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
“In the first six months of Trump’s second term, we are seeing a full-scale attack on women’s rights, equality, and the progress we’ve fought for over generations. The dismantling of DEI policies, the erosion of Title IX, and the undermining of reproductive rights are just the beginning. It is clear that Trump’s administration is taking steps to eliminate the protections women have fought so hard to establish. We must fight back with everything we have, through the courts, through state action, and through standing in solidarity with those most at risk. Our rights are not guaranteed, and we must act now before it is irreversible.”
—Dr. Ann Olivarius, a leading women’s rights attorney who played a key role in establishing sexual harassment in education as a violation of Title IX.
“Donald Trump is betraying America’s workers by forcing people to choose between a paycheck and their safety. Slashing basic protections like standards to ensure roofs don’t collapse, minimum wage for home healthcare workers, and proper lighting in a construction site won’t make workers safer or small businesses stronger—it will just make greedy corporations richer. Trump continues to needlessly risk American lives to make it easier for the ultra-wealthy to cut corners and line their own pockets.”
—DNC chair Ken Martin in response to the Trump administration’s plan to roll back worker protections. One of the proposals would allow 3.7 million workers at home care agencies to be paid below minimum wage. Others remove safety requirements on farms, coal mines and more.
“There is no excuse for the world to stand by and watch 2 million human beings suffer on the brink of full-blown famine. This is not a natural disaster triggered by drought or crop failures. It’s a man-made crisis, and there are man-made solutions that could save lives today.
“A starving human being needs food today, not tomorrow. We need to open humanitarian corridors accessible to all aid groups operating in Gaza, to ensure that food, water and medicine can arrive safely and at scale.”
—Chef José Andrés details the urgent policy changes needed to save millions of people in Gaza from starvation. Since the start of the war, his organization World Central Kitchen has prepared and distributed more than 133 million meals across Gaza.
“This move by Gov. Abbott does Trump’s bidding, not for any legitimate constitutional purpose as they claim, but to attempt to win an election before the first ballot has been cast. Hiding it under flood relief from the victims to use them as political cover to rig an election is disgusting. Abbott and his overlord Trump are not the leaders Texans deserve or need. It is cynical, racist, and with clear political intent. This bill would ensure it could never happen again. They can’t win on policies because they’ve stripped millions of healthcare, so they are resorting to their classic playbook: cheating.”
—Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), co-chair of the Voting Rights Caucus, is leading a bill to prevent unnecessary redistricting in between censuses. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and President Trump want to redraw congressional districts to gain five Republican-leaning House seats in the 2026 midterms.
“Despite the overwhelming majority of Americans supporting the legal right to abortion, far-right politicians remain determined to severely restrict access to a critical drug that women across America depend on. Access to federally approved medication should not depend on one’s zip code but unfortunately today’s decision creates that reality for many.”
—Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, spoke out after a federal appeals panel dismissed a challenge to West Virginia’s abortion ban.
“The cruel dismantling of USAID has left women around the world struggling to access contraception. Empty shelves in clinics and pharmacies mean women won’t be able to delay or avoid pregnancy, leaving lives and futures on the line.
“Now, the U.S. State Department is planning to destroy $9.7m of contraceptive supplies, which have already been paid for by the U.S. taxpayer and are destined for women living in some of the most vulnerable communities.
“USAID was accused, without evidence, of wanton waste and inefficiencies, yet now the U.S. State Department seems hellbent on destroying life-saving medical supplies, incurring additional costs for the US taxpayer in the process. Make no mistake, these actions are intentional and will cost lives.”
—Beth Schlachter, MSI Reproductive Choices’ senior director for U.S. external relations. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have introduced a bill preventing the unnecessary destruction of foreign aid food, medicine and medical devices.
“Domestic violence is real. Domestic violence happens in every kind of family.
“For me, it’s just about trying to keep other people from having to go through what we did and for mothers and fathers—there are men that are victims too—to know that there are resources. I want to make sure that there still are places that people can go so that we don’t make it so that people have to stay in those kinds of situations.”
—Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) is sharing her own history with domestic abuse as part of her advocacy to support survivors. She established the congressional Bipartisan Working Group to End Domestic Violence, and is pushing back against new federal restrictions for organization supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
“I was recruited at a very young age. I was not quite 18 at the time. And I met Epstein … the abuse didn’t start until a little bit later. And my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. … I didn’t know where [his] money came from, and I thought that it came from neuroscience. And so when my mom had discovered that she had a brain tumor, I had gone to him and showed him the brain scans. And when I did, that was when everything evolved and the world kind of came crashing down for me in that he said, basically, OK, well, what will you do for this? He had said, you know, I know the top brain surgeons at Mount Sinai. You know, I have all of this power, and I can use it to help you, or I can make it really difficult for your mother.
“For myself, I was a teenager, and I was a young teenager, and I just felt like I had to go along with it for her safety, and so I did. And it was—that was when the abuse turned for me.”
—Danielle Bensky, who encountered Jeffrey Epstein as a young ballerina, speaking out against the Justice Department’s decision to withhold additional documents related to his case. Bensky alleges Epstein sexually abused her, threatened and coerced her.
“I began my massage, trying not to let him smell my fear and obvious discomfort, but before I knew what was happening, he grabbed onto my wrist and tugged me towards the bed. I tried to pull away, but he was unbuttoning my shorts and pulling my body onto his already naked body faster than I could think. I was searching for words but all I could say was, ‘No, please stop,’ but that just seemed to excite him more.”
—Chauntae Davies, another accuser of Epstein, in 2019 in a federal courtroom in New York City.
Milestones
+ House Democrats demanded the Epstein files be released, but Republicans blocked any debate and started August recess early to avoid a vote urging the Department of Justice to publicly release the information.
+ A Texas man is suing a California doctor who allegedly sent abortion pills to his girlfriend. It was filed in federal court and is a potential opportunity for the Supreme Court to strike down “shield laws” that protect doctors in states with legal abortion. His suit cites Texas’s abortion ban and the Comstock Act, an 18th century law that has not been enforced for more than 100 years.
+ Antiabortion medical groups asked RFK Jr. to require patients to get ultrasounds and be seen by providers in-person before receiving mifepristone. They also want to reduce the approved time limit for medication abortions from ten to seven weeks. This would severely limit access to abortion, and is not based on any scientific evidence.
+ Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who wrote the state’s abortion ban, was accused of paying for multiple abortions. Exotic dancer Alex Grace has come forward with the story, stating that she had an affair with Capriglione. Grace explained that his hypocrisy was concerning, because “he now has the power to influence the lives of so many people and potentially in a massively negative way.”
+ An executive order blocked undocumented immigrant families from accessing Head Start and other federal programs for mental health, food and substance abuse designed to help low-income families. A group of Democratic attorneys general have already sued to block the policy.
+ Ninety-three Congressional Democrats called for an Appeals court to prevent immigration enforcement agents from accessing confidential IRS records. “The Trump Administration is attempting to weaponize our tax code to meet arbitrary and draconian immigration enforcement quotas. This misguided ploy will inevitably cost billions of dollars in state and local taxes and result in the unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer data,” said Rep. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
+ Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) reintroduced their bipartisan immigration bill, the Dignity Act. The bill would grant some legal protections to undocumented immigrants, provide a citizenship path for Dreamers, reform the asylum process, modernize border security and increase ICE accountability.
+ A bipartisan group of women Congress members asked the House Appropriations committee to fund the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. They explained that under a quarter of Americans can name a female historical figure, and only 6 percent of monuments honor women.
+ Religious groups are suing the administration over its aggressive anti-immigration policies, which allow ICE raids in and around houses of workship.
+ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is still attempting to sue New York doctor Margaret Carpenter for allegedly prescribing abortion medication to a patient in Texas. Last week, he tried for a second time to force Carpenter to appear in Texas court, but New York’s shield laws protect her.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded, “Attorney General Paxton should focus more on his own private life instead of dictating the personal decisions of women across America. Our response to their baseless claim is clear: no way in hell. New York won’t be bullied. And I’ll never back down from this fight.”
+ The Supreme Court blocked a lower court order, now enabling Trump to move forward with dismantling the Department of Education. Allowing him to get rid of departments established by Congress is an unprecedented expansion of presidential power.
+ A coalition of domestic violence and housing and homelessness organizations sued the administration for DEI and trans rights funding restrictions that threaten services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQ youth and unhoused people.
+ The Justice Department declared that women and girls fleeing human rights violations are no longer “a particular social group” that qualifies for asylum. Immigration judges will still decide on a case-by-case basis, but the administration singling out women will make it easier for judges to reject claims.
“With the stroke of a pen, the administration is attempting to erase decades of progress and drag us back to an era where the persecution of women and girls was seen as inevitable and irrelevant to our refugee protection system,” said Blaine Bookey, legal director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS).
+ A woman in South Carolina faces a felony charge after an 18-week miscarriage, for “desecration of human remains.” She appears to have been reported to child protective services after she went to the hospital for the pregnancy loss. The Palmetto State Abortion Fund raised money for her bail, but if convicted she could be imprisoned for up to ten years.
+ South African runner Caster Semenya won her case at the European Court of Human Rights. They ruled that eligibility requirements that banned her from women’s sports were never properly assessed, and she must now get another hearing at the Swiss Supreme Court. Semenya has naturally high testosterone levels, and regulations set in 2019 require her to reduce those levels to compete.
One judge emphasized that Semenya is at a disadvantage in her legal pursuit for equal rights, “not only as a professional athlete … but also because she is a woman, she is black, and she is from the Global South.”
+ Maryland will use a fund created by the Affordable Care Act to pay for abortion care, including for patients traveling from out of state. They can provide up to $2.5 million in grants, from fees paid by insurers.
+ Missouri Republicans have added an abortion ban to the 2026 ballot, with deceptive language and numbering to hide its actual effects. Lawmakers are also using transphobic bigotry to encourage votes for the ban, which claims it would also “protect” children from transitioning.
+ After bipartisan criticism in Congress, the Trump administration will release $1.3 billion for after-school programs that has been withheld from states. About $5.5 billion remains frozen.
+ The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) launched a digital aid campaign in battleground states, sharing the impact of the “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill with voters.
+ A Kentucky appeals court agreed that Jewish woman Jessica Kalb may continue her suit against the state’s strict abortion ban, which violates her religious beliefs. She argues that defining a fetus as a person at fertilization prioritizes Christian beliefs, and conflicts with the Jewish belief that life begins at birth.
+ In violation of a court order, the Trump administration is refusing to explain how federal agencies are implementing an anti-voting rights executive order.
+ North Carolina Republicans proposed a bill that would prevent election officials from simply encouraging voter turnout. It would also add restrictions for military voters and ban ranked choice voting.
+The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee complied with Trump’s executive order and will exclude trans women from competing in women’s sports.
How We’re Doing
+ A new Digital Resilience Toolkit has extensive resources to help women activists, politicians and journalists respond to online abuse.
+ Sex workers are being targeted by ICE, with police raids on massage parlors and arrests of street vendors increasing since January. But most immigrant rights organizations are not defending migrant sex workers, leaving them at risk of violence and deportation.
+ Only a quarter of American adults say that Trump’s policies have helped them, while half say he’s done more to hurt them. The new poll found that Trump’s approval ratings on immigration have gone down since earlier this year, and 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.
+ Almost two-thirds of Americans, including one-third of Republicans, oppose the recent reconciliation bill. When told about the devastating funding cuts to healthcare and local hospitals, opposition rose to 79 percent.
+ Over the next 10 years, the reconciliation bill signed will cause 10 million people to lose health insurance and increase the deficit by $3.4 trillion.
The law does include $16 billion in new federal tax credits to expand access to childcare. It slightly increases the child tax credit (CTC) and the child and dependent care tax Credit (CDCTC). It also incentivizes businesses to provide childcare for their employees. Some of these tax credits hadn’t been updated in decades, a small win amid many terrible policy provisions.
+ Over the past three months, almost 300,000 Black women left the labor force in the U.S. Their real unemployment rate is now just above 10 percent. This is a result of huge job cuts across public-sector agencies.
More than 51 percent of Black households with children are led by breadwinner mothers, so pushing Black women out of the workforce will impact entire families and communities.
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