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Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | February 18, 2023
Dear John,
As we wait for a ruling in a conservative-led bid to ban the abortion medication mifepristone nationwide—a ruling which is now expected to come next week—new research shows that another medication used in abortions, misoprostol, can be used alone to safely end pregnancy up to 12 weeks.
Over half of abortions in the U.S. are currently performed using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol. A widely available ulcer medication, misoprostol also has the capability to induce miscarriages on its own, by causing uterine contractions which can expel a pregnancy in the early stages. New research released earlier this month by the University of Texas at Austin finds that abortions with misoprostol alone were over 88 percent effective, with few complications. These findings are backed up by studies from around the world, several of which have found the medication to be over 90 percent effective.
Meanwhile this week in Kentucky, the state supreme court has ruled that the state’s near-total abortion bans will remain in place, as a lawsuit challenging them continues. The two bans—one of which bans nearly all abortions, and the other of which bans most abortions after six weeks—took effect in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade last year. Both bans criminalize nearly all abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, and only narrow exceptions for the life of the woman. This is despite the fact that Kentucky voters decisively rejected a ballot measure that would have said that the state constitution does not protect abortion rights, in the 2022 midterms.
A significant majority of Americans support abortion access, and dissatisfaction with abortion policy is the highest it’s been in over 20 years. You don’t have to think too hard to understand why. I’m sure Ms . readers have observed by now that the majority of those in positions of power pushing to ban abortion are men—like in South Carolina this week. As a Ms . reader wrote to us from the state, “The nearly all-male South Carolina Senate just passed a six-week abortion ban—after deleting a clause that would send women to prison. The Charleston Post & Courier reports this morning that the abortion debate yesterday in the South Carolina House ‘Sounded like an extended, conflicting sermon, as legislators on both sides cited Scripture to make their case and accuse each of of playing God.’ Earlier this month, the South Carolina supreme court, where there has been some hope for reason based on law, became the only supreme court in the country without even one female justice.”
Yet again, the people most impacted by abortion bans are missing from the decision making tables. So, this President’s day, I’m going to be thinking about how badly we need leadership that reflects the makeup of our people. Women need an equal seat at the table, in order to ensure that our laws are made by people who represent all of us.
Onward,
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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.
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Anti-Abortion Groups Ask Trump-Appointed Judge to Ban Mailing Abortion Pills [[link removed]] As Conservatives Try to Ban the Abortion Pill Mifepristone, New Research Shows Accessible Ulcer Drug Safely Ends Pregnancy Up to 12 Weeks [[link removed]]
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It’s Past Time for a Woman President [[link removed]] Shine Bright: Rihanna, the Super Bowl, and Performing While Black and Pregnant [[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!
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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 .
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