By Carrie Baker for Ms. Magazine.
Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration

On Nov. 18, anti-abortion advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the FDA approval of the medication mifepristone in 2000-as well as subsequent updates to the approval in 2016, 2019 and most recently in December 2021, when the agency began allowing clinicians to mail abortion pills to their patients.

The lawsuit alleges the FDA did not have proof of the medication's safety, despite extensive evidence showing abortion pills are safe and effective-more so than many other medications, including over the counter drugs such as Tylenol.

"This is yet another attempt by anti-abortion extremists to force their beliefs on all of us," said Kirsten Moore, director of Expanding Medication Abortion Access Project (EMAA Project), which advocates for increased access to mifepristone for abortion and miscarriage care.

The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit on behalf of four antiabortion medical organizations and several doctors against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ADF represented Mississippi in the case that led the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade and they have helped draft anti-abortion laws adopted in many states.

The 113-page complaint argues the FDA unlawfully fast-tracked the approval of mifepristone in 2000 and did not have the required research to prove the safety of the drug under the labeled conditions of use.

To the contrary, a 2018 Government Accountability Office report concluded that the FDA "followed its standard review process when it approved the application ... for the drug Mifeprex" and "based its approval on reviews of peer-reviewed published studies, articles, and other information submitted by Mifeprex's sponsor." The FDA subsequently conducted extensive reviews of the mifepristone's safety again in 2016.

The ADF complaint regurgitates many of the objections raised by anti-abortion groups to the 2021 modification of the mifepristone approval. The FDA published a 40-page rebuttal letter to these objections, which ADF fails to address in their complaint.

Moore said the anti-abortion movement is trying to "put the genie back into the bottle" and is "trying to undo progress."

"When they look at the courts, they think, 'Why wouldn't the courts be friendly to us even if we are making new things up?' The Supreme Court just overturned a 50-year precedent that took away half the population's fundamental right to control their bodies, so why wouldn't they try?"

The ADF chose to file the case in the Amarillo Division of the Northern District of Texas, where it was assigned to a 45-year-old Trump appointee Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who for five years before becoming a federal judge was deputy general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a Christian conservative legal organization that specializes in representing religious groups claiming they have experienced discrimination.

n 2015, Kacsmaryk wrote an op-ed for the National Catholic Register stating his opposition to same-sex marriage, no-fault divorce, birth control, abortion and sex outside of marriage-and his support for "complementarianism," a religious belief that assigns primary headship roles to men and support roles to women based on their interpretation of certain biblical passages.

"He is an anti-LGBT activist and culture warrior who does not respect the equal dignity of all people," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) during his Senate confirmation hearing, reading from a letter of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "His record reveals a hostility to LGBT equality and to women's health, and he would not be able to rule fairly and impartially in cases involving those issues."

Just last week Kacsmaryk ruled that the Biden administration wrongly interpreted a provision of the Affordable Care Act as barring healthcare providers from discriminating against LGBTQ+ Americans.

Texas is within the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a majority of conservative judges-six of whom were appointed by Trump. This same court repeatedly upheld the Texas bounty hunter law last year.

Most shockingly, the ADF lawsuit asks Judge Kacsmaryk to revive the 1873 Comstock Law, which banned sending obscene literature, contraceptives, abortifacients or any sexual information through U.S. mails. After the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 that people have a fundamental right to access and use contraception, Congress removed the language concerning contraception in 1971, but left the part of the law criminalizing mailing abortifacients and information about abortion.

Before Roe v. Wade, federal courts ruled this part of the law applied only to "unlawful" abortions. After the Roe decision, the Comstock law remained on the books but was not enforced. Now that the Supreme Court has reversed Roe, ADF hopes to bring the law back into effect.

"The law that conservatives used to shut down contraceptive pills at the turn of the century-this is where they want to take us back to," said Moore.

The lawsuit seeks to reverse the increasing availability of medication abortion and telemedicine abortion. In 2020, medication abortion accounted for 54 percent of all pregnancy terminations in the U.S. After a federal court lifted the FDA requirement that clinicians distribute the medication in person in July of 2020, telemedicine abortion services surged across the United States, becoming available in 20 states, expanding further after the FDA permanently lifted the in-person distribution requirement in December of 2021.

Carrie Baker wrote this article for Ms. Magazine.

A lack of reliable transportation for some women veterans in Maine is preventing them from getting the services they need.

The Sisters in Arms Center in Augusta provides these homeless veterans with counseling to heal from the sexual abuse some have suffered in the military.

It's the only center of its kind in the U.S. - but without a vehicle, medical or job interview appointments are often missed.

Executive Director Rebecca Cornell du Houx said one veteran was recently stranded at the hospital when no volunteer drivers were available.

"They're in the parking lot just crying," said Cornell du Houx, "because they can't go from point A to point B, and they had already walked there."

Cornell du Houx said public transportation is limited and can sometimes trigger a veteran's trauma.

She said the Sisters in Arms Center is seeking a donated vehicle, or funds to purchase one to help ensure these women veterans can get back on their feet.

While the number of homeless veterans is down slightly, the number of homeless veterans who are women grew by nearly 24% between 2020 and 2023.

Experts say the high rates of sexual abuse they suffer is one reason. One in three female servicemembers says they experienced sexual trauma while enlisted.

Cornell du Houx said this also puts the women the center serves at a heightened risk for suicide.

"They have tried so hard in order to be able to make a life for themselves through serving this country - and put their country first, put their community, their state first," said Cornell du Houx. "I mean, it doesn't seem like that's happening right now in reverse."

She said local volunteers showered a veteran and her children with gifts during the holiday, and she appreciated those who support the center's mission.

She said she'll soon deploy to the Middle East herself, and said hopes to hire some part-time staff to keep the center open while she's away.





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Voters in Arizona overwhelmingly supported and approved Proposition 139 last week, which enshrines abortion rights into the state's constitution.

The measure will allow abortions up to fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks.

But Fatima Goss Graves - president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center - said while ballot measures expanding access to abortion won in seven of the ten states this election, she contended there are still countless ways to restrict and upend abortion access even further, including nationwide.

"There is a long list of ways to target birth control, to target fertility treatments, to target our ability to control our own bodies, and to be fully equal in this society," said Graves. "We know that road will be long and hard."

Over the weekend Arizona was officially called for former President Donald Trump, awarding him the state's 11 electoral college votes.

Graves said Trump has promised to veto a national abortion ban, and to distance himself from the conservative playbook Project 2025.

She said reproductive rights advocates, like herself, expect the next administration to deliver on those campaign promises.

The state has a number of abortion restrictions and laws that directly conflict with Prop 139.

Until the election results are officially certified by Gov. Katie Hobbs later this month, pro-choice advocates say they'll likely file legal challenges to deem those current restrictions unconstitutional.

In a statement, the It Goes Too Far Campaign - a group opposing the measure - says "the fight against extreme abortion laws will continue."

Monica Simpson is the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

She said while all eyes need to stay on the Trump administration, advocates must also continue to lift up "powerful programs."

"I want us to be able to find a balance in doing that," said Simpson, "and work together as the organizations and entities that we are, to be able to make sure that we give ourselves the power and the fuel that we need over these next four years."

Simpson said while it is crucial to keep an eye out at the policy level, advocacy will also be a key part of the fight moving forward.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Oregon has the third highest percent of women in city government, according to a new report from Rutgers University.

It may be proof of the success of organizations working to support and encourage women to run.

Groups like Emerge Oregon and Vote Run Lead Action train women and nonbinary people to run for office - and win.

Emerge Oregon alums currently hold more than 100 elected positions on city councils, school boards and in the legislature.

Beyond campaigning and fundraising, women receive support to overcome gender-based barriers.

The group's outgoing director, Annie Ellison, noted that the political system wasn't designed with women - particularly women of color - in mind.

"This is a system that was built - like, pretty immaculately - to keep women and women of color out, even if it's not the intention now," said Ellison. "When do we have city council meetings? You know, most of these city council meetings are unpaid, and they're at 7:00 at night. If you're a caregiver, that's bedtime."

But research shows that female elected officials bring more money back to their districts, pass more bipartisan legislation, and get more done overall.

State Director of Vote Run Lead Action, Becca Phelps, said the challenge isn't just getting more women into office - it's keeping them there.

She said in the past few years, several women in the Oregon Legislature have had to leave prematurely or not run again, citing the low pay and added responsibilities of daily life.

This is where organizations can step in to fill these gaps - advocating for higher pay, helping with childcare and transportation costs, even providing emotional support.

"Sometimes," said Phelps, "it's that personal care of having a friend check in on you to see how you're doing when you're an elected leader."

After Tuesday's election, 15 graduates of Emerge Oregon programs may be in the Oregon House and four may hold seats in the Senate.

Ellison added that the biggest barrier women face in running for office is confidence.

"If he can do it, you can do it," said Ellison. "And here's how you're going to do it, and we're going to help you."




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