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By Jennifer Weiss-Wolf | Most of the hundreds of thousands of bills introduced this year—nationwide, state lawmakers introduce almost a quarter million bills in a single session (stunning, right?)—do not garner national headlines.

Even lightning-rod issues tend to fly under the national radar—too many proposals to keep track of and perhaps a cynical sensibility that many are either mundane or outlandish, the legislative equivalent of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what might stick.

… which, frankly, is all the reason to take state legislation more seriously. The tone set in the states can send a nationwide signal of just how far we can expect politicians to go in defending or degrading democracy. State legislatures also tell the story of the health of American democracy itself: When extreme bills do become law, it is rarely a reflection of the will of the people but rather the deliberate byproduct of gerrymandering and concentration of power.

(Click here to read more)

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By Cynthia Richie Terrell | A compilation about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!

This week:
— New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is expected to qualify for public matching funds this week after a late surge in campaign donations, thanks to a surprising boost from a rival.
—progress made towards gender parity in international elections
—In South Korea’s June presidential election, young women played a pivotal role in electing Lee Jae-myung, leading one reporter to call it “the anti-anti-feminist election.”
—June is Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, a turning point in queer activism in the United States.

… and more.

(Click here to read more) 

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By Bonnie Fuller | Will a new bill in Texas stop the shocking number of deaths of pregnant women in the Lone Star State? That’s the hope of both Democratic and Republican supporters of SB 31, also known as the Life of the Mother Act. The bill is headed to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott for signature and there is a strong expectation that he will sign it.

The goal of SB 31, which gathered broad bipartisan support, is to finally respond to the pressure to provide clarity about legal medical exceptions, allowing Texas doctors to perform lifesaving abortions and D&C (dilation and curettage) procedures on pregnant and miscarrying women in need of medical care. Supporters say they believe SB 31 will save the lives of pregnant women—yet many doctors still report uncertainty, and reproductive freedom advocates say the bill does not go far enough to address the loss of bodily autonomy suffered by women in the state.

(Click here to read more) 

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

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

In this emergency episode, we’re ringing the alarm bells: We just learned that in the state of Georgia, a woman named Adriana Smith, who passed away in February, and has been declared brain-dead, is being forcibly kept on a ventilator due to the state’s strict abortion ban, against her family’s wishes. Dr. Michele Goodwin breaks down Adriana Smith’s case, and the cases of other women who, like Smith, have been disrespected and desecrated in death thanks to abortion bans and pregnancy exclusion laws.

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

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