[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | January 28, 2023
Dear John,
This week saw two new lawsuits challenging unnecessary and burdensome state-imposed restrictions on abortion pills in West Virginia and North Carolina. In both cases, physicians argue that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s regulations around the medications should preempt state laws.
State legislators and employers should take note of restrictive laws like these—because, as Linda Burstyn points out in the most recent issue of Ms ., young women are starting to plan their lives and careers around abortion bans. A recent survey found that among employees ages 18 to 34, 47 percent of women and 44 percent of men believed they wouldn’t have the career they’d planned for, because politicians are now in control of their personal reproductive decisions. A Ms. poll taken in advance of the 2022 midterm elections last year found that among young women voters, 44 percent have either considered moving or are making plans to move to a state where abortion is protected, and 10 percent already have declined a job in a state where abortions are banned.
Meanwhile on Capitol hill, over 100 prominent women’s rights organizations sent an open letter to members of Congress urging them to focus on gender equality in the upcoming session. Advocates point to five areas in which action is urgently needed: health, reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy; economic security for women and families; policies to reduce gender-based violence; democracy reform and voting rights, including enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution; and immigration reform.
“The outcome of the 2022 midterms was history-defying for a reason: It was driven by a broad demand to protect the rights of women and childbearing people,” the letter reads. “Given the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that women and all people of marginalized genders face, in particular Black women and other women and gender-expansive people of color, the 118th Congress has a responsibility and a duty to make gender equity and justice a top priority in its upcoming session.”
You can count on Ms . to be watching!
Finally, this week I want to remember the victims of the latest mass shooting—here in my home state of California. Over two-thirds of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults say violence against Asian Americans is on the rise, according to Pew Research, and these latest tragedies are proof. And with nearly three-quarters of AAPI women reporting experiences of racism or discrimination within the past year, we must never forget that lives are on the line.
Onward,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
P.S. — We’re thrilled to announce that you can now pre-order our extraordinary book, due out later this year: 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION (Alfred A. Knopf). Pre-order from Indie Bound [[link removed]] , Amazon [[link removed]] , or Barnes & Noble [[link removed]] today!
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
Two New Lawsuits Challenge State Restrictions on Abortion Pill Access, Arguing Federal Law Preempts State Laws [[link removed]] Employers, Take Note—Young Women Are Planning Their Lives Around State Abortion Laws [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
As Congress Convenes, Over 100 Women’s Groups Urge Lawmakers to Focus on Gender Equity [[link removed]] The Supreme Court Dobbs Leak Never Really Mattered. They Just Told Us So. [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
We Heart: The Giant Abortion Pill Snow Drawing at Sundance, Celebrating Reproductive Autonomy [[link removed]] Reads for the Rest of Us: The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2023 [[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]] .
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?
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
READ THE REST [[link removed]] | GET THE MAGAZINE [[link removed]] | SUPPORT MS. [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
Enjoy this newsletter? Forward to a friend!
Was this email forwarded to you by a friend? Subscribe [[link removed]] .

Ms. Magazine
1600 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 801
Arlington, VA 22209
United States
Manage your email subscriptions here [[link removed]]
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please
unsubscribe: [link removed] .