[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
October 29, 2025
From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.
The Trump Administration’s Latest Power Play: Starving Americans to Secure Democrats’ Submission [[link removed]]
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(Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
By Abby J. Leibman | As the federal government lurches toward a second month of shutdown, SNAP is dominating the headlines. In a moment marked by fear, confusion and misinformation, the Trump administration and Republican leaders in Congress are offering plenty of inflammatory rhetoric—but little real problem-solving.
Over the weekend, USDA posted the following banner on its website:
“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
First, this appears to be a blatant violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for political purposes—including partisan statements like this.
Second, the Republicans in this Congress and administration are the first in decades to dismantle the longstanding bipartisan support for SNAP. The USDA seems to have conveniently forgotten that just months ago, the Republican-led Congress took an axe to the program, enacting the largest cuts in its history. As if that weren’t enough, they shifted millions of dollars in costs to the states—so much so that several have already warned they may be forced to eliminate the program altogether.
This is no small slip. And yes, I’m looking at you, Russell Vought.
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Millions Face Sharp Increases in ACA Premiums if Enhanced Tax Credits Expire [[link removed]] New California Shield Law Protects Abortion Pill Patients, Prescribers and Pharmacists [[link removed]]
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Trump’s IVF Announcement Fails Families—But Duckworth’s Right to IVF Act Could Deliver [[link removed]] One in Three U.S. Women Is Stalked. A Harvard Study Is Finally Talking About It. [[link removed]]
What we're reading:
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
* "Government shutdown imperils dozens of Head Start preschool programs” — AP [[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]] .
This last Supreme Court term was harrowing—from momentous merits decisions about the First Amendment, parental rights, trans rights and more, to the stream of shocking “shadow docket” decisions and its enabling of many of the Trump administration’s executive actions. What does the 2025-2026 term have in store for our nation? What do we think will advance through the Court? What do we think will come up, when it comes to the shadow docket? And perhaps most importantly, how will the Court choose to mediate the Trump administration’s continued onslaught of executive actions?
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