By Jennifer Weitz-Wolf for Ms. Magazine.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Georgia News Connection reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration

With Sen. Raphael Warnock's reelection in Georgia, any lingering conservative hopes for a red wave have been dashed. The 2022 midterms have made clear that abortion rights loom large for voters despite pundits' misplaced predictions of a singularly inflation-obsessed electorate. In the end, the inflation-fueled red wave, the Internet joked, was more akin to "mid-cycle spotting."

It isn't surprising that period humor was the go-to response. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. v. Wade last summer, the national discourse has been more frank than ever about the bloodiest of bodily functions.

To start, we've had to correct politicians' plain ignorance about menstrual cycles, including comments made by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who initially misstated that S.B.8's six-week ban on abortion "provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion." (It does not. As commentators reminded the governor, a person is at least four weeks pregnant upon a first missed period, meaning they have two weeks at best to obtain an abortion.)

Since the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, more and more women have felt compelled to go public with myriad aspects of their own reproductive lives.

Miscarriage, for example, while a common occurrence, has long been something endured privately (for better or for worse). But now there's new urgency to shine light on the experience, and especially to flag the prevalence of abortion as a standard medical intervention for it, as well as for ectopic and unviable pregnancies. Celebrity Chrissy Teigen recently reflected on her 2020 pregnancy loss at 20 weeks: "Let's just call it what it was: It was an abortion. An abortion to save my life for a baby that had absolutely no chance."

Even menopause-among the most taboo of women's health topics-has been subject to public airing. Former First Lady Michelle Obama shared with People magazine her frustration with the lack of systemic support for a normal, inevitable health transition-one that can span the better part of a decade and comes with its own array of debilitating symptoms and challenges.

Perhaps one silver lining of Dobbs has been creating space for women to openly and deliberately trace the arc of their reproductive lives-in public. Back in 2018, a New York Times article entitled "Getting Real About Periods, Childbirth, Menopause and More" underscored the inherent interconnectedness of these milestones and expounded on the myriad ways "women's health issues and biological processes have long been shrouded in secrecy and shame. Who among us hasn't hidden our pad or tampon, lest we appear unattractive or messy? The result: We feel alone, often at a young age, when we are anything but."

Of course, the problem isn't just that we feel alone. We indeed have been left all alone, our bodies overlooked by the law and undermined by the courts. We're left to implore doctors to acknowledge our pain and to provide treatment. To suffer economic detriment or discrimination. To endure isolation and emotional upheaval. And even, quite literally, to fight to save our own lives.

The culture of secrecy and shame that surrounds women's reproductive health begets persistent silence. And, eventually, that silence results in an onslaught of personal harm-a cumulative cascade of inequities that go unaddressed throughout our lives and that amount to a less just, less equal, less humane society. This is the landscape that the Dobbs decision would have us inhabit.

But it doesn't have to be so. We can, and must, draw links to all reproductive markers in order to address the real-and for too long unspoken-health crises that American women face.

We've been heartened to see leaders in the private sector attempting to fill the breach. Corporate coalitions like Don't Ban Equality are not only helping companies include abortion access in their employee benefit programs, but contextualizing abortion within a broader array of reproductive care that includes miscarriage management, assisted fertility treatments, prenatal and postpartum support, contraception, menstrual health and menopause.

Although lawmakers have emphasized the need for legislation like the federal Women's Health Protection Act that would codify abortion rights, our policy goals must be more expansive. Our policymaking must simultaneously prioritize other critical aspects of reproductive health. This means supporting legislation like the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, the Menopause Research Act and the Menstrual Equity For All Act, all of which focus on important-and underserved-aspects of reproductive health. The sum of all of these parts surely would create a stronger whole for women's lives and well-being.

As advocates, scholars and providers now work to reimagine and rebuild what meaningful reproductive care looks like in this country, we have an opportunity to be more holistic in addressing the full continuum of women's reproductive lives. Private sector interventions and public policy solutions must reflect those intersections. Period. Full stop.

Jennifer Weitz-Wolf wrote this article for Ms. Magazine.


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With concerning trends emerging for pregnant and postpartum women, frustration is growing that Idaho lawmakers could end the session without addressing these issues.

The maternal mortality rate doubled each year between 2019 and 2021 in Idaho. The state also ranks last for income eligibility for pregnant women on Medicaid.

House Bill 201 would have extended Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months after birth but has not received a hearing.

Hilarie Hagen, health policy associate at Idaho Voices for Children, said a large coalition of health care organizations, providers and families supported the legislation.

"Providing access to affordable health coverage helps reduce maternal mortality rates, improves birth outcomes, and Idaho's maternal health trends are going to continue on their downward trajectory every year we don't take action," Hagen stressed.

Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, said he was supportive of the bill, and he had received a number of calls in support of it. However, Vander Woude noted the committee will not hold a hearing on it this session because he believes the Legislature has to get control of the Medicaid budget first.

This week, Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint announced it would no longer deliver babies because of a provider shortage. The hospital also cited Idaho's legal and political climate as part of the reason for closing its maternity ward.

Hagen pointed out the provider shortage has become exacerbated in recent years.

"We are increasingly seeing providers choose to leave the state because of policy decisions made by Idaho lawmakers," Hagen asserted. "It's really discouraging to see that we are reducing access for moms and their babies."

Another measure unlikely to pass this session is House Bill 81, which would have extended the federally funded Maternal Mortality Review Committee passed its sunset date in July. Hagen emphasized Idaho will be the only state in the nation without a Maternal Mortality Review Committee.


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Research from The University of Utah explores the physical- and mental-health implications of social belonging in women.
Study author Lisa Diamond said disproportionately high mental- and physical-health problems among marginalized people have been written off as "minority stress," the cumulative chronic stress experienced because of discrimination and unfair treatment and said the missing piece is what is known as "social safety," the reliable social connections, belonging and sense of protection individuals foster in their social networks.

Through her research, Diamond found women who occupied one or more marginalized categories such as those relating to race, sexuality and gender reported significantly lower social safety, leading to a greater risk for physical and mental problems.

"That sense that you have people around you that are connected to you, invested in you, that you matter to. That feeling is a critical component of human health," she said. "It is not optional. It's not like the icing on a cake. It's the cake."

Diamond added the mental and physical effects one can endure do not depend so much on what type of marginalization they experiences, but rather from the mere fact of being discriminated against and misunderstood. She said a crucial aspect to good mental and physical health is ensuring access to safe and affirmative social ties.

Diamond said the unpredictable and unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic ripped everyone's social safety right out from under them, leaving many feeling isolated. She added while remote work and online school ushered in by the pandemic have their benefits, many are still struggling to recuperate the sense of safety and normalcy they lost which has made many deficient to the "basic nourishment of affirmative social connection."

"We should think carefully about the way we structure our days and our lives, and make sure that we are prioritizing the face-to-face connections that are meaningful to us. We need that, a lot more than we thought we did," she said.

She encouraged state policymakers and community leaders to adopt what she calls a "safety first" approach which begins by identifying whether an individual has access to relationships and people who can provide them with affirmation, protection and belonging.


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New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show another increase in the nation's maternal mortality rate, and a Minnesota expert says there are several underlying factors.

The report, released last week, covers data from 2021. That year, deaths of pregnant women or new mothers in the U.S. went up by nearly 40% over the previous year.

The agency says it follows gradual increases leading up to the pandemic as well.

Dr. Stephen Contag is an associate professor in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine division at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He said improved reporting is playing a role.

But he added that there are other issues at play.

"Disparities in transportation," said Contag. "Getting to health care. Or differences in the number of obstetricians or health providers that can provide that care to patients in certain parts of the country."

The findings show that Black women are especially affected by this issue. The maternal mortality rate for this population rose by nearly 70%, compared with nearly 25% for white women.

Some health experts say COVID-19 likely played a role in the 2021 spike, and that the big jump may have peaked. But there's concern the other factors will keep pressure on these rates.

The maternal death disparities have been documented in Minnesota as well. Contag said he sees hope in reversing trends, including changing how the state's Maternal Mortality Review Committee works.

The panel is now operating under a mandate.

"Now that we have that mandate," said Contag, "it's much easier to obtain the information that we need to review these cases in a fair manner."

He suggested that will lead to more recommendations that get to the root causes of these deaths.

And earlier this year, a new Minnesota law took effect, expanding postnatal care by requiring public and private health plans to cover a series of care visits for up to 12 weeks after a baby is delivered.

Two of those visits would have to involve comprehensive care.




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