[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | October 7, 2023
Dear John,
Congress may have averted a government shutdown, with the signing of the last-minute continuing resolution last week—but we’re not in the clear yet. As fights over the budget continue, we’re focusing on what’s at stake for women in these negotiations—from childcare funding, to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Speaking at an event celebrating 50 years of Ms. at the Capitol last week, Rep. Rosa DeLauro called out Republican cuts to programs that impact women first and foremost—like the Department of Labor’s women’s bureau, maternal and child health, Title X funding for family planning, WIC and more—noting that the cuts would be “leaving millions of women and children behind.” “We need to continue to fight,” she said. “Now is the moment to do that.”
Frankly it’s a no-brainer: investments in women and families are good for the economy and good for the country.
Congress also has the opportunity right now to make a big difference in the lives of many Afghan women, by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA). Currently, Afghan people who come to the U.S. are stymied by a complex process that poses many barriers to obtaining permanent citizenship. The AAA would help these refugees—allowing them to apply for green cards.
“Afghan parolees are facing the same challenges as other refugees, such as finding adequate housing and employment, but they are also struggling to find attorneys so that they can apply for a legal status that will allow them to remain,” Homayra Yusufi, acting director of the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, told Ms . “There are not enough lawyers to take on complex asylum cases, and those who do find an attorney still must wait for many months to get an answer, given the major application backlogs facing the government.”
Meanwhile, in a move directly responding to Texas’ SB 8 and other states’ abortion bans, California enacted a law that protects healthcare practitioners located in California who provide telehealth services and dispense medication for abortion, contraception and gender-affirming care to out-of-state patients. California now joins five other states that have passed similar laws.
Now, people in states that have criminalized abortion or gender-affirming care will be able to obtain healthcare from a California clinician via telehealth or videoconferencing and have medication shipped to them from a California pharmacy.
“[H]ealthcare providers physically located in California will be able to offer a lifeline to people in states that have cut off access to essential care, and be shielded from the draconian laws of those states,” said State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), who introduced the bill.
Just this week, Iranian human and women’s rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi has received the Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.” Shortly after Mohammadi authored this Ms. article [[link removed]] in 2021 calling for the end of “white torture”—a form of solitary confinement used in Iranian prisons—she was arrested. She currently remains in prison.
As we mark one year since Mahsa Amini’s death while in custody of the Iranian Guidance Patrol, we are thinking of her, as well as Nasrin Sotoudeh—an Iranian human rights lawyer, who is also currently imprisoned—and all the women of Iran, who continue to tirelessly fight for their rights and dignity at great risk to their lives.
Onward,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
P.S. — We’ve been celebrating our new book 50 Years of Ms. with events across the country—check out MsMagazine.com/book to find out more about where we’re stopping next on our tour, how to join us in celebrating 50 Years of Ms., or to order your own copy. And be sure to RSVP to an event near you to save your seat now—we’ve been seeing sold-out crowds at every stop!
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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California Becomes the Sixth State to Legally Protect Telehealth Abortion and Gender-Care Providers [[link removed]] Single Moms Need Financial Support: ‘The Money We Receive Isn’t Enough to Cover Everything’ [[link removed]]
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Pandemic-Era Childcare Funding Has Officially Run Out. Childcare Providers and Children Will Pay the Price. [[link removed]] Women Need the Afghan Adjustment Act [[link removed]]
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From the Frontlines in Iran: Our Fight for Human Rights and Gender Equality [[link removed]] Why We Must Oppose Solitary Confinement [[link removed]]
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[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]] .
On this week’s episode, we’re continuing our series unpacking the litigation and criminal charges that have been levied at former president Donald Trump: The Trump Indictments. But these indictments don’t just include former president Donald Trump—they also include co-conspirators. Who are they—and what do their cases mean for the case against Trump as a whole?
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 .
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