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By Line search: By CARRIE N. BAKER

By CARRIE N. BAKER

As someone who has taught and fought for women’s rights for close to four decades, I find it intensely frustrating how the Trump administration is weaponizing feminist rhetoric and law to attack women’s rights. Claiming to defend women’s rights, they are eliminating hard-fought gains for women and twisting laws meant to protect women’s rights into tools to destroy them. We are plunging into a world eerily similar to George Orwell’s novel “1984.”

By CARRIE N. BAKER

After World War II, German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller famously said, “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak out for me.” We are watching this happen in real time with the Trump administration.

By CARRIE N. BAKER

On June 22, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion established a half-century before in Roe v. Wade, opening the door to state abortion bans across the country. Today, 12 states prohibit abortion entirely; four states ban abortion at six weeks, two at 12 weeks, and one at 18 weeks.

By CARRIE N. BAKER

Intense political polarization in contemporary American society shapes not only national politics, but local politics as well. It’s happening across partisan boundaries, but also within the left as well as the right. Some people appear to have lost the capacity to disagree without demonizing one another, calling each other names, assuming bad intentions and engaging in character assassination. Examples abound, such as recent personal attacks on social media against Northampton’s mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra; attacks on Amherst school board members that resulted in multiple resignations in 2023; student protesters’ treatment of Smith College’s new president last year; and call outs that led to the cancelation of the 2021 Western Massachusetts Visual Arts and Poetry Biennial.

By CARRIE N. BAKER

In November 2022, a group of anti-abortion doctors and a dentist filed a lawsuit in Amarillo, Texas, challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in 2000. They asked the court to ban the medication...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

On Friday, Oct. 25, at Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, President Joseph Biden delivered a formal apology on behalf of the United States to an assembly of Native American leaders for the genocidal impact of 150 years of U.S. Indian boarding...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

In elections across the country at all levels, Republicans are furiously backpeddling from their hard-line opposition to reproductive rights. There’s no better example of this than just to our north in New Hampshire.The Republican candidate for...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

Last Thursday, the Massachusetts Legislature passed historic legislation (S2899) allowing the licensure of certified professional midwives in the state for the first time and reducing regulatory barriers to the creation of community birthing centers...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

To know what’s coming if Donald Trump wins the fall election, check out Project 2025, the extreme right’s policy agenda and plan of action for the next Republican president. The Heritage Foundation produced Project 2025 with support from a coalition...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

U.S. presidents have a tremendous influence on our rights. As head of the executive branch, presidents are responsible for enforcing civil rights laws. Democratic presidents reliably strengthen reproductive rights, enhance protections against sexual...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

Over the last several years, in response to abortion bans and restrictions, advocates around the country have developed an alternative supply network for abortion pills outside of the medical system and the law. As a lawyer and law-abiding citizen, I...

By CARRIE N. BAKER

In the wake of growing Republican restrictions on reproductive rights, Democrats in many states are introducing bills to protect access to contraception. In response, Republicans are blocking these bills, going on record as opposed to contraception....

By CARRIE N. BAKER

During the summer after my sophomore year of college, I worked as a waitress in a West Hartford diner. I earned $2.13 an hour plus tips. I had to smile at nasty customers all day long to get the tips I relied on to pay rent for a room at the YWCA in...