Planned Parenthood removes its president, Dr. Leana Wen, less than a year after she became head of the organization. Dr. Wen’s departure comes during an increased battle for abortion rights. Red states across the country have passed restrictive anti-abortion laws. On Monday, the Trump administration began enforcing a rule barring taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. PP ousted Wen because the organization is “seeking a more political approach," according to the NYT

After winning the World Cup, the U.S. women’s team sparks conversation surrounding equal pay for female athletes. According to ESPN, the women's team will receive $30 million in prize money for winning the World Cup while the men's FIFA winner received about $400 million last year. Rapinoe, top scorer and tournament M.V.P., previously caught President Trump’s attention after stating she “wasn’t going to the f**king White House” if the team won

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces it will cut funding for research involving tissue from aborted fetuses

After Georgia passed a strict anti-abortion law, Netflix and Disney say they may stop filming in the state. Both media companies rely heavily on the conservative state as a location to shoot

Louisiana joins other conservative states Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio in passing "heartbeat bills" into law. A heartbeat bill bans abortion after six to eight weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat is first detected. Heartbeat laws violate Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. By passing these bills, the states are hoping to challenge Roe at the Supreme Court 

As social conservatives continue to repeal abortion rights in various states, 2020 Democratic candidates, especially women, loudly express their disapproval, catapulting the issue into the national conversation

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signs a bill into law that bans abortion in nearly all instances. Alabama's outright ban on abortion is a step further than the "Heartbeat bills" passed by other conservative states this year  

A judge blocks the Trump administration's rollback of an Obama-era order requiring companies to report statistics on pay by race and gender

During her speech at the Oscars, tennis player Serena Williams unveils a new Nike ad in which she pushes back against female stereotypes, and responds to a recent match in which she was penalized for lashing out in frustration at the referee

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court temporarily prevents a restrictive abortion law from going into effect. The law would have likely left the state with only one abortion provider. The Supreme Court will likely take up a formal challenge to the law during its next term which starts later this year

In a visual protest of the Trump administration’s policies affecting women, newly elected female representatives wear white for the president’s second State of the Union address. Nancy Pelosi, seated behind Trump, seems to express her frustration with Trump through a variety of physical reactions. Amidst a government shutdown, Trump and Pelosi’s contentious relationship becomes more heated 

Three years after Trump was sworn in as president, women across the U.S. march to advocate for the rights of women, people of color, immigrants and the LGBTQ community. While turnout is high, the group has grappled with allegations of anti-semitism directed at some of its leadership, leading some to question the authenticity of the organization's mission 

Judge Haywood S. Grant of the U.S. District Court of Oakland, California grants a request from 13 states to stall a Trump Administration revision of the Affordable Care Act. The revisions would allow employers to opt-out of providing free contraceptives to female employees

Democrats, in control of the lower chamber, re-elect California Democrat Nancy Pelosi to be the next Speaker of the House. In her acceptance speech, Pelosi remarks on the divisiveness of the current political climate and pledges to promote bipartisanship. This will be her second term as Speaker of the House. When Pelosi raised the gavel for the first time in 2007, she became the first woman to ever hold the position