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A one-two punch of new laws empower survivors to speak out and tell their stories: the Speak Out Act, and the Ending Forced Arbitration for Sexual Assault and Harassment Act. Here, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and former Fox News broadcaster Gretchen Carlson announce the latter on July 14, 2021. Both bills aim to stop sexual abuse and hold abusers accountable. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

BY CARRIE N. BAKER | Since Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo tweet went viral five years ago, 16 states have passed laws blocking employers from requiring employees to sign agreements prohibiting them from speaking out about their experiences of sexual harassment and assault on the job.

Now, Congress has created a new national standard prohibiting this behavior: On Dec. 7, President Biden signed the Speak Out Act, limiting the enforceability of non-disclosure agreements and non-disparagement agreements (NDAs) for sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes.

(Click here to read more)

Heather Booth—founder of the Jane Collective—in the study of her home in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2022. Booth was a student in Chicago in 1965 when she received a call from a friend in need. His sister, he said, was pregnant but not ready to have a child. She was “nearly suicidal.” Drawing on her contacts in the city, Booth helped the young woman find a doctor willing to perform an illegal abortion—in what she believed would be a one-off “act of goodwill.” (Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)

BY KATHY SPILLAR | What did abortion look like, in the pre-Roe era? If you lived in Chicago, there was a number you could call—and a woman named Jane would answer.

“The women of Jane performed 11,000 abortions between 1965 and 1973,” Booth said. “And when people take action we can save lives, we can make a difference, we can change the laws and change the future. And we have to take action as these very precious freedoms are under threat right now.”

(Click here to read more)

BY PHOEBE KOLBERT | It’s officially time to put on the holiday music. Unfortunately, much of the season’s music is conservative, outdated, or downright sexist.

If you’ve been looking for holiday tunes sung by artists whose feminist values match your own, we’ve got you covered with this list of tunes by and for feminists.

(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.

Before Roe v. Wade, if you were in need of an abortion in Chicago, there was a number you could call, run by young women who called themselves Jane. They’d provide abortions to women who had nowhere else to turn. It was started by Heather Booth when she was 19 years old. In this episode, Booth joins Dr. Goodwin to discuss the history of the Jane Collective and the connections between our pre-Roe past and post-Roe future. Where do we go from here?

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