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Melissa Gira Grant

Melissa Gira Grant is a staff writer at The New Republic, the author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work (published by Verso), and the co-director of They Won’t Call It Murder (executive produced by Field of Vision). She was a senior reporter at The Appeal, and a contributing writer at The Village Voice and Pacific Standard.


All Articles
June 27, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
$100 Million for Abortion Rights—With a Lot of Questions
Abortion Access Now launched this week to much fanfare. But it’s not clear how their proposals differ from what’s already out there.
June 19, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Call Attacks on Pride What They Are: Political Violence
Threats and anti-LGBTQ+ harassment at Pride events are increasingly inseparable from other political developments.
June 14, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Republicans Can—and Will—Keep Trying to Ban Mifepristone
The Supreme Court shot down a lousy argument from a fabricated plaintiff. But anti-abortion groups still have other paths to ban medication abortion.
June 11, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
No One Should Be Confused About Where Trump Stands on Abortion
Trump’s remarks to a Christian-right audience on Monday may contradict the reigning political narrative. But they weren’t surprising.
June 5, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
The Real Reason for Louisiana’s New Mifepristone Law
Most of the rationale for making mifepristone and misoprostol controlled substances is gibberish. Groups are targeting these drugs because they offer a way around abortion bans.
May 22, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Both Biden and Trump Are in Denial About Abortion Politics
Media narratives about how abortion will help or hurt each candidate ignore a simple truth.
May 9, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Dobbs Was a Gift to Domestic Abusers
Homicide is a leading cause of death in the perinatal period. But just as troublingly, abusers can use abortion bans to prevent partners from leaving or retaliate against them if they do.
May 2, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Stop Reading Tea Leaves. We Know What Trump Intends on Abortion.
A Time magazine interview includes all of the former president’s usual evasion. But, as ever, there’s a through line.
April 30, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
What Florida’s New Abortion Ban Will Cost—Literally
Abortion funds are struggling to prepare for much more expensive travel and procedures.
April 25, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
This 1873 Law Could Be Used to Ban Abortion. Why Not Repeal It?
Some Democrats reportedly want to introduce a bill to protect the right to abortion against the antiquated Comstock Act. But others are hesitating.
April 17, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
The Supreme Court Has Ruled, and Idaho’s Trans Teens Will Suffer
What may seem like a temporary, narrow ruling on Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors will have lasting repercussions.
April 16, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
There Is No “Moderate” Republican Position on Abortion
Donald Trump and Kari Lake are two recent examples of Republicans distancing themselves from extreme bans. Don’t believe the hype.
April 10, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Republicans Are Running Scared From Their Own Abortion Positions
145 Republicans in Congress say they want to enforce the 151-year-old law. We asked a handful of them about the consequences. None replied.
March 28, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
The Telling Backstory of One Doctor-Plaintiff in the Mifepristone Case
Tyler Johnson used his position as state senator to try to get a serious malpractice suit sealed, and has a long history of trying to ban health care he disapproves of.
March 26, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Two Supreme Court Justices Favor Zombie Law From 1873 to Ban Abortion
Justices Alito and Thomas just lent credibility to the Christian right’s attempt to revive the Comstock Act.
March 20, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
“Restore Roe!” Is a Bad Rallying Cry
Democrats seem to think ballot initiatives will juice turnout and help Joe Biden. But these initiatives aren’t the best way to defend reproductive rights.
March 14, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
The Right-Wing Attack on Democracy Is Not Limited to Donald Trump
Attacks on abortion rights and LGBTQ rights are part of a broader assault on democratic norms.
March 13, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Ron DeSantis’s Anti-LGBTQ Regime Is Crumbling
A court settlement has curtailed the “Don’t Say Gay” law while multiple anti-gay bills stall in the legislature.
March 7, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Who Exactly Is Behind the Supreme Court’s Big Mifepristone Case?
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine claims to be an organization of doctors worried about mifepristone. The paper trail is more ambiguous.
February 28, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Florida’s New Driver’s License Rule Is Blatant Trans Voter Suppression
Forcing people to out themselves at the polls is a surefire way to deter trans voters.

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