Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights

October 19, 2022

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.

Abortion and Equal Rights Are Top Drivers of Young Women’s Vote in Battleground States

A woman puts her ballot into a drop box outside the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk, Calif. on Sept. 14, 2021, during the state’s recall election. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

BY ROXY SZAL | Among young women voters ages 18-29 in the battleground states, abortion and women’s rights are the most important and highly motivating issues in determining their vote, according to new Ms. magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) polling by Lake Research Partners across the nine battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“Despite constant reports in the media on inflation and rising prices as the top issues in this election, abortion and women’s rights are actually the most important for young women as they head to the ballot box,” said Katherine Spillar, executive editor of Ms.

Among women voters of all ages in the battleground states, abortion and women’s rights are tied with inflation and rising prices in determining their votes, according to the Ms. and FMF poll of all women voters.

“The overturning of Roe v. Wade has lit a fire under women voters, and especially young women voters, who have the power to determine close elections,” said Spillar.

(Click here to read more)

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Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

Lawyer and writer Dahlia Lithwick returns to the show for an intimate conversation with Dr. Goodwin about the Supreme Court, her career, and new book, Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America. They dive deep about the women saving America and why Dahlia Lithwick says she “quit the Court” after the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

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