Dear John,

As a part of the dismantling of USAID, the Trump administration is destroying $9.7 million in contraceptive supplies, and $800,000 worth of high-energy biscuits—enough to feed 1.5 million children for a week. The supplies, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, were to be shipped to women in some of the most desperate places on the globe—refugee camps and war zones. As Beth Schlachter, a senior director at MSI Reproductive Choices, a group whose offer to pay for the shipment and distribution of supplies was rejected by the State Department, said: “Make no mistake, these actions are intentional and will cost lives.”

The destruction of USAID and dismantling of programs like PEPFAR, the global HIV/AIDS program, is already having devastating consequences around the world, and the suffering that it will cause over time is almost unfathomable. And I don’t need to tell you that women and girls will pay the steepest of costs. Data analyzed by the Fuller Project for the Ms. Summer issue found that the U.S. had contributed significantly more than other countries when it comes to certain sectors impacting women, including “more than half (54 percent) of the foreign assistance provided by all countries for family planning and 45 percent of the aid for reproductive healthcare in 2023.”

In this moment, it’s important to point out the ways in which these policy decisions trickle down—both in terms of their impact on the wellbeing of people around the globe, but also how they seep into the fabric of U.S. culture and society, and embolden the cruelty of others. 

As the Trump administration’s deportation raids have escalated, there have been reports of multiple men in at least three states allegedly posing as immigration enforcement officers in order to perpetrate sexual violence against immigrant women, as Ava Blando and Simone Jacques report in Ms. this week. “We have leadership at the top that dehumanizes people who are immigrants, and now this is the outcome of that dehumanizing,” said the ACLU’s Maribel Hernández Rivera. “People see and hear this and they feel emboldened to go against immigrants.” These are intimidation tactics, meant to keep immigrants—and those who stand up for them—scared and compliant. We cannot give in to fear.

In the midst of it all we have to count all the feminist victories we can. Earlier this week, Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who last year won a case against her husband who had repeatedly drugged her and brought in over 50 men to rape her over the course of years, was named a knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civic honor. Pelicot made the brave decision to go public with her case against her husband, despite the certainty of intense media attention and potential attacks on her. “When you’re raped, there is shame, and it’s not for us to have shame,” she told the court. “It’s for them.”

It’s a reminder that resonates across borders: continued domination is contingent on our shame, on our silence. We will not be ashamed. We cannot be silent. 

For equality, 

Kathy Spillar

Executive Editor

P.S. — In the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, host Carmen Rios traces the feminist fight for bodily autonomy — from Roe to Dobbs and beyond — and explores how feminists are organizing to defend and expand reproductive freedom in this challenging moment, and what lessons from the pages of Ms. can inform our fight forward. Listen now wherever you get podcasts!

Listen to the latest podcast from Ms. Studios! The second episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward is out now on Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

In this episode of “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” host Carmen Rios traces the feminist fight for bodily autonomy — from Roe to Dobbs and beyond — and explores how feminists are organizing to defend and expand reproductive freedom in this challenging moment, and what lessons from the pages of Ms. can inform our fight forward.

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 over 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. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.

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