Repro Roundup 06.22.25
Next Tuesday will be the three-year anniversary of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the case that decimated the constitutional right to abortion care under Roe v. Wade, wiped out legal, in-person abortion care for a third of American women and marked the beginning of a campaign to roll back our inherent right to bodily autonomy and self-determination.
Every day since, we have fought tooth and nail to expand access to abortion care and protect bodily autonomy here in New England. Because we know now what we knew back then, and what we’ve known for decades: that the fight to expand reproductive equity and protect access to abortion care, contraception, and gender affirming care lies in the states.
In Massachusetts, we have passed a best-in-the-nation shield law to protect providers and patients regardless of the patient’s zip code – a bill we are currently working on improving further (see below!). We have allocated massive funding to support access to abortion care. We have eliminated cost-sharing for abortion care and contraception, and we are continuing to fight to make pregnancy and birth care affordable, expand access to abortion care throughout pregnancy, and protect the location data of abortion patients and providers.
In Connecticut, we passed the first-in-the-nation shield law to protect patients and providers, which we further strengthened this year. We have clarified statutory protections for young people’s ability to consent to birth control and pregnancy carewithout parental involvement. We passed legislation to establish a fund for practical support for patients seeking abortion and gender-affirming care in the Nutmeg State. And we are continuing to fight for shield protections for telehealth providers regardless of patient location, expanded access to abortion care throughout pregnancy, equity in fertility coverage, and more.
In New Hampshire, major advancements for maternal health care were enacted by the passage of Momnibus 1.0 in 2023, and we are currently on track to pass Momnibus 2.0 (seebelow!). We have fought off attempt after attempt to ban abortion, including most recently defeating a 15-week abortion ban, and have made improvements for equitable access to fertility care. We have bolstered community support for independent abortion providers and have increased Granite Staters’ awareness of anti-abortion centers,which outnumber real clinics by more than 3 to 1 in New Hampshire.
We are proud of the work we’ve done over the last three years – and we know we have a lot more work ahead of us. But because we have you on our team, we know we will continue to make great progress.
On to this week’s headlines –
News from New England
→ Connecticut Session Recap!
We are thrilled to share that one of our priorities for the 2025 Connecticut legislative session has been signed into law by Governor Lamont! Public Act No. 25-28, previously known as HB 7123, protects minors’ access to birth control and the full spectrum of pregnancy care without parental involvement. See our statement on the law’s passage here.
We are also excited to see that two maternal health bills, H.B. 7214 (Special Act No. 25-7) and H.B. 7102 (Public Act No. 25-38), have also been signed into law! SA 25-7 will establish a perinatal mental health task force, and also an advisory committee that will create an annual maternity care report card for birth centers and hospitals that provide obstetric care and assess the benefits and challenges of making hospitals more doula-friendly. PA 25-38 requires the development of a strategic plan to increase the number of birth centers and birthing hospitals located in areas of the state with a high percentage of Medicaid recipients and limited access to birth centers and birthing hospitals.
We’re also grateful to see language to strengthen Connecticut’s shield law, as well as components of S.B. 7, including mechanisms to enforce EMTALA at the state-level and the Safe Harbor Fund, which will provide practical support funding for patients seeking abortion care and gender-affirming care in Connecticut, has made it into the budget! We are waiting for the budget to be signed by Governor Lamont in the coming days.
While some components of our priorities did not ultimately make it to the Governor’s desk, we’re proud of the important progress that we did make, and will continue to work with coalition partners and legislative champions to get our priorities through session next year.
→ YOU Saved Momnibus 2.0 in the Budget!
After an intense few days of negotiations, we’re thrilled to share that Momnibus 2.0has made it into the final version of New Hampshire’s state budget because of YOUR advocacy! This legislation is a major step forward for maternal mental health and postpartum care—critical support that Granite State moms deserve.
Getting here wasn’t easy. On Wednesday night, Republican legislators attempted to remove Momnibus 2.0 from the budget entirely. But thanks to your advocacy and the dedication of our partners, we were able to act quickly and successfully pressure lawmakers to reverse course.
We’re especially grateful to the bipartisan group of legislators who championed this effort in the Senate—and to you, our community, for raising your voices. This is what people-powered change looks like.
→ Shield Act Expansion Up for a Vote Next Week
Next week, the Massachusetts Senate will vote on an expansion of the state’s telehealth “shield law,” critical legislation that we are prioritizing this year. This legislation would strengthen our shield protections 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, ensuring all clinicians and lawyers are protected from professional discipline related to hostile litigation, and more.
→ Calling out the Executive Council this Father’s Day
Our New Hampshire State Director, Christina, alongside our friend MacKenzie Nicholson at MomsRising, co-authored an op-ed for the Union Leader calling out the fathers on the Executive Council for rejecting federal funds for maternal health care – for no reason at all. It would cost nothing for New Hampshire to accept this federal funding, and it could have a major impact on maternal health, but these funds were rejected at the Executive Council meeting in May – after the Executive Council members posed for a photo during the ceremonial signing of a proclamation honoring Maternal Mental Health Week. From the op-ed:
“We’re calling on the Executive Council to show that they support mothers in a real, material way — and not just when the cameras are out. We demand that they take action to support mothers and ensure that the Granite State is a place where families can thrive. Our mothers need more than photo ops and proclamations — they need action and resources.”
National Notice
→ Supreme Court Deals Devastating Blow to Trans Rights and Gender-Affirming Care Access for Minors in Skrmetti Case
We are heartbroken by Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skrmetti to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. This decision is cruel, inhumane, and devastating. Transgender youth deserve our compassion, support, and protection. This decision is yet another example of the Court allowing politicians to interfere with personal, often life-saving, medical care.
At Reproductive Equity Now, we know that the fight for reproductive rights and transgender rights is one and the same. Both fights are rooted in the fundamental belief that, as individuals, we have the right to make deeply personal decisions about our own bodies without government interference. Whether it’s expressing our sexuality, deciding how or when to grow our families, or accessing gender-affirming health care, these are freedoms that define our humanity and dignity.
Together, we are grieving for the trans kids in Tennessee and the 26 other states (including in New Hampshire) impacted by today’s ruling. Our hearts are also with the parents who are now forced to navigate a health care landscape that grows more hostile by the day. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the trans community and all who are impacted by these coordinated assaults on our rights. To the trans community: you are seen, you are loved, and we will never stop fighting for you.
→ Trump Admin’s EMTALA Guidance Adds Confusion, Not Clarity
This week, CNNspoke with Reproductive Equity Now’s President, Rebecca Hart Holder, about the fallout from the Trump administration’s decision to rescind 2022 federal guidance that explicitly named abortion as a protected form of emergency medical care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). While HHS sent a letter to providers claiming to offer more clarity, Rebecca joins providers and other experts in explaining that this action from HHS only deepens the legal gray area, and that this kind of ambiguity endangers lives and fails patients at their often most vulnerable moments. Read the full article HERE.
→ Attacks on Health Care Funding in the Big Beautiful Bill
According to a report from NOTUS, Republicans added a last-minute provision into the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” – Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill – that prevents Affordable Care Act funds from going to states that fund abortion care through their Medicaid expansion programs and require insurers to cover abortion care. This would include Massachusetts. Despite the fact that Republicans have argued they want to “return the question of abortion to the states,” this move marks a clear federal attack on abortion access, including on states that have protected and expanded access to it.
Get Involved!
📍NEW HAMPSHIRE! Join us at Proud and Free: a Rally for Trans Justice
We’ll be joining our friends from the ACLU of New Hampshire for a rally to support the trans community, push back on disinformation, and affirm that our communities are united for trans power in response to the decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti. Join us on Sunday, June 22nd at 2pm at the YWCA Gym in Manchester for this important community gathering. RSVP here.
📍NEW HAMPSHIRE! Join us at the Fight for Our Future Rally
We’ll be joining our community members, organizers and advocates from across New Hampshire who are coming together in Concord to hold our legislators accountable for the dangerous and fiscally irresponsible state budget being proposed. It is time to let lawmakers know we are watching and that we are fed up with excuses, backroom deals, and broken promises. Join us onTuesday, June 24th from 5:00 - 7:30 PM at the State House in Concord. RSVP here.
📍ANYWHERE! Join the Abortion Access Advocates!
Abortion Access Advocates is a regional network of abortion advocates who are learning and growing together in their advocacy. Join us for our July meeting of AAA, where we will unpack the decisions in various Supreme Court cases from this term (and preview cases for next term). Register here to join us onMonday, July 14th, from 7:00 to 7:45pm!
Our Resources
Need to understand your legal rights to provide or access abortion care? Reproductive Equity Now’s Abortion Legal Hotlinewill help connect Massachusetts and Connecticut-based health care providers and helpers, as well as patients obtaining care in Connecticut or Massachusetts, with free legal advice and resources about abortion access. This resource is now available in Spanish.
Looking for an abortion provider in your area? Our New England Abortion Care Guideallows you to search by zip code for legitimate abortion clinics near you. It even flags dangerous and deceptive anti-abortion centers to avoid at all costs. This resource is now available in Spanish.
Want to learn more about how to combat anti-abortion centers in your community? Check out Reproductive Equity Now’s guidebook on anti-abortion centers to understand how anti-abortion centers often use deceptive practices to target patients seeking abortion care, and get the tools you need to avoid them.
Thank you so much for powering this fight. We’re grateful to have you in the movement with us.
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