[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
June 25, 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.
SCOTUS’ ‘Skrmetti’ Ruling: Without the ERA, Protections Against Sex Discrimination Remain Fragile [[link removed]]
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(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)
By Mary Ziegler | In 2022, the Court undid a constitutional right for the first time by declaring that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion in the landmark decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization . In a decision this week called United States v. Skrmetti , they’ve taken the next step, extending the logic of Dobbs and destabilizing much of the law on sex discrimination.
The majority in Skrmetti was careful to cite case law on sex discrimination and suggest that the law at issue, which banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, simply raised different issues. But Skrmetti shows how fragile protections against sex discrimination have become without any explicit guarantee, like the Equal Rights Amendment.
Skrmetti involves one of the many laws banning gender-affirming care for trans minors that passed in 2023. A group of plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the law under the Equal Protection Clause shortly after it passed, relying on the 2020 case, Bostock v. Clayton County , which involved employment discrimination under the landmark Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Bostock reasoned that sex always factors into discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and therefore discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity should be treated as sex discrimination and subject to elevated judicial scrutiny. The Skrmetti plaintiffs tried to make the same point.
A district court seemed persuaded and blocked the Tennessee law from being enforced as the case made its way through the courts, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.
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Republicans’ Megabill Would Transform American Healthcare. So Why Is It Being Rushed, Without Public Debate? [[link removed]] Working People Build Food Solutions, While Congress Slashes SNAP [[link removed]]
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Three Years After Dobbs, a Coordinated Campaign Aims to Eliminate Abortion Pills Nationwide [[link removed]] How a Liberal DA in Louisiana Is Fighting for Reproductive Rights in a Post-Roe South [[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:
* "This mother relies on SNAP to help feed her kids. Now, she's bracing for cuts” — NPR [[link removed]]




* "Rebuilding Reproductive Health Care: Physician Stories from the Post-Dobbs Era” — Physicians for Reproductive Health [[link removed]]


[link removed] [[link removed]] Listen to the latest podcast from Ms. Studios! Speaking Freely: A First Amendment Podcast with Stephen Rohde is out now on Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
Welcome to Speaking Freely: a First Amendment Podcast with Stephen Rohde. In this new series, First Amendment expert Stephen Rohde, who has litigated and written about freedom of expression for decades, will explore some of the most controversial free speech and free press cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court—looking at hot-button issues like hate speech, defamation, incitement, social media, obscenity, flag burning, espionage, and academic freedom.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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