rePROs Fight Back

Did you know that in a 2016 referendum, 86% of D.C. residents voted in favor of statehood? Dr. Serina Floyd, OB/GYN and Medical Director/Vice President of Medical Services at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Kory Stuer, Public Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C, sit down to talk with us about the importance of statehood for Washington, D.C., and what it would mean for the reproductive health, rights, and justice of D.C. residents.

Washington, D.C., is a district of more than 700,000 tax-paying residents, all of whom do not have basic democratic rights-- including voting representation in Congress. D.C. residents also do not have control over how tax dollars are spent at the local-level, meaning members of Congress can block or overturn any D.C.-based bills. D.C’s lack of statehood has a direct impact on the public health of its residents. 

The district has high levels of inequity in health outcomes, with those who are most marginalized also experiencing the highest rates of health inequalities. For example, D.C.’s maternal mortality rate for Black residents is so high that it the district has the 5th worst overall rate in the country, 50% higher than the national average. The D.C. Council has introduced the Maternal Health Resources and Access Act, which, if passed, will respond to this crisis, and improve access through multiple mechanisms.

The recent release of the President’s budget repealed the Hyde amendment and the D.C. abortion ban (this ban refers to a separate appropriations rider that prevents the District from using their own tax dollars for funding abortion care). In 2017, young people between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for 41% of HIV diagnoses in D.C.; double the national average. Yet, members of Congress have routinely voted for bills that prevent young people from accessing sexual and reproductive health care without their parent’s consent and stymied needle exchange programs. Lack of D.C. statehood has no doubt impact the district when it comes to COVID-19. Black residents have made up 50% of COVID cases and 70% of deaths yet have only received 37% of vaccinations. 

There is current legislation that has a historic level of support led by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton in the House and Senator Tom Carper in the Senate. The bill, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, creates a new state out of the specifically residential areas. You can learn more about it here.

Links

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. on Facebook

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. on Twitter

More information on the Maternal Health Resources and Access Act

More information on the Washington, D.C. Admission Act

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Under the Trump administration, global LGBTQI+ health and rights faced an unprecedented assault. Andrea Gillespie, Sexual Health and Rights Policy Advisor with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), sits down to talk with us about progress made by the Biden-Harris administration and what pieces of legislation we can advance to prevent backsliding.

Under the Trump administration, global LGBTQI+ rights were facing unprecedented attack. In fact, those serving in the Trump administration had long records of opposing LGBTQI+ rights and reproductive rights—including officials at the U.S. State Department and USAID. The State Department attempted to erase the reality of global sexual and reproductive health and rights, removing the term “sexual and reproductive health and rights” altogether from their Annual Human Rights Reports. The removal of this topic from the reports limited our comprehensive understanding and tracking of reproductive health and rights progress for LGBTQI+ people around the world. Then-Secretary Mike Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights sought to re-define and cherry-pick human rights, with the health and rights of LGBTQI+ individuals at the bottom of the ladder. Trump’s drastically expanded Global Gag Rule also worsened the barriers that LGBTQI+ individuals faced when accessing healthcare, including HIV treatment and prevention. 

The Biden administration has begun putting in place policies that work to repair and support LGBTQI+ health and rights. President Biden rescinded the expanded Global Gag Rule during his first week in office. In early February, when President Biden visited the State Department for the first time, his comments centered the health and rights of LGBTQI + individuals and, shortly after, the White Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World was released. The Biden-Harris administration has also recognized and released statements on Trans-Visibility Day and International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia.

In order to prevent backsliding on global LGBTQI+ health and rights, we must repeal the Global Gag Rule for good. The Global HER Act would permanently repeal this harmful policy, allowing LGBTQI+ people to have expanded access to abortion services and other reproductive health care. Similarly, the Helms amendment must be repealed in order to make sure all people have the ability to access the care that they need. During appropriations season, it’s also important  to direct funding to LGBTQI+ rights programs, including those run from the State Department and USAID that fight to shift norms, end discrimination, and provide safety and security. Lastly, the Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality (GLOBE) Act, sponsored by Representative Dina Titus [D-NV-1] would recognize the impact of foreign policy tools on LGBTQ+ rights. 

Links

American Jewish World Service on Facebook

American Jewish World Service on Twitter

More information about the GLOBE Act

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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What does a world that has achieved abortion justice look like? It has access to a full spectrum of reproductive health care, where abortion is affordable, accessible, safe, de-stigmatized, without barriers, and never based on income or zip code. Daniela Ochoa Diaz, Federal Strategies Manager with All* Above All, sits down to talk with us about what we need to accomplish to reach abortion justice for all.

Abortion justice applies a justice lens to abortion care and access, applying how economic and systemic insecurity and immigration status multiply the barriers to care. All* Above All’s Abortion Justice Campaign features four pillars: 1) strategy accelerators; 2) narrative shapers; 3) policy movers; and 4) network builders. Strategy accelerators build momentum and power by sharing tools and resources with partners at all levels. Narrative shapers shift the cultural narrative and public perception on abortion. Policy movers push proactive abortion policy at all levels of government. Network builders bring partners together in a way that builds across movements. 

Living in a world that has achieved abortion justice requires reaching out to and engaging with local, state, and federal elected officials, organization and activation, and having empowered conversations with friends and family. It also calls for removing abortion restrictions in individual states and repealing the Hyde amendment—a 1976 appropriations amendment that blocks federal funding for abortion care, meaning those who receive health insurance coverage via the Medicare program have to pay out-of-pocket for an abortion. The Hyde amendment expands to Indian Health Services, the District of Columbia, those who work in the federal government, and those serving in the U.S. military and the Peace Corps.

The Equal Access To Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would repeal the Hyde amendment. The re-introduction of the EACH Act this Congressional session showed a record number of original co-sponsors. A clean Presidential budget would provide a blueprint for appropriations committees in the House and Senate to construct bills without the Hyde amendment. Passing the EACH Act and having a clean presidential budget would push the U.S. towards achieving abortion justice once and for all.

Links

All* Above All on Twitter

All* Above All on Facebook

Past podcast episode on the Hyde Amendment.

EACH Act Fact Sheet

Take Action

Follow All* Above All on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about abortion justice!

All* Above All’s website offers many ways—from contacting lawmakers to sharing on social media—to get involved with their abortion justice action plan. Read more about the EACH Act.

Get in touch with and donate to your local abortion funds! You can find a map of funds nearest to you here.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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On Monday, May 17th, the Supreme Court announced that they would hear a court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO), out of Mississippi that seeks to ban almost all abortion at 15 weeks or later. Dr. Daniel Grossman, obstetrician/gynecologist, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, and Director of a policy-based research program within the OB/GYN Department entitled Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), sits down with us in this emergency podcast episode to discuss the gestational bans at the center of the case that strikes at the heart of Roe.

The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v JWHO could open the option for individual states to impose abortion bans before fetal viability, —a core tenant that is explicitly protected in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. 15 weeks is a significant amount of time before viability (which can range 24 to 28 weeks after a person’s last menstrual period). Gestational bans have become increasingly common across the U.S., acting as yet another time-limit on people’s access to get abortion care. The majority of patients that are most impacted by these restrictions are Black, indigenous, people of color, living at or below the federal poverty level, young, and/or LGBTQ.

This blatantly unconstitutional ban was passed with the goal of getting in front of the Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative majority. The Justices will have the case presented to them next session, which begins in October. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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While Roe v. Wade may be the law of the land, abortion has always been inaccessible and a right on paper only for so many in the United States. Since the passage of Roe, there have been 1,200 abortion restrictions enacted, with 2021 on track to be one of the worst years for abortion restrictions. Jamille Fields-Allsbrook, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress and Nora Ellmann, Research Associate for Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress, sit down to talk with us about what actions need to be taken to ensure a proactive abortion agenda for the U.S. from their report, A Proactive Abortion Agenda: Federal and State Policies To Protect and Expand Access. 

First and foremost, the comprehensive right to abortion, without restriction and without political interference, must be codified at the legislative level. Championing laws like the Women’s Health Protection Act would help block many of these restrictions, such as 20-week bans and targeted regulation of abortion provider (TRAP) laws. Financial support for abortion access is also critical; passage of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would permanently repeal the Hyde Amendment and prohibits political interference with decisions by private insurance companies to cover abortion. Individual states can repeal harmful legislation and pass proactively progressive legislation to expand access to medication abortion, decriminalize self-managed abortion, and remove restrictions on physicians. 

At the executive level, it’s important that they select judicial nominees that are diverse and have backgrounds in civil rights, reproductive rights, and abortion rights. The President must also have a budget that doesn’t allow for federal funding restrictions, like the Hyde Amendment, on abortion access. Finally, undue regulations on abortion-related insurance billing practices must be repealed. Already, the current administration has increased access to medication abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about this step taken by the Biden administration, listen to our podcast episode here.

When it comes to the judiciary: we need to pay attention to the courts! Again, it’s critical that judges appointed to all levels of the U.S. court system come from diverse backgrounds and have supportive records for reproductive health, rights, and justice. The courts must continue to uphold precedent and respect abortion as a right that has been established under the Constitution. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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We have just passed 100 days of the Biden-Harris Administration! Christina Krysinski, Counsel and Senior Manager of Policy at NARAL Pro-Choice America sits down to talk with us about the reproductive health and rights victories achieved during this period, as well as what the administration can do more of to ensure health and rights for all.

 In his second week in office, President Biden ended the Trump administration’s expanded global gag rule (also known as the Mexico City policy), and also began the process of restoring funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in order to restore access to sexual and reproductive health care around the world. The President also withdrew U.S. support for the Trump administration’s anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ Geneva Consensus Declaration, sending the message that the United States will no longer be a barrier to progress for reproductive freedom. Lastly, during the release of the State Department’s 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. will resume reporting on reproductive rights. 

 Domestically, the Biden administration has also made significant strides in expanding and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights. This month, the FDA announced that it will stop enforcing a restriction that would force people accessing medication abortion pills to do so in-person at a hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office for the duration of the pandemic. The administration proposed the ending of the Trump administration’s “domestic gag rule,” which prevented reproductive health providers that are funded by the nation’s Title X program from providing transparent and equitable care. The White House also officially established the Gender Policy Council, which will work to advance gender equity and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The administration has also appointed officials that are committed to protecting reproductive health and rights both globally and domestically, including the Vice President Kamala Harris, The Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine (the first openly transgender, Senate-confirmed federal official), United States Assistant Attorney General Venita Gupta, nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

 While the Biden administration has accomplished much for reproductive health and rights, there is still so much more that needs to be done. Many organizations and groups continue to call for an increased sense of urgency from the administration. President Biden and other federal officials have yet to say the word “abortion” in a public address; doing so recognizes the reality of the abortion access crisis and contributes to de-stigmatization on a national level. It’s also vital that the budget robustly funds reproductive health programs and ceases denial-of-care policies and funding bans. The administration can continue to fill important positions—including the FDA commissioner, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Director for the HHS’ Office of Civil Rights, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs at HHS, and more. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Last week the Biden took two actions to expand access to reproductive health care: the FDA lightening restrictions to medication abortion access during the pandemic and the Biden administration beginning its rollback of Trump’s harmful Title X program rules. Dee Srivastava, Policy Analyst at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Nina Serriane, Legislative Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, celebrate the recent changes in access to medication abortion and the lifting of restrictions on the national Title X program with us.

On April 12th, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration suspended a medically unnecessary barrier to medication abortion—requiring patients to access medication abortion pills in person at a hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic—for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that people will not need to expose themselves to COVID to get the basic care that they need in states that permit it. It also allows patients in some states to access abortion care in a way that is safe, effective, and ensures privacy. It is important to remember that restrictions to medication abortion care existed before the pandemic, and after the pandemic is over we need to fight to ensure these unnecessary barriers to abortion access are eliminated permanently.

In 2019, the Trump-Pence administration instituted a “domestic gag rule” on the Title X family planning program, which prohibited grants from going to providers where clinicians divulged to their patients how to safely access abortion care. This prevented providers from being able to disclose a full range of information to their patients and severely limited the comprehensive care that patients were able to receive. On April 14th, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed the rescinding of this rule. This Trump rule resulted in the Title X network’s capacity being slashed in half, and the health needs of people around the U.S. have only increased during the pandemic. Since this is a proposed rule, there will now be a public comment process, which you can find more information about in the Take Action section. The comment deadline is May 17th, 2021. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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April 11 – 17, 2021, marks the fourth annual Black Maternal Health Week. In this bonus episode, Dr. Jamila Perritt, board certified OB/GYN and President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health and Dr. Mishka S. Peart, OB/GYN and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, talk to us about the importance of highlighting and discussing the disparities in abortion, contraception, and maternal health access and outcomes for Black people in the United States.

There are undeniable race- and ethnicity- based disparities in maternal health outcomes in the United States. For example, maternal deaths occur more frequently among Black people than any other race or ethnicity, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that Black people are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than any other racial or ethnic group. Lack of access to quality contraception and abortion care also disproportionately impact Black communities; in fact, a recent study found that barriers to abortion contributed to up to a 38 percent increase in maternal deaths, which has a disparate impact on Black people. 

Medical care, access to comprehensive reproductive health services, and maternal health outcomes are certainly impacted by social inequities and racism. “Weathering”, or the phenomenon of the biological impact of stress related to being Black in America, is an effect of the systemic racism faced by the Black community in the medical system and beyond. It is vital that the U.S. medical system recognize this cyclical structure and make long-term changes that address the inherent biases in the healthcare infrastructure. 

The reproductive justice framework has four tenets at its core: 1) every person has a human right to determine if they have a child, and to determine the circumstances under which they give birth; 2) every person has a human right to decide if they will not have a child and to have the resources to decide if and how to prevent and end a pregnancy; 3) every person has a human right to parent the children they already have in sustainable and safe communities free from violence; and 4) every person has a human right to bodily autonomy and sexual pleasure. It is far past time that the United States begins to view and provide comprehensive reproductive health care holistically and through the lens of a reproductive justice framework.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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LGBTQ+ people, overall, lack equal rights and access in the United States. In fact, in most of the U.S., LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in housing, credit, public accommodations, jury service, and other public arenas that don’t directly involve marriage or employment. It’s also no secret that Republicans around the country have been passing legislation for years that attacks the health and rights of transgender people. Charlotte Clymer, writer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and Director of Communications and Strategy at Catholics for Choice, talks to us about how state attacks on transgender rights are contributing to the lack of protections for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S.

This year state-level anti-trans policies have fallen into three buckets: those that prevent transgender youth from receiving lifesaving, gender-affirming medical care, those that prevent transgender youth from competing in sports, and religious liberty exemptions. Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee are states that have formally passed these types of legislation so far this year. In direct opposition to these egregious attacks on LGBT health and rights, the Equality Act is a comprehensive bill that, at the national level, would ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in every aspect of the public square. 

Since the Biden administration has taken office, there have been a number of protections that have been passed to support LGBTQ+ people. Immediately, the Biden administration signed a flurry of executive orders that made it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people within the federal government, overturn the ban on trans people in the military, and appoint a number of LGBTQ+ people to government posts. To expand upon its progress, the Biden administration should release every LGBTQ+ (and specifically, trans and non-binary) undocumented immigrant from ICE and CPB custody, ensure that incarcerated trans people maintain their rights and wellbeing, and create an LGBTQ+-specific equality commission or council, and strengthening reporting in the State Department’s international Human Rights Reports on LGBTQ+ safety around the world.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Gender-based violence, or GBV, is harm perpetrated against a person’s will on the basis of their gender or gender characteristics. It is such a widespread global issue that 1 in 3 women have reported experiencing some form of gender-based violence. Gayatri Patel, Director of Gender Advocacy at CARE USA, talks to us about ­­­­this universal issue.  

GBV can include rape or sexual violence, domestic or intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child marriage, harassment, controlling behavior, and economic abuse, among other forms of violence. While gender-based violence is often committed against women and girls, it is important to remember that boys, men, and people of other gender identities experience gender-based violence, as well. GBV takes place in all countries, to people in all social and economic classes, and to people of all races, ethnicities, and religions. In practice, global gender-based violence looks like:

·      Somewhere in the world, 1 girl every 2 seconds is married before the age of 18

·      An average of 137 women are killed by a family member each day

·      1 in 10 women in the European Union saying they have experienced cyber harassment since the age of 15

Conflict, natural disaster, and humanitarian situations often lead to a lack of traditional social support, disintegration of familial structures, and increased rates of stress. Combined, this phenomenon can lead to rising rates of all forms of GBV in these situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in GBV, particularly domestic violence, intimate partner violence, child marriage, and female genital cutting. Because people’s movements are restricted due to stay-at-home measures, jobs have been lost, and schools have closed, many are trapped in a home with an abuser, have become financially dependent on their abusers, or have become an easier target of abuse.

Each survivor is different and therefore, each survivor needs different things. Examples of needs for gender-based violence survivors could include economic and job support, immediate crisis counseling, long-term psychosocial services, legal services, sexual and reproductive health services, and more.

The Biden administration is already taking action to address GBV. The administration established the White House Gender Policy Council and they are developing a national action plan on GBV, and updating the U.S. strategy to responded to global GBV. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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