On Jan. 29, President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which restricts discussions on race, gender, and LGBTQ+ issues in public schools. Instead, schools are directed to focus on “patriotic education,” which should be grounded in “an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America’s founding and foundational […]
Over 100 Organizations Urge Congress to Reverse Trump’s Executive Order on Refugee Resettlement
A coalition of 123 national, state, and local organizations from across the United States (U.S.) is calling on Congress to rescind President Trump’s executive order “Realigning USRAP.” The executive order has suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and frozen humanitarian assistance to millions of people needing assistance. The Feminist Majority Foundation, among the signatories, […]
Guantánamo Bay Revived as Immigration Detention Site, Raising Human Rights Concerns
The current administration has begun transferring migrants to Guantánamo Bay, reviving one of the darkest chapters in U.S. immigration policy. The decision to detain people, many of them fleeing violence and poverty, at a military base long criticized for human rights abuses raises serious legal and ethical concerns. Reports indicate that the first group of […]
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research Hosts Briefing to Outline Path towards Equality
Panelists at the IWPR briefing (Marisa Conners) On Wednesday, Feb. 5, The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) hosted an event titled “2025 Federal Policy Solutions to Advance Gender Equity,” where policymakers, experts and advocates gathered to strategize on the urgent need to safeguard and expand women’s rights. The panelists included President of the National […]
Voice in Sport Holds Briefing in Support of the Fair Play for Women Act
Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash On National Women in Sports Day 2025, the Voice in Sport Foundation held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss the Fair Play for Women Act, which would address the inequalities in sports between men and women. VIS is an organization dedicated to providing a voice for women […]
The SAVE Act: A Voter Suppression Tactic Disguised as Election Integrity
Photo from Unsplash Under the guise of “election integrity,” new legislation threatens to create unnecessary barriers to voting. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21) introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, H.R. 22 in early January, with a vote expected in the coming weeks. This legislation is yet another attempt to suppress the votes of marginalized […]
Pennsylvania Court Case Could Reshape the State’s Medicaid Abortion Coverage
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania re-heard a civil case against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The case, Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, represents a decades-long fight by reproductive health organizations to remove Medicaid restrictions on abortion funding. Medicaid is a government-funded health insurance program that […]
Trump Reinforces the Hyde Amendment, Making Reproductive Rights More Precarious
During his first few weeks in office, President Trump has moved towards imposing a ‘domestic gag rule’ on abortion access. This past Friday, Jan. 31, he signed an Executive Order “to end the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.” The order primarily aims to reinforce the Hyde Amendment, a policy […]
Missouri Republican Introduces Federal Abortion Ban in the House
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) has introduced a new bill in the House, the so-called “Life at Conception Act” (HR 722), which would ban abortion across the nation. According to a press release from Burlison’s office on Jan. 24, “This landmark legislation declares that unborn children are ‘persons’ under the 14th Amendment to the United States […]
Louisiana Indicts New York Abortion Provider For Mailing Abortion Pills To Louisiana Patient
In the first case of its kind since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a Louisiana grand jury has indicted Dr. Maggie Carpenter, the New York OB-GYN whom Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also sued for prescribing telehealth abortion pills to a Texas woman. On Jan. 31, Louisiana indicted Dr. Carpenter and issued an arrest […]
Trump Offers Buyout to Federal Employees
On January 28, the Trump administration sent a letter to all federal employees outlining a buyout scheme called “Deferred Resignation.” According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, this program would allow federal employees to resign between now and February 6, with the resignation taking effect on September 30. In the meantime, employees would be […]
Trump’s Federal Aid Cuts Met With Resistance
Two federal judges have blocked the Trump Administration’s efforts to cut all federal grant and loan programs. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan paused the cuts last Tuesday for a week to allow for full arguments on it. U.S District Judge John J. McConnell followed suit on Friday, siding with a coalition of 22 states. “The […]
Picture Books Pulled from Shelves as Book Bans Rise
In a new report, PEN America has revealed the top banned picture books during the 2023-2024 school year. Among these 23 titles, many center on LGBTQ+ themes, U.S. history, and diversity. PEN America defines a school book ban as “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent […]
Trump Reinstates Global Gag Rule, an Assault on Women’s Health around the World
Photo from Unplash Donald Trump has begun his second term in office by signing an executive order that prevents foreign organizations receiving U.S. global health assistance from providing information, referrals, or services for legal abortion, or advocating for access to abortion services in their country. This policy is widely known as “The Global Gag Rule.” […]
Trump’s Pardons of 23 Antiabortion Extremists Endanger Providers and Patients
Capitol Police prepare to arrest Lauren Handy, third from left, of Anti-Choice Project D.C., and other antiabortion demonstrators, who participated in a “pray-in” outside the office of then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to protest a canceled House vote that would ban abortions after 20 weeks on March 25, 2015. (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) *adapted […]
Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Secretary of Defense Despite Troubling Allegations
Photo from Unsplash Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as the United States Secretary of Defense represents a significant and deeply troubling moment for women’s rights, government accountability, and public service integrity. Despite widespread criticism over his history of alleged violence against women, inflammatory rhetoric, and divisive behavior, Hegseth was confirmed after a 50-50 Senate vote, with Vice […]
IVM: An Advancement for Reproductive Health
Photo by Amr Taha™ on Unsplash Amid nationwide attacks on reproductive health and justice, a new fertility treatment provides hope to those trying to conceive. It’s called in vitro maturation (IVM), and it mirrors most of the procedures of in vitro fertilization (IVF), with one key difference: doctors collect immature eggs instead of mature ones. […]
Eligible Afghan Refugees Denied Access to Resettlement Following Trump’s Executive Orders
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump introduced a slew of executive orders including the swift signing of an order suspending the resettlement of all refugees to the United States for an indefinite period of time. As a direct effect of this order, more than 1,600 Afghans who had been approved by the U.S. Government to […]
Study Shows Potential in a New Drug That Could Increase Accessibility to Medication Abortion
Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash A recent proof-of-concept study from The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found promising results for a new medication abortion drug. While there are already established medication abortion regimens around the globe, primarily the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, mifepristone is fairly limited and pricey, making it […]
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump From Ending Birthright Citizenship
Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash On Thursday, January 23, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, or automatic American citizenship for all babies born in the United States. The executive order—called Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship—was part of the flurry of anti-immigrant EOs Trump signed on his […]