Repro Roundup 03.08.24
This Sunday is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day – a.k.a., REN’s favorite day of the year – and we have a lot of abortion providers here in New England to celebrate. We’re so grateful to these brave, compassionate folks who spend every day ensuring that New Englanders – and those traveling to the region – have access to abortion care.
In New Hampshire, we have two phenomenal independent abortion clinics – the Lovering Center in Greenland and Equality Health Center in Concord – as well as Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which provides abortion care at the Manchester, Derry, and Keene health centers. At these centers, patients can obtain a variety of services, such as STD/STI testing and treatment, birth control, cancer screenings, gender-affirming care, and, of course, abortion care. These clinics are not only caring for Granite Staters, but for anyone seeking abortion care in the state. Check out the op-ed our New Hampshire State Director, Christina, put out with Sandi Denoncour and Jinelle Hobson of Lovering and Equality Health, respectively.
In Connecticut, we have the fabulous team at Hartford GYN Center in Bloomfield, as well as Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, which provides abortion care at 14 health centers across the Nutmeg State. At these clinics, patients can access a wide spectrum of reproductive and sexual health care. We have a busy legislative agenda for this short session in Connecticut, and a bunch of our priority bills are meant to make the work these providers do a bit easier. Check out our CT legislative agenda to get involved in our advocacy work, and read the op-ed our Connecticut State Director, Liz Gustafson, co-wrote with Roxanne Sutocky of the Hartford GYN Center!
Finally, in Massachusetts, we are privileged to have so many providers to celebrate and appreciate! Today, we want to highlight our friends at The MAP (The Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project), a new team of providers in Cambridge using the Bay State’s shield law to send medication abortion to patients in states where abortion is severely restricted or fully banned. In the first five months of operation, they’ve offered care to more than 1,600 patients, 95% of who live in banned or restricted states.
As the repro movement stares down some big battles with the mifepristone case, EMTALA, and the 2024 election, it is critical that we also take the time to celebrate movement leaders, the amazing providers who support our patients, and the strides we’ve made towards achieving reproductive equity in very hard times. That’s why we joined with volunteers in Massachusetts this week to write more than 100 love letters to abortion providers throughout the state! Together, we can show these heroes that we stand with them.
On to this week's headlines –
News from New England
→ CVS and Walgreens to Begin Dispensing Mifepristone
Nearly a year after Governor Healey and the Board of Pharmacy of Massachusetts issued guidance to pharmacies in the Bay State to stock all reproductive health medicine, including mifepristone, CVS and Walgreens announced that they will be stocking medication abortion in pharmacies in six states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Before this, patients could only access abortion pills through in-house pharmacies at clinics, mail-order pharmacies, or if their provider stocks medication on-site. This is a critical step in ensuring patients can swiftly access prescribed medication abortion pills. Read our statement here.
→ Equitable Fertility Coverage Gets a Hearing in CT
With nationwide attacks on IVF heating up, Connecticut is stepping up not only to protect fertility care, but expand equitable access to treatments. Liz, our CT State Director, testified at two hearings on the expansion of fertility care this past week. One bill would update the definition of “infertility” in state law to ensure that LGBTQ+ couples and single individuals have equitable access to IVF. The other bill would expand HUSKY Health to cover fertility care. Currently, Connecticut’s state law only requires private insurance plans to cover this treatment. As KFF reported last week, without insurance coverage, IVF and other fertility care is often inaccessible. Click below to watch Liz, our CT State Director, on News 12 Connecticut talking about these crucial bills!
Liz was also invited to join Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal for a press conference on the urgency of protecting IVF from right-wing attacks, in the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court decision. Check out this clip of her from the presser!
→ Healthy Youth Act Passed by Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts State Senate voted to pass the Healthy Youth Act last week, a bill that would update Massachusetts state sex education curriculum. This legislation will ensure that Bay State students receive medically accurate, comprehensive, inclusive sex education. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
→ Sen. Becky Whitley & Sen. Altschiller: Once again, NH Republicans block efforts to protect women’s rights.
New Hampshire’s State Senate failed to pass legislation to put abortion rights on the ballot this November. CACR 24, as considered by the Senate, would have advanced to the ballot a constitutional amendment to be voted on by Granite Staters that would codify the right to abortion into the state’s constitution. In order to advance to the ballot, the bill needed to be passed by both chambers on a 3/5s majority, and like CACR 23, its companion in the house, CACR 24 did not meet the threshold to advance. Read this critical op-ed from Senators Becky Whitley and Debra Altschiller on what happened with this legislation, and why it is critical that we elect repro champions up and down the ballot in New Hampshire.
→ New England Responds to IVF Ruling
In late February, the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled that embryos are “extrauterine children,” setting the stage for fetal personhood statutes that can and will be used to attempt to ban abortion, contraception, and assisted reproduction nationwide. In the Boston Globe, Yvonne Abraham shared her personal story as someone who used IVF to become a parent, and she spoke with our president, Rebecca Hart Holder, about how this decision on IVF fits into the broader picture of legal attacks on reproductive autonomy. The Granite Post also put out an article highlighting the New Hampshire GOP’s public stances on fetal personhood. As Becca noted to the Granite Post, “the New Hampshire GOP cannot hide from its commitment to ban reproductive health care in the state, especially when fetal personhood is an explicit tenet of its platform.” NBC Boston also noted the particular impact this will have on LGBTQ+ parents and their abilities to start families.
National Notice
→ Poll After Poll Shows Attacks on Reproductive Autonomy Are Unpopular!
Four polls in the last two weeks confirm what we already know – abortion bans and attacks on reproductive health care are wildly unpopular across the nation and across the political spectrum. Americans for Contraception published the results of a survey showing that a majority of Americans fear their access to birth control is at risk, and that “80 percent of voters said that protecting access to contraception was ‘deeply important’ to them” – and that includes 72% of Republicans! Another poll, conducted by CBS News/YouGov, shows nearly 9 out of 10 Americans believe IVF should not be criminalized. An Axios/Ipsos poll showed that two-thirds of Americans disagree with the Alabama Supreme Court’s classification of frozen embryos as human beings. Finally, a poll conducted by KFF showed that 86% of Americans support EMTALA and believe that pregnant patients experiencing medical emergencies should have access to abortion care.
→ #WeCount Report Shows Resilience – and Increased Need – of Abortion Providers
The Society of Family Planning released the latest edition of its #WeCount report, which tracks abortion metrics in post-Dobbs America. This report found that telehealth abortions have risen significantly in the last few months, including in states where abortion is either severely restricted or fully banned. The report also found that abortion rates have remained largely the same since before the Dobbs decision, which speaks to the resiliency of abortion funds, providers, patient navigators, doulas, and all of the many people involved in a national network of support for patients seeking abortion care. However, the fact that the movement has found creative strategies to support patients around bans should not diminish the devastation these bans have caused for so many Americans. While we can celebrate that many patients are still able to access care, we must keep in mind the patients who are denied care, and continue to fight abortion restrictions at the state and local level.
→ Over the Counter Birth Control is Almost Here!
Opill, the first FDA-approved over-the-counter birth control pill, has been shipped to stores and will soon be available for purchase both online and at local pharmacies. The pill will be sold in one-month and three-month packs, for $20 and $50, respectively. Patients will also be able to get a six month supply online for around $90. The company announced that they will also be unveiling a cost-assistance program for uninsured, low-income patients in the coming few days. While we hope to see that program on its feet soon, we have more work to do to ensure that these medications are accessible by ensuring that they are covered by all insurance providers, including Medicaid. That’s why Repro Equity Now has called on the Biden administration to do just that!
→ Great Idea, Right?: Olivia Rodrigo’s Tour Will Raise Money for Abortion Funds.
Some fun, light-hearted news to close out this week’s Repro Roundup – pop princess Olivia Rodrigo announced last week that her sophomore tour for the album GUTS will raise money for local abortion funds! #Good4Her!
Get Involved!
📍ANYWHERE! Join the Abortion Access Advocates!
The Abortion Access Advocates team learned a ton at their February 12th training on the basics, history, and language of the reproductive justice movement. The next training on March 11th will cover how you can kickstart local repro policy movements in your community. Register today!
📍NEW HAMPSHIRE! Save the date for our Concord Screening of Preconceived
We’re thrilled to bring a screening of Preconceived, a film exposing anti-abortion centers’ deceptive practices, to Concord’s Red River Theater this March! Purchase your tickets for our Concord screening and post-film panel on March 28th!
📍ANYWHERE! Purchase Tickets for Reproductive Equity Now’s 2024 Gala!
Save the date (and reserve your tickets today!) for Reproductive Equity Now’s Annual Gala on April 11th! We will be honoring reproductive equity activists across New England, celebrating our wins from this past year, and honing in on our vision for reproductive equity across New England. We’d be honored if you join us for what will surely be an incredible night!
📍ANYWHERE! Show some love for your local abortion provider 💜
We’d be honored if you’d donate to some of our favorite independent abortion providers this Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. We’ve included some easy links below so you can send some support to these fearless providers!
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-based health care providers and helpers, as well as patients obtaining care in Massachusetts, with free legal advice and resources about abortion access.
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.
Do you want to help advance reproductive equity in your community? Our Win & Deliver Toolkit offers policy proposals and supporting materials to serve as a starting point for municipal leaders looking to move the needle forward on reproductive equity.
Thank you so much for powering this fight. We’re grateful to have you in the movement with us.
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