News & Updates
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Governor Healey Signs Maternal Health Bill, Expanding Access to Midwifery, Birth Centers and Doulas in Massachusetts
Rebecca Hart Holder, President, Reproductive Equity Now:
“We are so proud that the commonwealth is taking decisive and bold action to address the maternal health crisis, eliminate racial inequities in birthing outcomes, and integrate midwives into our maternal health care infrastructure. With Governor Healey’s signature today, Massachusetts is making its values clear: we will continue to stand up for reproductive equity, center birthing people, and ensure that every person has the ability to start or grow their family with autonomy and dignity. We’re grateful to Governor Healey for signing this critical bill into law, and we look forward to turning the corner in the fight for maternal health equity in Massachusetts.”
Daily Hampshire Gazette | Columnist Carrie N. Baker: De-medicalizing childbirth, expanding community birthing options
Why has it taken so long for Massachusetts to catch up to the rest of the country? “The institutional health care system in Massachusetts thinks that birth should be taking place in hospitals,” said Taylor St. Germain of Reproductive Equity Now. “We have had to do a lot of education to prove that there are huge, huge health benefits to having out-of-hospital birth options and to making sure that people have autonomy and dignity in their birthing experiences.”
Repro Equity Now Celebrates Major Repro Wins of the 2023-24 MA Legislative Session
With the 2023-24 Massachusetts legislative session now closed, Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder today celebrated the legislature’s major progress to advance reproductive equity in the Bay State. The legislature passed several bills this session that take steps to improve maternal health outcomes, expand access to reproductive health care, and invest in the state’s child care infrastructure, all pieces of Reproductive Equity Now’s 2023-24 legislative priorities.
Bay State Birth Coalition Statements After MA Legislature Passes Comprehensive Maternal Health Care Package
Members of the Bay State Birth Coalition released the following statements after a comprehensive legislative package to address the worsening maternal health crisis passed out of the Massachusetts legislature in an informal session. The bill now heads to Governor Maura Healey’s desk.
Reproductive Equity Now Applauds Passage of Comprehensive Maternal Health Care Package
Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now, released the following statement after a comprehensive legislative package to address the worsening maternal health crisis passed out of the Massachusetts legislature in an informal session. The bill now heads to Governor Maura Healey’s desk.
Reproductive Equity Now Statement After Conference Committee Reaches Agreement on Maternal Health Package
Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder released the following statement today after Massachusetts House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options. The omnibus bill, which was passed unanimously by the House and Senate this year, includes several of Reproductive Equity Now’s legislative priorities, including provisions to create a pathway to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives and to instruct the Department of Public Health (DPH) to update and revise the regulations that govern freestanding birth centers in the state.
State House News Service: Negotiators Agree On Maternal Health Bill
"The Massachusetts Legislature clearly understands that the right to reproductive health care, including care for pregnancy, delivery, miscarriage care, and abortion care, is not a realized right unless every person is able to safely access that care with dignity," Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now, said in a statement Wednesday. "By empowering midwives and removing burdensome barriers to the opening of freestanding birth centers, this legislation can deliver real advancements in birthing justice and work to address a worsening maternal health crisis in the Bay State. An agreement on this legislation signifies that our legislature is ready to turn a corner in the fight for maternal health equity in Massachusetts, and we look forward to getting it across the finish line together."
MassLive | With Gov. Healey’s signature, Mass.’ definition of parenthood gets a historic update
The bill also will “protect family formation in a post-Dobbs world, ensure that LGBTQ+ parents have the protections they need to start or build their families and support children’s development and well-being over a lifetime,” Rebecca Hart Holder, the president of Reproductive Equity Now, said.
Governor Healey Signs Parentage Act, Ensuring Equality for All Families in Massachusetts
“We are thrilled that Governor Maura Healey is today signing the Massachusetts Parentage Act into law to ensure all children across our state have equal access to the security of a legal parent-child relationship. Reproductive equity is not a reality in Massachusetts until every individual — and every LGBTQ+ family — is able to make decisions about whether and when to parent, and to parent with dignity. This law will protect family formation in a post-Dobbs world, ensure that LGBTQ+ parents have the protections they need to start or build their families, and support children’s development and well-being over a lifetime.”
Reproductive Equity Now Announces First Slate of Endorsed Candidates for Connecticut Legislature
Two years since the Dobbs decision decimated the national right to abortion access, and on the precipice of one of the most important election cycles in history, Reproductive Equity Now has announced its first slate of endorsed candidates for the Connecticut Legislature. These candidates will continue the groundbreaking work that the Connecticut State Government has done to meet the post-Dobbs moment and work to advance a reproductive equity agenda for all Nutmeggers.
Bay State Birth Coalition Statement After Formal Legislative Session Concludes Without Action on Maternal Health Package
The Bay State Birth Coalition, a coalition of more than 20 partner organizations, released the following statement today after the Massachusetts Legislature was not able to conference a comprehensive maternal health package in the final hours of the 2023-24 formal legislative session. The life-saving birthing justice bill, which creates a pathway to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives and revises regulations governing the creation of free-standing birth centers in the state, unanimously passed the House in June and the Senate earlier this week.
Bay State Birth Coalition Celebrates Senate Passage of Comprehensive Maternal Health Bill
Members of the Bay State Birth Coalition, a coalition of more than 20 partner organizations, released the following joint statement today after the Massachusetts Senate passed a comprehensive maternal health package to address the worsening maternal health crisis in the state. The legislation includes provisions to create a pathway to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives, reimburse Certified Nurse Midwives equitably, and to instruct the Department of Public Health to update and revise the regulations that govern freestanding birth centers in the state.
Reproductive Equity Now Announces First Slate of Endorsed Candidates for State Legislature in Massachusetts
“The stakes have never been higher for abortion access and reproductive equity, and these candidates are prepared to meet the post-Dobbs moment,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now. “The right to abortion, contraception, IVF, and all forms of reproductive health care are facing existential threats on the national stage. State legislatures have the opportunity to act as a firewall, protecting the reproductive freedom of their constituents through comprehensive, proactive legislation and budgeting. Not only can our leaders on Beacon Hill ensure that Bay Staters retain their right to reproductive health care, but what our leaders do in Massachusetts has a ripple effect on the abortion landscape nationwide. Reproductive Equity Now is proud to endorse this impressive slate of candidates who are ready to fight for reproductive equity and ensure that Massachusetts remains a beacon for abortion access in our post-Roe world.”
The Boston Globe | Trump’s running mate thinks even less of women than he does
“Every single person in America who believes in gender equity should be having nightmares about JD Vance,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, head of Reproductive Equity Now. “This pick shines a bright light on the Republican Party’s true goal for America, and that is to make women subservient to men.”
Reproductive Equity Now Publishes New Hampshire Repro Voter Guide
“New Hampshire has a long history of standing up for reproductive freedom. But following recent attacks on abortion access and reproductive health care from a small group of New Hampshire executive and legislative leaders, there is work to do to protect and advance reproductive equity in the Granite State,” said Christina Warriner, New Hampshire State Director of Reproductive Equity Now.
NBC 10 | Bill protecting location data related to reproductive and gender-affirming care clears Mass. House 159-0
"In the two years post-Dobbs, hostile actors have targeted the location data of patients and providers in all 50 states, and now, we are increasingly concerned that this data will be weaponized against those seeking and providing care in Massachusetts," Rebecca Hart Holder, president of the Reproductive Equity Now group, said Tuesday. "Today the House is making an important statement that we will not let that stand in our Commonwealth. We are proud that the House understands that abortion patients are not fully protected until their digital footprint is protected, too."
MassLive.Com | Mass. House Dems propose data ‘shield’ around reproductive care
Rebecca Hart Holder, president of the advocacy group Reproductive Equity Now, credited the Legislature for “continually recogniz[ing] the evolving threat to abortion patients and providers and has aggressively expanded access and protected care since the fall of [Roe v. Wade].
Since the high court’s ruling toppling Roe, “hostile actors have targeted the location data of patients and providers in all 50 states, and now, we are increasingly concerned that this data will be weaponized against those seeking and providing care in Massachusetts,” Hart Holder continued.
Reproductive Advocacy Groups Applaud House Effort to Protect Sensitive Location Data
Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now: “The Massachusetts Legislature has continually recognized the evolving threat to abortion patients and providers and has aggressively expanded access and protected care since the fall of Roe. In the two years post-Dobbs, hostile actors have targeted the location data of patients and providers in all 50 states, and now, we are increasingly concerned that this data will be weaponized against those seeking and providing care in Massachusetts.