Repro Roundup 02.14
This Valentine’s Day, we want to send our love to you – our reproductive equity community, abortion patients, abortion providers, parents who utilized assisted reproductive technologies, trans and queer folks, gender-affirming care providers, and every person who has had a complex reproductive care experience.
Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion, or needed some form of the wide spectrum of reproductive health care options that are currently under attack. At Reproductive Equity Now, we do this work because we love and care about our communities. We fight every day, tooth and nail, in our legislatures, online and in the media, in our town halls, and across New England for people who want, need, and deserve access to reproductive health care.
We know you have someone to fight for. Show them you’re fighting for them by making a donation to Reproductive Equity Now in their honor today. You can help us win for them, for their access, for their rights and freedom.
Thank you for being in this fight. It’s a labor of love.
On to this week’s headlines –
News from New England
→ BIG WIN! 15 Week Ban Defeated in New Hampshire
We know we are up against some serious anti-abortion attacks in the New Hampshire legislature this year – but we’re off to an encouraging start. Last week, the NH House voted to withdraw a proposed 15 week abortion ban! We’re proud to have helped mobilize over 12,000 Granite Staters to register their opposition to this proposed legislation, and helped hundreds of Granite Staters contact their legislators to encourage them to defeat this bill. Read our statement on the withdrawal of this legislation, and stay tuned for more ways to take action for reproductive equity in New Hampshire this legislative session!
→ Nearly 200 Advocates Joined Us to Learn About Repro Equity Now’s Massachusetts and Connecticut Legislative Agendas
This past Tuesday, Repro Equity Now held virtual community briefings for nearly 200 Connecticut and Massachusetts advocates to learn more about the legislation we’re fighting for this year! Our Massachusetts State Director, Lyv, and our Connecticut State Director, Liz, walked attendees through the legislative process, our priority issues, and highlighted ways to get involved with our work. Missed the briefing but want to take action? Sign up to stay informed on upcoming hearings, opportunities to testify, guidance for writing op-eds and LTEs, and more!
→ We’re fighting for Bay Staters’ right to care on their own terms
Health care decisions should always stay between a patient and their doctor—not politicians. That’s why this legislative session, we’re working to get politics out of the exam room, and ensure patients can access the abortion care they need throughout pregnancy.
The Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act (SD.1742 and HD.2651) will expand abortion access after 24 weeks of pregnancy when in the best professional judgment of a licensed physician. The bill will enable doctors to give their patients the best medical care possible and ensure no one must leave our state for abortion—at any point in pregnancy. Check out the coverage of our work in GBH news!
→ Granite Staters: Take Action for Abortion Access and Maternal Health!
Next week, legislative committees in the New Hampshire House and Senate will hold hearings on two of our priority legislative items: SB 246, also known as the “Momnibus 2.0,” and HCR 7, affirming that abortion is basic health care. We need your help to pass these bills. You can register your support for these bills via the New Hampshire General Court website – below are the details for each one!
HCR 7
1. Click HERE!
2. Type in your name and home town
3. Select "Wednesday, February 19th"
4. Select “House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs” from the Committee dropdown.
5. Select “1:00 PM. -- HCR 7” from “Choose the Bill” dropdown.
6. Select “A Member of the Public” from the “I Am” dropdown.
7. Select “Myself” from the “Representing” dropdown.
8. Select “I SUPPORT this Bill” and select continue.
9. Review that all of the information is correct. If you’d like to submit testimony in support, you can upload here!
10. Click submit!
Momnibus 2.0
1. Click HERE!
2. Select "Wednesday, February 19th"
3, Select “Senate Health and Human Services” from the Committee dropdown.
4. Select “9:00 AM. -- SB 246” from “Choose the Bill” dropdown.
5. Select “A Member of the Public” from the “I Am” dropdown.
6. Select “Myself” from the “Representing” dropdown.
7. Select “I SUPPORT this Bill” and select continue.
8. Type in your name and location and select continue.
9. Review that all of the information is correct.
10. Click submit!
→ Connecticut Considers a Constitutional Amendment for Abortion and LGBTQ+ Justice
Connecticut legislators held a hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect “terminating a pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender identity and expression; and related health care." While Connecticut has codified the right to abortion into state law and there is a longstanding legacy of statutory and regulatory protections for LGBTQ+ people, as our Connecticut State Director said to News12, “the overturning of Roe has incited a public health, economic, social and racial justice crisis across the country.” We’re grateful to see Connecticut leaders moving to take decisive and bold action to defend our rights as our movement faces a hostile presidential administration and continued attacks across the nation.
→ UConn Unveils Sexual Health and Contraception Vending Machine
We are so thrilled to see Connecticut taking action to expand access to reproductive health care on college campuses! UConn has now unveiled a vending machine stocked with Plan B on campus. Connecticut is home to nearly 100,000 college students, and for many of those students, their college or university health center is the only place they can access medical care. We’re proud to have been part of the first convening of a coalition to improve access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception, on college campuses last October, and we’re excited to continue working with state partners to ensure reproductive equity is a reality for all students in the Nutmeg State.
National Notice
→ RFK Jr. is Confirmed to Lead the Department of Health and Human Services
Anti-abortion, anti-science conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was just confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, threatening reproductive health care access nationwide. The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for critical services and decisions related to our nation's health, such as:
➡️ The enforcement of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
➡️ Medicare and Medicaid Funding, Title X funding for sexual and reproductive health care clinics, and the Affordable Care Act
➡️ Overseeing the FDA, which controls the approval and restrictions of drugs, like medication abortion pills
Now more than ever, states in New England must double down on defending access to abortion care. We need your help to ensure that our region remains a beacon for abortion access.
→ Trump DOJ Drops Defense of Gender-Affirming Care
In keeping with ongoing efforts to disrupt gender-affirming care and hurt trans youth, the Trump Administration has dropped the Biden Administration’s efforts to intervene in Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban. While the Supreme Court will still deliver a ruling on this case in the spring, Trump’s national effort to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth is ongoing. We’re inspired to see young folks – including some from New Hampshire! – fight for their rights in court, and we will continue to fight alongside them to defend against anti-trans policies and in support of protections for trans youth in New England.
→ Louisiana Requests Extradition of Abortion Provider, Testing Shield Laws
The state of Louisiana has filed criminal charges against a brave telemedicine abortion provider in New York, who allegedly provided medication abortion to a patient in Louisiana. While New York has a telemedicine shield law, the Attorney General of Louisiana has now issued an extradition order for this physician, testing the limits of shield laws for telemedicine on a national scale. We will be closely monitoring this case and will continue our advocacy to bolster shield protections both in the Bay and Nutmeg states.
Get Involved!
📍ANYWHERE! Save the Date for Reproductive Equity Now’s 2025 Gala!
Reproductive Equity Now will be hosting our 2025 Gala on May 15th at the InterContinental in Boston, and we would be thrilled to have you join us! Please save the date and keep an eye out for information on tickets and sponsorship opportunities in the coming weeks.
Our Resources
Need to understand your legal rights to provide or access abortion care? Reproductive Equity Now’s Abortion Legal Hotline will 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 Guide allows 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 use deceptive practices to target patients seeking abortion care, and get the tools you need to organize against them.
Thank you so much for powering this fight. We’re grateful to have you in the movement with us.
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