbs . The amendment guaranteed abortion rights up to fetal viability—generally considered around 24 weeks of pregnancy—along with fundamental reproductive freedoms such as birth control, pre- and post-natal care, and “respectful” birthing conditions. However, this significant progress is now facing total reversal.
Employing a rare action known as the “previous question,” Missouri Senate Republicans ended the Democratic filibuster, leading to the successful approval of a referendum to repeal Amendment 3 and send a new measure back to the voters. The motion passed 21-11 and quickly faced protest upon its approval from abortion rights activists. “It’s unbelievable to me that our elected body will completely disregard what the people want,” Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, expressed. [[link removed]] “We always joke that we don’t have a boss in this building – yes, we do. It is the people.” Fuchs joined protestors outside of the Senate Chamber before they were swiftly cleared out.
Republican lawmakers claim that they are simply giving voters a “second chance” to vote on abortion. “This resolution presents the average Missourian with a choice at the ballot box, one that I believe is much more in keeping with their values,” Republican Rep. Adam Schnelting, who’s leading the replacement proposal, claimed. [[link removed]]
To many lawmakers, activists, and voters, this “second chance” is simply a forced ploy to control women’s bodies despite expressed public leanings towards their liberation. “The majority of Missourians want to make their own decisions about health care without interference from prying politicians, and they made this abundantly clear at the ballot box in November,” Margot Riphagen from Planned Parenthood in Great Rivers said. [[link removed]]
The Missouri legislature has largely been dominated by anti-abortion lawmakers. This was made clear after the Dobbs decision when the Missouri legislature followed suit with large-scale bans [[link removed]] covering most abortions. However, activists gathered quickly [[link removed]] and petitioned to reverse these restrictions. Amendment 3 was a critical win in the fight for reproductive freedom, helping Planned Parenthood reinstate procedural abortions, though medication abortions remain on hold.
Now, with the revised measure on the ballot, this progress faces immense undoing. The newly proposed amendment, which will go back to voters in Nov. 2026 (or sooner), only allows abortions for medical emergency or fetal anomaly, and in the cases of rape or incest, still restricts abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, the amendment would prohibit gender transition surgeries, hormone treatments, and puberty blockers for minors.
Along with going against the majority of Missouri voters and their stance towards reproductive rights, this new amendment presents a dishonest vision to second-time voters. Democratic Sen. Tracy McCreery called the measure [[link removed]] “an attempt to mislead and lie to voters.” Indeed, the amendment employs euphemistic and vague language, claiming to “ensure women’s safety during abortions, ensure parental consent for minors” and “allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest,” without specifying the actual restrictions it plans to enact.
Despite this cutting reversal of the once hopeful amendment, activists and pro-choice lawmakers have only gotten more fired up and ready to fight as a result. “They might have more votes in the Capitol, in the legislature, but we have more votes at the ballot box,” Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, asserted. [[link removed]] “We proved that before, we’ll prove it again.”
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Photo by Elijah Mears [[link removed]] on Unsplash [[link removed]]
House Pushes Trump’s Agenda at the Expense of Millions, Especially Women and Children [[link removed]]
MADELYN AMOS | MAY 22
Just before their Memorial Day recess, the House passed President Trump’s sweeping $2 trillion tax and spending package, advancing his dangerous policy agenda and raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. The bill passed by a razor-thin margin, 215-214, with all Democrats and two Republicans [[link removed]] voting against it.
At the heart of the bill is a devastating rollback of essential safety net programs that millions of Americans—especially women, children, and low-income families—depend on to survive.
The bill slashes the Medicaid budget by hundreds of billions of dollars and includes new work requirements for adults to enroll in the program and more frequent eligibility checks. According to the Congressional Budget Office, more than 7 million people [[link removed]] will lose Medicaid coverage if this version of the bill is signed into law.
In a clear attack on reproductive healthcare, the bill bars Medicaid from funding services provided at clinics [[link removed]] that also perform abortions, preventing millions of women across the country from accessing essential healthcare. This restriction would effectively defund many Planned Parenthood clinics and similar providers, cutting off access to cancer screenings, STI testing, contraception, and routine check-ups for millions of women, especially those in rural and underserved areas.
But Medicaid wasn’t the only program targeted. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also faces major cuts [[link removed]] as well as new work requirements for people ages 55 to 64. Women—particularly single mothers—are among the most frequent recipients of SNAP benefits. SNAP is the most crucial anti-hunger program in the country and currently provides food assistance for 42 million Americans [[link removed]] , acting as a lifeline for so many families.
The bill also rescinds a series of clean energy tax credits passed in 2022, including the $7,500 credit for electric vehicles. At the same time, it fast-tracks fossil fuel projects, entrenching the country’s dependence on oil and gas while undermining the fight against climate change.
So, which policy priorities saw an increase in funding? Trump’s crackdown on immigration [[link removed]] . The bill put $50 billion aside for a border wall, $45 billion for detention centers, $8 billion for immigration officers, and $14 billion for deportations. An additional $150 billion is directed toward defense spending.
As millions stand to lose vital programs, the fight now turns to the Senate—and to the voters who will hold lawmakers accountable in upcoming elections.
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Photo by Gayatri Malhotra [[link removed]] on Unsplash [[link removed]]
Forced Birth After Death: The Cruel Reality of Georgia’s Abortion Law [[link removed]]
STELLA ADAMS | MAY 19
In Georgia, 30-year-old nurse and mother, Adriana Smith, has become the latest victim of extremist abortion laws that dehumanize women under the guise of protecting life. After suffering a massive brain hemorrhage while nine weeks pregnant, Smith was declared brain-dead in February. But due to Georgia’s restrictive six-week abortion ban, she has remained on life support for months, solely to allow the fetus to potentially reach viability.
Her family, devastated and powerless, was told by doctors that ending life-sustaining treatment was not an option because of the state’s abortion law. Smith’s body, now legally dead, continues to be maintained.
Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat law,” known as H.B. 481, bans abortion as soon as fetal cardiac activity can be detected, often before many people even realize they are pregnant. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the law went into effect, dramatically limiting reproductive freedom across the state. The law contains vague language and no clear guidance for situations like Smith’s, where the pregnant patient is already deceased but the pregnancy remains viable.
The law does allow for abortion in cases where the pregnant patient's life is at risk, but in Smith’s case [[link removed]] , doctors interpreted the law to mean that the death of the woman does not justify ending the pregnancy.
The consequences are serious. As Smith’s mother told reporters, “My daughter is gone. And now we’re forced to sit here and hope a 21-week-old fetus survives inside a dead woman’s body.”
This is not an isolated tragedy. It’s part of a broader right-wing movement that uses state power to control women’s bodies and force pregnancies under any circumstances. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade , states like Georgia have advanced abortion bans that redefine personhood and criminalize care—even in emergencies. Georgia’s H.B. 481 [[link removed]] recognizes embryos as “natural persons,” creating legal confusion that endangers both patients and providers. Unfortunately, horror stories like Smith's are going to become much more common.
Across the country, anti-abortion lawmakers have introduced more than 1,000 abortion restrictions since 2021 [[link removed]] , including bans on medication abortion, mandatory reporting requirements, and laws that allow civil lawsuits against providers and helpers. These policies are not about protecting life—they are about enforcing a coercive model of forced motherhood.
Meanwhile, clinics are closing or turning away patients [[link removed]?] experiencing miscarriage complications or nonviable pregnancies out of fear of prosecution. In states like Texas, physicians have delayed care until patients develop sepsis or other life-threatening conditions, leading to lasting harm and, in some cases, death. These are not unintended consequences, they are the foreseeable outcomes of an agenda that values ideology over bodily autonomy.
If policymakers were truly invested in protecting life, they would ensure access to comprehensive reproductive care, not criminalize it. They would pass federal protections for abortion access, expand maternal health programs, and guarantee the right to die with dignity. Instead, extremists are using laws like Georgia’s to promote a dystopian vision of “pro-life” that reduces women to wombs, regardless of consent, health, or even life itself.
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Photo from Getty Images
Trump Administration Ends Protected Status for Afghan Refugees While Prioritizing White South Africans [[link removed]]
MAKHFI AZIZI | MAY 12
The Trump Administration announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan refugees in the U.S. today, a move affecting approximately 14,600 Afghan refugees already residing in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security [[link removed]] (DHS) stated that the TPS designation for Afghanistan will expire on May 20, 2025, with termination effective July 12, 2025. TPS has been suspended for 7,600 refugees from Cameroon, too.
“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (former governor of South Dakota) said Monday in a release [[link removed]] .
“We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”
TPS was established by the U.S. government in 1990 as a form of humanitarian relief. It offers temporary legal status to nationals of certain countries experiencing conditions such as armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances that make a return to their country unsafe.
TPS was initially granted to Afghan [[link removed]] refugees under the Biden Administration on May 20, 2022, in response to the humanitarian crisis following the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power. The program provided temporary legal status and work authorization to those unable to safely return to their home country.
The decision to end TPS for Afghan refugees has drawn criticism from refugee advocates and legal experts, who call [[link removed]] it “ unconscionable [[link removed]] .” Advocates argue that the conditions in Afghanistan remain dangerous, particularly for women, minorities, and individuals associated with the former U.S.-backed government. A lawsuit challenging [[link removed]] the termination has been filed by CASA, asserting that the move disregards ongoing threats to Afghan nationals.
Under Taliban rule for nearly four years, neither security nor the economy in Afghanistan has improved - in fact, both have deteriorated. Contrary to Kristi Noem’s claims, the reality on the ground is far from stable. Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world, particularly for women and girls. The Taliban leadership has systematically targeted them, issuing nearly 150 edicts [[link removed]] that strip women of their most basic rights. These decrees have banned women from education, barred them from employment, and even prohibited them from gathering or speaking to one another.
The lack of women's participation in the economy has also deepened Afghanistan’s economic crisis, as half the population is excluded from contributing to the workforce. Noem's assessment ignores these grim facts and fails to recognize the ongoing repression and instability that define Afghanistan today. Additionally, unemployment among men has also reached its highest level in the past four years, signaling widespread economic collapse across the entire population.
In contrast, the Trump administration has initiated a new refugee program prioritizing white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, citing alleged “racial discrimination” under South Africa's Black-led government. A group of 59 white South Africans [[link removed]] arrived in the U.S. on Monday, May 12, under this program. Critics argue that this policy shift reflects a racial bias in the administration's immigration priorities, favoring white applicants over those fleeing real danger and conflict zones.
The juxtaposition of ending protections for Afghans while facilitating the resettlement of white South Africans has intensified debates over the Trump Administration's immigration policies and their alignment with humanitarian principles.
While the political debate drags on immigration and TPS for Afghans in the U.S., thousands of individuals at risk of deportation are left to live in limbo, uncertain about their future, and trapped in a state of fear and anxiety. If deported, they face being sent back to a country where their basic rights are denied and their lives are in grave danger. Many would return to conditions of violence, persecution, and repression, with no access to legal protection, education, or employment. It not only harms their mental health and well-being for the upcoming days and months, but it also destabilizes families and communities that have built their lives in the U.S.
The human cost of delaying protection is too high to ignore.
Take Action: Make gender apartheid a crime against humanity—don’t legitimize the Taliban!
Add your name to call on the United Nations to:
1. Formally recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity in international law and include it in the new Crimes Against Humanity Convention.
2. Refuse recognition and prevent the Taliban from occupying Afghanistan's UN seat, as this would confer legitimacy on a regime engaged in crimes against humanity.
3. Increase humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, with priority given to women and girls as both distributors and recipients of aid.
4. Ensure Afghan women are meaningfully included in all international discussions on Afghanistan's future—political, economic, social, and humanitarian.
Sign the petition! [[link removed]]
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Join us at DC/DOX, a premiere documentary film festival, to celebrate the DC premiere of THE INQUISITOR on Saturday, June 14 at 5:15pm at Regal Gallery Place. This powerful, new film documents Barbara Jordan’s journey, making history as Texas’s first Black state senator and the first Southern Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In a world dominated by white men, she moved with deft skill, earning both their respect and their fear. At a time when the idea of a Black woman holding power seemed inconceivable, Barbara Jordan created a roadmap for change. Watch the film and meet special guests. Tickets available at: [link removed] [[link removed]]
Use code BARBARA10 to get a 10% discount.
Student Activist Feature: Sarah Hamidi
[[link removed]] School: American University
Major: Communication, Law, Economics, and Government
Fun Fact: I have gone to over 80 concerts!
What has been a standout moment for you in your feminist activism? Attending the DC People's March 2 days before Trump's inauguration. The energy was electric and thousands of people came together in defiance, solidarity, and hope. That moment solidified for me that feminism isn’t just a belief, it’s a commitment to showing up, speaking out, and building power together.
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