News & Updates
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If you’re a member of the media and looking to speak with an expert at Reproductive Equity Now, contact our press team at press@reproequitynow.org!
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Reproductive Equity Now Urges Abortion Throughout Pregnancy - No Exceptions
This morning, the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health will conduct a public hearing to hear testimony on H.2370/S.1563, the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, sponsored by Representatives Christine P. Barber and Lindsay Sabadosa and Senator Robyn K. Kennedy, a bill that would remove arbitrary restrictions on access to abortion throughout pregnancy.
Reproductive Equity Now Applauds Massachusetts Senate Vote to Strengthen Shield Law
Reproductive Equity Now’s President Rebecca Hart Holder released a statement after the Massachusetts State Senate voted 37-3 today to engross S.2538, An Act strengthening health care protections in the Commonwealth. This critical legislation would expand the state’s telehealth shield law by prohibiting all state actors from cooperating with any out-of-state hostile litigation, establishing state-level EMTALA protections for emergency abortion care, allowing providers critical anonymity by using their practice name on prescription labels for reproductive and gender affirming health care medicines, and ensuring all clinicians and lawyers are protected from professional discipline related to hostile litigation, and more.
Boston Globe | With abortion rights under new threat, Mass. lawmakers aim to better protect providers
“The Dobbs decision three years ago made it clear that the fight for abortion access is in the states,” Claire Teylouni, senior director of policy and programs at Boston-based advocacy group Reproductive Equity Now. “It’s up to them to fight back.”
Reproductive Equity Now Senior Policy & Programs Director Testifies on Legislation Updating Massachusetts Shield Law
Reproductive Equity Now’s Senior Director of Policy and Programs, Claire Teylouni, testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary during a public hearing in support of S.2522, An Act strengthening health care protections in the Commonwealth.
State House News Service | Ralliers knock "100 days of harm" under Trump
"I think the most concerning thing we're seeing right now is the chilling effect — people don't know, necessarily, what their rights are. They're confused about what they're able to access and what they cannot, even here in Massachusetts," Claire Teylouni, senior director of policy and programs at Reproductive Equity Now, told the News Service.
Reproductive Equity Now Calls for Elimination of Out-of-Pocket Costs for Full Spectrum of Pregnancy Care
This morning, the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Financial Services will hear testimony from the public on An Act Ensuring Access to Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care (S.761/H.1311), legislation that will eliminate cost sharing for the full spectrum of pregnancy care and ensure patients are not saddled with exorbitant costs or catastrophic deductibles after giving birth. Reproductive Equity Now will testify at this hearing and has released the following statement in advance.
Reproductive Equity Now joins Advocates, experts call on lawmakers to ban sale of location data
At the Massachusetts State House, domestic violence advocates, reproductive advocacy groups, privacy and technology experts, LGBTQ+ organizations, labor unions, abortion care providers, and others are today calling on state lawmakers to ban the sale and trade of precise geolocation data.
Repro Equity Now Statement After Trump Administration Cuts Millions in Title X Funding for Planned Parenthood Clinics
Today, Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now, released the following statement after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally announced that it will be freezing Title X funding for thirteen Planned Parenthood affiliates, citing their refusal to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices. Title X funding provides access to critical preventative care like low-cost/free birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment. According to Physicians for Reproductive Health, in 2022, through Title X funds, providers at sexual and reproductive health care clinics across the country were able to serve 2.6 million family planning patients. Title X funds cannot be used for abortion care.
Bay State Banner | Annual Black Maternal Health Conference to center role of fathers
“Massachusetts has earned national recognition as a beacon of what high-quality health care should look like in our country. But even here, we see alarming disparities in health outcomes — especially for Black birthing people,” said Lyv Norris, Massachusetts state director for Reproductive Equity Now, in an email.
Reproductive Equity Now is a sponsor of the maternal health conference.
NEW POLL: Reproductive Equity Now Foundation Finds Support for Expanding Abortion Access Throughout Pregnancy Among Bay Staters
The Reproductive Equity Now Foundation today unveiled new polling showing that two in three (66%) Massachusetts voters support expanding abortion access throughout pregnancy based on the professional judgment of a licensed physician. The poll affirmed Bay Staters’ support for keeping health care decisions between patients and their doctors.
GBH | Mass. lawmakers push for abortion without trimester limits
Claire Teylouni, Reproductive Equity Now’s senior director of policy and programs, estimates the change would impact “dozens” of Massachusetts residents each year — an infinitesimally small number compared to the roughly 18,000 abortions Massachusetts residents received here in 2023.
Prism | Massachusetts sees sharp rise in out-of-state abortion patients as state bolsters provider protections
Taylor St. Germain, deputy director of Reproductive Equity Now, highlighted the state’s preparedness in an interview with Prism. “When the first Trump administration rolled around, we took proactive action to really make sure that we were codifying abortion in our state law to ensure that no matter what happens, with the fall of Roe, abortion remains legal here in our state,” St. Germain said. “So we passed the ROE Act in 2020, and this law codified the right to abortion care in Massachusetts.”
Reproductive Equity Now Launches 2025-26 Massachusetts Legislative Agenda
Reproductive Equity Now is today announcing its agenda for the 2025-26 Massachusetts legislative session. The organization’s priorities are aimed at standing up to federal attacks on reproductive health care, expanding access to care for patients, and further protecting abortion and gender-affirming care providers.
Bay State Banner | Ahead of the Trump administration, state pursues action to protect reproductive health care
Rebecca Hart Holder, president of the Boston-based nonprofit Reproductive Equity Now, called the grants a reflection of the values state leadership holds.
“These organizations are doing essential work to care for Massachusetts patients, and those traveling to our state for care,” she said in a statement. “These investments underscore the Commonwealth’s commitment to reproductive freedom in a post-Roe world.”
NBC Boston | With Trump back in office, where do women's reproductive rights stand?
"The goal here is to control the flow of information," Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder said. "We know that the Trump administration does not want women to know how to access comprehensive reproductive health care, so I'm disappointed. I'm not surprised."
Boston Globe | With Trump’s return to the White House, there’s good reason to be worried
“Overturning Roe was not the endgame, but the midpoint in a quest to end abortion in all 50 states, and more broadly strip us of our bodily autonomy,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, head of Reproductive Equity Now.
WGGB | Getting Answers: reproductive rights in Massachusetts
“We are concerned about what Donald Trump is going to do in a new administration. He does pose an existential threat to abortion care in every single state, including in Massachusetts,” added Rebecca Hart Holder, CEO of Reproductive Equity Now.