Attacks on Women Continue Unabated

The fight for bodily autonomy is one and the same as the fight for the body politic.

At least every few weeks, I think it is essential to zero in on abortion rights and the array of attacks happening in real time throughout this country. The headlines may not always be above the fold, but that doesn’t make the reality any less dire — not for the people whose health and lives are at risk, and not for what it says about and means for the health of our democracy. The Contrarian always makes clear: The fight for bodily autonomy is one and the same as the fight for the body politic.

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash

Here we go:

Ohio legislators proposed a state-run pregnancy registry straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale. Championed by Rep. Jean Schmidt, a female Assembly Member (on brand for the literary comparison), the bill would mandate that healthcare providers file a certificate of life with the state Department of Health on behalf of every pregnant patient whose fetus has a “heartbeat.” (Language flag: Fetal cardiac activity that can be detected usually around the six-week mark of pregnancy is not the equivalent of a fetal heartbeat, though the two are constantly conflated in anti-abortion legislation.) The bill also requires certification of fetal deaths after 20 weeks, including an attestation of how the pregnancy ended and any indication if it was “suspicious or violent,” in which case a coroner or medical examiner would then have to assess. What could go wrong?

Creepiness of this legislation aside, along with the vast potential for criminalization, know that abortion rights are constitutionally protected in Ohio — achieved in a big, public victory in November 2023. Not only did Ohio voters overwhelmingly pass a constitutional amendment enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution, but voters also prevailed in repeated attempts by state Republicans to stymie the amendment by subverting the democratic process. Recall the hastily organized special election that summer to try to raise the threshold for passing a citizen-led amendment from a simple majority to a 60 percent supermajority.

Even if this obscene registry were to pass now, it would certainly fail in the courts. But that’s hardly the point. No, it is state lawmakers devoted to following an authoritarian playbook — craven, continuous moves to degrade and harm women while making a mockery of the rule of law, just like their federal counterparts — that we must continue to oppose.

Meanwhile, Kansas lawmakers aim to revise their state constitution to ban abortion by, get this, masquerading the proposal as an equal rights amendment — to “clearly guarantee the equal rights of men and women, beginning at conception.” Again, lawmakers’ attempts to misinform the public and circumvent democratic decision making is the real story: The state supreme court previously ruled that the state constitution protects abortion (under a woman’s right to personal autonomy); Kansas voters subsequently defeated a ballot measure – by a huge margin, 59 percent — that would have changed the constitutional provision and opened the door to an abortion ban. “Continued efforts to revisit that choice show us precisely what these politicians think of Kansas voters,” Taylor Morton of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes told local press. “Kansans know better, and we trust them to see this for what it is — an attack on their rights.”

Missouri, another state where voters successfully amended the state constitution to guarantee expanded abortion rights, similarly faces a legislative attempt to reverse that win. The language of a new 2026 ballot measure — drafted to be vague, even given the same number as the prior one, Amendment 3 — has been challenged in court. The additional twist: Its deliberate pairing with a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which is already against the law in the state. Talk about a cynical ploy to distract and divide and marginalize. (This is a great summary.)

Add to the tally another thirteen states under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, which announced last week that it would go after any state-regulated health insurance plan that covers abortion — claiming a violation of a federal health refusal clause (the Weldon Amendment) and “coercing” healthcare entities into providing abortion care. The targeted states are California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

And finally, a breaking headline about a Georgia U.S. Army veteran, also the mother of a 6- and 9-year-old, who was arrested and faces drug and murder charges in connection to alleged usage of abortion pills. Earlier this week she was released (bond for the murder charge mercifully set at one dollar). Local reporting here offers comprehensive coverage of the story to date.

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The past week was tough for many reasons. I was deeply moved by Maria Cardona’s Contrarian essay reflecting on one of the leading stories: Dolores Huerta’s courage in coming forward recently detail the abuse she said she endured decades ago at the hands of César Chávez. Among a lifetime of accomplishments and impact, Huerta still today is a board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation, the nonprofit publisher of Ms. Magazine, with which I am also proudly affiliated. Ms. put out a beautiful round-up of statements of colleagues and leaders, Cardona included, who demonstrate exactly what it looks like to “believe survivors, confront harm within movements, and ensure that no legacy outweighs accountability.” Please have a read. Among the entries are:

Mónica Ramírez, Founder, Justice for Migrant Women: “I am thinking of so many people who shaped this movement, including Dolores Huerta, and the many women whose contributions and experiences are part of its history. Movements are possible because of the millions of people who make them possible, not because of one person or one leader. This moment calls on all of us to ensure that people who have been harmed are supported, and that accountability is not set aside to protect legacy. Our responsibility now is to move forward with integrity: to seek truth, support survivors, and ensure that our work reflects the values we claim to uphold. May we remain loyal to the cause of justice.”

Ijeoma Oluo, activist and author: “I hope speaking out will bring some measure of peace and healing, but Dolores Huerta deserves so much more than that. She deserves justice, and we need to investigate why so many women who are the heartbeats of our movements are made to pay so dearly and are failed by the community so deeply.”

Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward: “Huerta has always been an icon, an inspiration and a shero. Today, in her 90s she continues to lead by speaking out. Her voice probably ensured that others’ stories were told. Thank you, Dolores, for your courage and for leading by example.”

Monica Simpson, Executive Director, SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective: “Reproductive justice demands that we have the human right to bodily autonomy and to live and work in safe, healthy communities. That has to include our movements, too. We stand with Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguía, Debra Rojas, and all survivors. We’re committed to building movements where no one has to carry harm or abuse in silence just to keep the work going. Our movements are bigger than one person, they belong to the people who build and sustain them.”

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU School of Law. She also leads strategy and partnerships at Ms. Magazine.

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