Lauren MacIvor Thompson
@lmacthompson1.bsky.social
Historian of birth control/suffrage/abortion law and policy. Book: "Women's Votes, Doctors' Rights: The Making of the American Birth Control Movement" coming soon with Rutgers UP. Asst Prof @kennesawstate; Fellow @GSU_HealthLaw; @UVa alum
Always appreciate the sharp analysis of @amandamarcotte.bsky.social
I'll add this about Erika Kirk: You, ma'am, are no Phyllis Schlafly.
I'll add this about Erika Kirk: You, ma'am, are no Phyllis Schlafly.
This week is the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's shooting.
We can safely say now that his legacy is a joke. His face is mostly dumb memes.
His alleged friends use his killing as cheap entertainment.
Erika clearly failed. I look at why.
www.salon.com/2026/09/08/w...
We can safely say now that his legacy is a joke. His face is mostly dumb memes.
His alleged friends use his killing as cheap entertainment.
Erika clearly failed. I look at why.
www.salon.com/2026/09/08/w...
Why Erika Kirk failed as Turning Point USA’s leader
One year after Charlie Kirk's death, the organization is a joke — even on the right
www.salon.com
September 9, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Always appreciate the sharp analysis of @amandamarcotte.bsky.social
I'll add this about Erika Kirk: You, ma'am, are no Phyllis Schlafly.
I'll add this about Erika Kirk: You, ma'am, are no Phyllis Schlafly.
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
I'm chairing this search committee for an assistant prof of the history of science/science, tech, and society! Applications due September 1. Please be in touch with any questions, DMs open and grao at american edu
Come be my colleague! American University's History Department is searching for a tenure-track assistant professor of science, tech and society. I am chair of the search and pleased to answer any questions either on here or email (grao at american)
american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...
american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...
Assistant Professor
American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meani...
american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
August 12, 2026 at 7:58 PM
I'm chairing this search committee for an assistant prof of the history of science/science, tech, and society! Applications due September 1. Please be in touch with any questions, DMs open and grao at american edu
PSA! 1. follow @autonomynews.co. you'll get sharp reporting from two of the best in the biz: @garnethenderson.com and @susanrinkunas.com. 2. Susan B. Anthony herself was anti-Comstock law 🙄 3. The Comstock Act was never meant to be an abortion ban. Comstock himself said it. These folks are delulu.
NEW: Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had remained silent amid growing calls to enforce the 19th-century law as an abortion ban. That silence ended on Friday.
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
‘A Big Deal’: Top Anti-Abortion Group Endorses Comstock Act As a Nationwide Ban
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had remained silent amid growing calls to enforce the 19th century anti-obscenity law as an abortion ban. That silence ended on Friday.
www.autonomynews.co
August 12, 2026 at 8:43 PM
PSA! 1. follow @autonomynews.co. you'll get sharp reporting from two of the best in the biz: @garnethenderson.com and @susanrinkunas.com. 2. Susan B. Anthony herself was anti-Comstock law 🙄 3. The Comstock Act was never meant to be an abortion ban. Comstock himself said it. These folks are delulu.
Anthony is not even on the record whatsoever about being against abortion, as “pro-life,” or in favor of strict abortion. She was anti-Comstock. This SBA group is so full of it. Anthony was a suffragist, not an abortion crusader. Its wielding the worst kind of history because its flat WRONG
Conservatives claim they want to use the dormant Comstock Act to end online ordering of abortion pills, but that's hiding the ball. They can't just limit this sweeping law to mifepristone and misoprostol—it would end all in-clinic abortions too, as @maryrziegler.bsky.social told @autonomynews.co
NEW: Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had remained silent amid growing calls to enforce the 19th-century law as an abortion ban. That silence ended on Friday.
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
August 12, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Anthony is not even on the record whatsoever about being against abortion, as “pro-life,” or in favor of strict abortion. She was anti-Comstock. This SBA group is so full of it. Anthony was a suffragist, not an abortion crusader. Its wielding the worst kind of history because its flat WRONG
The thing that is so frustrating (having just finished writing an entire damn book about the suffragists and their views on abortion and birth control) is that Susan B Anthony herself was no fan of the Comstock Act! This is just...Grrrr.
"There's still a lot of things that would have to work for the Comstock strategy to go the way Susan B. Anthony is intending,” @maryrziegler.bsky.social told @autonomynews.co. “But it’s still a big deal that they're asking for it."
NEW: Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had remained silent amid growing calls to enforce the 19th-century law as an abortion ban. That silence ended on Friday.
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
If the Comstock Act bans shipments of abortion drugs, it also prohibits sending supplies to clinics—effectively a total national ban
August 12, 2026 at 8:06 PM
The thing that is so frustrating (having just finished writing an entire damn book about the suffragists and their views on abortion and birth control) is that Susan B Anthony herself was no fan of the Comstock Act! This is just...Grrrr.
Historians of motherhood etc. I hope one of us writes something on the Lindsay Clancy trial and its antecedents. Just tragedy upon tragedy.
July 30, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Historians of motherhood etc. I hope one of us writes something on the Lindsay Clancy trial and its antecedents. Just tragedy upon tragedy.
This is so upsetting
Important read. At least 859 infants and 19 women are estimated to have died in the Bessborough mother and baby institution. It is likely their remains were buried on the grounds. Planning permission has been upheld for building apartments on this site. [1/2]
www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlig...
www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlig...
'Do not bury our history beneath concrete', mother of last baby to die at Bessborough tells Government
Bessborough survivor Cindi Bonny says her daughter was the last baby to die at the Cork institution and urges the Government to halt redevelopment
www.irishexaminer.com
July 29, 2026 at 12:40 PM
This is so upsetting
Trying to decide if I should turn my attention to this side article I have and submit it finally before the semester starts or if I should "rest" (ha 🙄 the next couple weeks is just catching up on all the other stuff that has to be done that I ignored for 6 weeks).
July 29, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Trying to decide if I should turn my attention to this side article I have and submit it finally before the semester starts or if I should "rest" (ha 🙄 the next couple weeks is just catching up on all the other stuff that has to be done that I ignored for 6 weeks).
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
Update: NYT subscriptions now have *unlimited* gift links. Suggestion: if you share NYT stories because you'd like to see them widely read, pls consider using a gift link.
NYT gift links retain their gift nature for 30 days
Washington Post gift links – 2 weeks
WSJ AFAIK expire only when bitrot hits
NYT gift links retain their gift nature for 30 days
Washington Post gift links – 2 weeks
WSJ AFAIK expire only when bitrot hits
Reminder: I have gift links for NYT, Washington Post, and WSJ. It's one of the main reasons I subscribe.
I try to add a gift link to all of the articles that I post or repost.
If you need one, feel free to ask.
If you want to attack me for subscribing or posting these stories, that's free too ⤵️
I try to add a gift link to all of the articles that I post or repost.
If you need one, feel free to ask.
If you want to attack me for subscribing or posting these stories, that's free too ⤵️
July 27, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Update: NYT subscriptions now have *unlimited* gift links. Suggestion: if you share NYT stories because you'd like to see them widely read, pls consider using a gift link.
NYT gift links retain their gift nature for 30 days
Washington Post gift links – 2 weeks
WSJ AFAIK expire only when bitrot hits
NYT gift links retain their gift nature for 30 days
Washington Post gift links – 2 weeks
WSJ AFAIK expire only when bitrot hits
Just sent to my editor at Rutgers!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh 😱 also here is a pic of probably only half the secondary sources I used to write this thing!!!
July 27, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Just sent to my editor at Rutgers!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh 😱 also here is a pic of probably only half the secondary sources I used to write this thing!!!
The rage this makes me feel after sweating over and painfully extracting from my brain every single one of my 85k words for literally more than half a decade at this point. What a loser.
July 25, 2026 at 5:22 PM
The rage this makes me feel after sweating over and painfully extracting from my brain every single one of my 85k words for literally more than half a decade at this point. What a loser.
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
Is it a “why question” or a “how question” is on day 1 of methods for undergrads
In my historical methods training, I was always taught “we start with a historical question.” I would never use “I’m testing a hypothesis” in my work. I might have a working theory or a working hypothesis, but I’m certainly never *testing* it. That’s ripe for cherry-picked, law office history.
July 25, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Is it a “why question” or a “how question” is on day 1 of methods for undergrads
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
Proving the null is how scientific method seeks to avoid selection bias, but historiography is different. The work is not hypothesis-driven in the same way. The need to avoid selection bias remains, but the path is different.
In my historical methods training, I was always taught “we start with a historical question.” I would never use “I’m testing a hypothesis” in my work. I might have a working theory or a working hypothesis, but I’m certainly never *testing* it. That’s ripe for cherry-picked, law office history.
July 25, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Proving the null is how scientific method seeks to avoid selection bias, but historiography is different. The work is not hypothesis-driven in the same way. The need to avoid selection bias remains, but the path is different.
My undergrads get such an earful about this yes
In my historical methods training, I was always taught “we start with a historical question.” I would never use “I’m testing a hypothesis” in my work. I might have a working theory or a working hypothesis, but I’m certainly never *testing* it. That’s ripe for cherry-picked, law office history.
July 25, 2026 at 4:18 PM
My undergrads get such an earful about this yes
Birth control before the Pill: "buy a pound of white petrolatum. Mix it thoroughly with 2 Oz boracic acid. Before intercourse, take a piece of cotton about the size od a large egg, put a string around its center, dip...insert. afterwards...remove by aid of string." 🫣
July 25, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Birth control before the Pill: "buy a pound of white petrolatum. Mix it thoroughly with 2 Oz boracic acid. Before intercourse, take a piece of cotton about the size od a large egg, put a string around its center, dip...insert. afterwards...remove by aid of string." 🫣
Stuff from my files
July 25, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Stuff from my files
It's nearly 1am on a Friday night but pretty sure I just typed the last sentence of my entire book manuscript. A few more light edits on two chapters but the whole manuscript of Women's Votes, Doctors' Rights: The Making of the American Birth Control Movement now exists in some 85k words. 😳
July 25, 2026 at 4:51 AM
It's nearly 1am on a Friday night but pretty sure I just typed the last sentence of my entire book manuscript. A few more light edits on two chapters but the whole manuscript of Women's Votes, Doctors' Rights: The Making of the American Birth Control Movement now exists in some 85k words. 😳
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
At the very end of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Wednesday confirmation hearing, Texas Senator Ted Cruz got Blanche to commit to taking a step that could upend abortion access in all 50 states.
The latest from our colleagues at @autonomynews.co:
The latest from our colleagues at @autonomynews.co:
Todd Blanche just opened the door to national abortion ban
In his confirmation hearings, the attorney general nominee committed to reviewing Biden-era guidance on the Comstock Act.
www.motherjones.com
July 16, 2026 at 8:17 PM
At the very end of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Wednesday confirmation hearing, Texas Senator Ted Cruz got Blanche to commit to taking a step that could upend abortion access in all 50 states.
The latest from our colleagues at @autonomynews.co:
The latest from our colleagues at @autonomynews.co:
Here we go again.
Trump claimed during the 2024 campaign that he wanted to leave abortion to the states. His pick for Attorney General, and his former personal lawyer, just said a nationwide abortion ban is on the table
NEW: Under questioning from Senator Ted Cruz, acting AG Todd Blanche said he would review Biden-era DOJ guidance on the Comstock Act if confirmed to the role. Comstock is an 1873 anti-obscenity law that conservatives want to use to stop the mailing of abortion pills in all 50 states @autonomynews.co
July 16, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Here we go again.
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
Great blue heron and friends, Anna Maria Island, FL
IG: j.lulu_photography
IG: j.lulu_photography
July 12, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Great blue heron and friends, Anna Maria Island, FL
IG: j.lulu_photography
IG: j.lulu_photography
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
So much time wasted fighting AI when we could be educating
The number of hours I have spent attempting to redesign my asynchronous online courses to avoid AI is unbelievable.
There are some mitigating measures for this. Still not sufficient and time-consuming/extensive (mostly interactive & customized stuff). A more important question is, are faculty (ever) compensated for the ed content engineering type of work in addition to their traditional obligations?
July 11, 2026 at 11:22 PM
So much time wasted fighting AI when we could be educating
The number of hours I have spent attempting to redesign my asynchronous online courses to avoid AI is unbelievable.
There are some mitigating measures for this. Still not sufficient and time-consuming/extensive (mostly interactive & customized stuff). A more important question is, are faculty (ever) compensated for the ed content engineering type of work in addition to their traditional obligations?
woof ≈80% of assignments this summer term have essentially been just raw chatgpt/claude output, including assignments that required designing stuff in illustrator/affinity/canva. The battle is lost for asynchronous online courses.
July 11, 2026 at 11:22 PM
The number of hours I have spent attempting to redesign my asynchronous online courses to avoid AI is unbelievable.
Reposted by Lauren MacIvor Thompson
woof ≈80% of assignments this summer term have essentially been just raw chatgpt/claude output, including assignments that required designing stuff in illustrator/affinity/canva. The battle is lost for asynchronous online courses.
July 11, 2026 at 3:00 AM
woof ≈80% of assignments this summer term have essentially been just raw chatgpt/claude output, including assignments that required designing stuff in illustrator/affinity/canva. The battle is lost for asynchronous online courses.
This is...wow. I just read the review in Reviews in American History (linked in the article) too. Its paywalled unless you have Project Muse access but here is a NYT Gift link.
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/b...
Historian Kerri K. Greenidge and Her Book ‘The Grimkes’ Come Under Fire (Gift Article)
Kerri K. Greenidge appeared to lose her professorship at Tufts University after scholars began scrutinizing her 2022 book, “The Grimkes,” which is no longer listed on its publisher’s website.
www.nytimes.com
July 11, 2026 at 2:45 AM
This is...wow. I just read the review in Reviews in American History (linked in the article) too. Its paywalled unless you have Project Muse access but here is a NYT Gift link.
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/b...
Whyyyyy is it that the last 30 pages of your book are the hardest to write? 🙄
July 3, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Whyyyyy is it that the last 30 pages of your book are the hardest to write? 🙄