In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
Lest We Forget
“What is happening in the state of Texas is not just a test for the rights of Texans, but one for the rights of everyone who wishes to live in a democracy in this nation. Thousands of Texans have testified against and spoken out to oppose the hastily drawn redistricting maps, which seek to make invisible—and take the voices away from—millions.
“While you have some powers as Governor, you do not have the power to remove elected Texans from office to accomplish a vendetta that you and the President appear to have against the ability of people to vote, against lawmakers who are seeking to protect the people who elected them, and against our democracy as a whole.”
—Skye L. Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, responded to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s attempt to remove Democratic lawmakers from office, after dozens of Democrats left the state to delay a special redistricting session aiming to create five new Republican U.S. House seats.
“Texas Republican state leaders … would rather choose to cheat and manipulate the system to seize political power, instead of addressing the pressing issues impacting families, like passing critical flood relief. … Rewriting maps mid-decade to forcibly dilute the voices of voters of color is a federal violation.”
—Voto Latino president and co-founder María Teresa Kumar.
“[Aug. 3] marked six years since 23 lives were taken in a horrific act of anti-Latino hate in El Paso. We continue to stand with the victims’ families and the entire El Paso community as they grieve and heal. This act of violence was not random. It was fueled by years of dangerous, dehumanizing rhetoric, including from those in positions of power. Words matter, and when leaders traffic in hate, it has deadly consequences.”
—Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) leadership on commemorated the anniversary of the El Paso shooting in 2019.
“I am deeply alarmed by news reports that Costco is refusing to sell safe, effective and legal medication for no other reason than to appease the politics of antiabortion fanatics. Mifepristone is safe and effective. We cannot live in a world where the availability of women’s healthcare whipsaws back and forth based on the whims of extremists who want to deny women access to basic healthcare. I am demanding that Costco immediately reverse course—follow the science and the facts, not the demands of far-right antiabortion extremists.”
—Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) urged Costco to reverse course and dispense mifepristone where legal. Anti-abortion groups led a pressure campaign against the medication, and now plan to target Walgreens and CVS.
“A troubling shift is underway: Women are leaving the U.S. workforce in unprecedented numbers. But this isn’t a choice; it’s a consequence. As companies roll back flexible work policies, women are forced to choose between career advancement and caregiving responsibilities—a choice that disproportionately impacts them. What is at stake is the reversal of hard-fought progress for women and women of color, and the disparities will only continue to deepen. Flexible work isn’t a luxury—it’s a critical piece of how women can stay in the workplace and advance their careers.”
—Catalyst president and CEO Jennifer McCollum emphasized that 212,000 women have left the workforce since January, compared to a net gain for men of 44,000.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi is practically glued to convicted Commander in Chief Donald Trump’s hip, ready to lick his boots or orchestrate a government cover-up at his command. Here’s the bottom line: If Bondi is capable of throwing out ethics rules to be on Trump’s good side, who’s to say how far she’ll go to hide the truth from the American people—all to appease her puppetmaster in the Oval Office and his circle of rich and powerful elites.”
—DNC rapid response director Kendall Witmer in response to reporting that Bondi ignored Department of Justice ethics advice.
Milestones
+ Aug. 6 was the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed racial discrimination in voting. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), recently reintroduced in the Senate, would restore and modernize the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
+ Trump announced a federal takeover of D.C.’s police force, and deployed more than 2,200 armed National Guard troops in the city. He declared a “crime emergency” to justify the power grab, even though the violent crime rate is at a 30-year low.
+ Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth reposted a video of Christian nationalist pastors claiming that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, and sodomy should be recriminalized. “The canary is not only struggling, it’s dead, wrote Ms. contributor Emma Cieslik, “as Christian nationalism infiltrates the highest echelons of government.”
+ A federal appeals court upheld Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors. It had been blocked since 2021, but the recent U.S. v. Skrmetti Supreme Court ruling upheld a similar law in Texas.
+ The Trump administration changed immigration policy to prevent transgender women athletes from getting visas.
- At the elite and professional level: Last month, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee revised its policy to comply with a Trump executive order that prohibits transgender women from participating in women’s sports.
- At the university level: While it is unclear how many NCAA—the nonprofit group that regulates college athletics—athletes are trans, the association’s president, Charlie Baker, told a Senate committee in December that he is aware of fewer than 10.
+ President Trump wants to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census. If Congress agrees to implement his plans, it would affect congressional districts and trillions in federal funding.
+ The Trump administration is planning to reverse a Biden policy and restrict coverage of abortion care for veterans in almost all circumstances. The proposed policy would also restrict access to counseling and reproductive healthcare information, and affect veterans even in states with legal abortion. You can submit your thoughts here until Sept. 3.
+ The Council for Global Equality (CGE) has filed suit over potential manipulation of human rights reports by the Trump administration. The State Department is required to release reports on human rights around the world every February. But this year, the reports exclude key information about reproductive rights, LGBTQ people and human rights abuses in countries favored by the administration.
+ A federal court blocked the Trump administration’s restrictions on grants from the Office on Violence Against Women. Seventeen states had challenged the restrictions, and the order is a temporary win for organizations supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
+ Disability justice activist and artist Patty Berne died in May at age 58. Berne was one of the architects of disability justice, and sought to include queer people and women of color in the disability rights movement. In 2005, they founded Sins Invalid, a performance group focused on artists with disabilities, LGBTQ artists and artists of color.
+ Early polling shows former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) has a strong lead in the 2026 Alaska governor election, if she chooses to run. She was the first woman to represent Alaska in the U.S. House and the first Alaska Native person elected to Congress. She would also be the state’s first Alaska Native governor.
+ The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) called for Democrat-led state legislatures to pursue mid-cycle redistricting. The new Dems on Redistricting Offensive will fund the fight to keep up with red states. “The DLCC refuses to allow Republicans to rig the maps to keep themselves in power—now or in future cycles to come. Our Democratic majorities in statehouses should not shy away from using their power to counter GOP gerrymanders—including mid-cycle redistricting,” wrote DLCC president Heather Williams.
+ California Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading the response to Texas by announcing a plan to redistrict to create several seats more favorable to Democrats. The plan will be on the ballot in November, and must be approved by voters to move forward.
+ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to reduce the use of SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy and postpartum, despite the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) approving of their usage. A recent HHS hearing included false claims that SSRIs are unsafe during pregnancy, and one panelist even questioned if women can have depression at all.
+ A federal court upheld the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which guarantees workplace accommodations for pregnancy and reproductive health conditions. The decision vacates a lower court injunction that had blocked enforcement of the Act for Texas state employees.
You may also like: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is Essential to Democracy essay and multimedia collection, presented by Ms. and PWFA champion A Better Balance.
+ A federal judge temporarily blocked a Texas law that requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. However, Attorney General Ken Paxton told schools to ignore the ruling, and filed an appeal.
+ A Georgia court ruled that Fulton County must allow two election deniers to join their board of elections. One nominee previously refused to certify primary election results, and another sued the board last year over false claims around their voter rolls.
+ Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) led Democrats in calling for a congressional hearing for victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to share their stories.
“If we are to hold powerful people to account, our investigation must center the voices they tried to silence,” their letter wrote. “For too long, powerful abusers and their enablers have been shielded by institutions more interested in protecting predators than centering survivors. A public hearing focused on survivors who wish to speak out would be a meaningful step towards transparency, accountability, and healing.”
+ Democracy Forward sued the Trump administration, demanding they release the Epstein files as required by public record laws.
+ Meanwhile, Vice President Vance and key Trump advisors allegedly planned—and then canceled—a strategy meeting to cover up any involvement with Epstein.
+ After a coalition of schools, teachers and families sued the Trump administration for freezing $6 billion in education funding, they finally released the funds for the 2025-2026 school year.
+ Sources say the administration does not plan to require health insurance coverage for IVF, despite Trump’s promises. In fact, the Republican budget bill included over a trillion in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, making things even harder for low-income families.
+ The Trump administration announced that federal employee health plans will be prohibited from covering gender-affirming care starting in 2026. This will affect 10 million federal workers and their families. Horrifyingly, they will cover dangerous faith-based conversion therapy for trans people.
+ Over a dozen states are challenging the administration’s efforts to stop gender-affirming care. They argue that there are no federal laws banning gender-affirming care, and intimidation tactics to suppress access violate states’ rights.
+ Black-owned beauty brand Ami Colé will close next month. This echoes patterns of investments in Black-owned businesses waning in recent years. Just 0.4 percent of all funding went to startups with a Black founder last year.
+ The Texas Senate passed a bill to restrict abortion pills and target telemedicine services. The bill was passed in April 2025 and was referred to a House committee, where it faced pushback and ultimately died in May 2025 for that session. This year, it now goes to the House, and if passed, would allow anyone to sue drug manufacturers or someone who helped another person get abortion pills.
Rural communities and lower-income people would suffer the most. A new study found that 84 percent of online prescriptions from Aid Access went to patients in states that ban abortion.
+ Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in 2015, is appealing to the Supreme Court. If the justices decide to hear the case, they could overturn Obergefell v. Hodges‘ guarantee of marriage equality. Davis first appealed in 2019, but her petition was rejected.
How We’re Doing
+ In 2025, at least nine states have introduced bills or resolutions aimed at preventing same-sex marriages. Around 70 percent of Americans support marriage equality, but in recent years Republicans’ support has fallen from 55 percent in 2022 to just 41 percent.
+ Texas’s abortion ban has made miscarriages more dangerous. Blood transfusions during emergency room visits for first-trimester miscarriages have increased by 54 percent. The number of emergency room visits also rose, indicating women denied emergency abortion care may be returning in worse conditions. Doctors are often forced to delay immediate care, which increases the risk of life-threatening hemorrhages.
+ New data found that journalists who cover traumatic events—especially gender- and racial-based violence—are suffering with little support. Almost 80 percent of journalists report mild to moderate stress from their work, but 75 percent have never sought professional mental healthcare. A quarter of those haven’t sought help because they fear how it will be perceived in the workplace.
Almost a third of journalists say their newsroom does not provide any mental health support. Even among employers that do provide support, just 26 percent allow mental health days, 25 percent provide counseling and only 13 percent include trauma-informed training.
+ Forty-eight percent of U.S. college students report difficulties affording menstrual products, and a third say a lack of period products affects their academic performance. Over a third of survey respondents have missed class because of period symptoms or not having access to menstrual products.
Low-income students and students of color were disproportionately likely to struggle to afford period products, due to systemic income inequality and stigma around menstruation. More than 57 percent of Black respondents struggle to afford period products at least some of the time.
+ Political candidates have spent over 7000 percent more on campaign security over the past ten years, for a total of $41 million from 2014 to 2024. The increase shows candidates are feeling increasingly unsafe, which is a particular deterrent for women, parents and people of color running for office.
“No one should have to choose between their safety and running for office. But that’s the reality for too many candidates today—especially women, moms, and candidates of color,” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder and CEO of Vote Mama Foundation. “Political violence, doxxing, and death threats have become far too commonplace in America, which is why Campaign Funds for Security is such a critical resource. Safety shouldn’t be a barrier to public service.”
+ In the first half of 2025, there have been more than 250 threats or harassment towards local officials, up 9 percent from 2024. A third of women report their gender was a driver of the hostility they face. Almost half of women elected officials worry about threats or attacks, compared to a third of men.
+ A year after Iowa’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, abortions in the state have dropped by 74 percent. Patients are forced to seek care in other states. Illinois has seen a 200 percent increase in Iowans seeking abortion care.
+ Stalking and attacks against female athletes and celebrities has continued to rise, with at least 52 stalking cases involving athletes since 2020. Many cases go unreported, even as universities and professional leagues have been forced to increase security for women’s basketball, golf, tennis and other sports.
+ States with abortion bans had a 4 percent drop in OB-GYN practitioners per 100,000 reproductive-age women. They also had a 6.7 percent decline in OB-GYN residency applications, increasing maternity care deserts.
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