Repro Roundup 04.25
Pregnancy care should be affordable and accessible—period. Currently in Massachusetts, there is legislation to help make that a reality for all Bay Staters — but we need your help to pass it.
Next Tuesday, April 29, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services will hold a public hearing on the Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care Act (S.761/H.1311). This bill would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for the full spectrum of pregnancy care — ensuring that insurance plans don’t stand in the way of essential pregnancy care or family planning.
Help us pass this crucial legislation by submitting testimony to the Financial Services Committee! Here is what you can do:
✔️ Show up to testify in front of the Committee (in person or via Zoom)
✔️ Submit written testimony to the Committee
✔️ Share this call to action with your network
✔️ Do all three!
We’ve got you covered with a step-by-step Testimony Guide, including how to submit and sample language to help you get started.
Want to learn more about the Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care Act? Check out this guide on the legislation that tells you everything you need to know.
Thank you for being in this fight and working alongside us to ensure Massachusetts remains a beacon for equitable health care access in a post-Dobbs world.
On to this week’s headlines –
News from New England
→ We’re continuing to fight against anti-trans legislation in New Hampshire
We joined advocates from across the Granite State at a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to oppose HB 377 and HB 712, two bills that attack gender-affirming care for trans youth. Christina, our New Hampshire State Director, both submitted testimony and utilized her live testimony time to share the story of a mother of a trans child. Keep an eye out for future actions to take to defend trans health care in the Granite State!
→ Connecticut: Help us take action for reproductive health care access!
We’re excited to see that H.B.7213, An Act Concerning Access to Reproductive Health Care, has passed out of the Public Health Committee – but now we need your help to urge legislators to make it a priority this session! This critical bill makes progress toward expanding reproductive equity in Connecticut in two important ways: by repealing onerous and outdated TRAP-like regulations governing abortion providers in our state and by making it explicitly clear that young people are able to consent to, and access, contraceptive care and pregnancy-related care. We have created an easy form for you to use to contact your legislators in support of this crucial legislation!
→ NH budget vote coming soon in the Senate
In two weeks, the New Hampshire Senate will vote on the state budget, and we have two major items we’re looking out for. First, we are asking the Senate to include the text of Momnibus 2.0, which was already approved by the full chamber, in the budget to ensure there are appropriations for maternal mental health, expanded postpartum care, and more. Second, we are asking the Senate to restore funding for the Family Planning Program, which the House is seeking to eliminate. Stay tuned for ways to take action to ensure our state budget prioritizes the health and wellness of Granite Staters!
→ Funding for fertility care in CT budget draft
We’re excited to see that the Joint Appropriations Committee in the Connecticut Legislature has included funding for fertility care under HUSKY in their budget draft! Equitable access to fertility coverage is one of our legislative priorities for Connecticut this year, and we’re going to fight to ensure that this funding ends up in the final approved budget. Stay tuned for more action alerts in Connecticut as the legislature heads into the second half of session!
→ Massachusetts: Support critical repro budget amendments!
The Massachusetts House of Representatives will debate its FY2026 budget proposal next week, and we need you to write to your state representative to tell them to support key amendments that will invest in reproductive health care education, access, and infrastructure. Click here to write to your state rep today!
→ Presentation at Northeastern School of Law
Last week, our policy counsel Jaime presented on a panel at Northeastern University School of Law's Annual Health Law Conference! Jaime's presentation focused on the landscape of health care providers and clinicians three years post-Dobbs. We're proud of Jaime for sharing her expertise at this major conference featuring national legal leaders of the reproductive health access and equity movement!
National Notice
→ The White House is Brainstorming Ways to Pressure Women into Having More Babies
A stunning report from the New York Times this week reveals that the White House, not content with stripping away abortion access from millions of people, is hearing proposals for how to pressure women into having more babies. Some of these proposals include reserving federal scholarship funding for only married couples or parents, providing “baby bonuses,” and offering publicly-funded menstrual cycle education so people can know when they’re ovulating (oh, but not comprehensive sex ed!). This plainly creepy effort to encourage people to have babies using financial incentives fits into the broader natalist efforts of the Trump Administration. Here’s an idea: instead of paying women to have babies, the Trump Administration could focus on improving maternal health, reducing exorbitant costs of pregnancy and child care, and funding preventative care, birth control, and abortion access so that prospective parents can grow their families on their own terms, with the support and resources they need.
→ Funding Cuts Across the NIH, Title X, and CDC Will Worsen Maternal Health
Reporting from the last several weeks reveals that funding cuts from the Trump Administration’s austerity efforts will continue to worsen sexual health, reproductive health, and maternal health. The CDC has defunded the whole team that oversees PRAMS, the leading surveillance effort for maternal health across the country. Title X funding cuts are causing Planned Parenthood clinics to close down across the country, leaving millions without access to low-cost preventative care. The NIH has cut funding for a research initiative that focuses on women’s health and hormonal balance, crucial for healthy pregnancies. Medicaid funding cuts will also leave thousands of mothers without access to postpartum care. Pregnant people across the country will suffer without subsidized health care and research for improvements in care, all under a worsening economic crisis.
→ New Guttmacher Data Shows Increased Use of Telemedicine Abortion Care
New data from the research thinktank Guttmacher Institute shows that abortion rates remain steady, but fewer patients are being forced to travel out of their home state for urgent abortion care due to care provided from telemedicine “shield” providers. These providers, who are protected by state shield laws, are mailing medication abortion pills to patients in banned and restricted states, empowering pregnant people to have reproductive autonomy even when their state lawmakers try to coerce them into continuing their pregnancy.
Join us at our Breaking Barriers Gala on May 15th, where we will honor these brave telemedicine providers in Massachusetts alongside other reproductive equity leaders across New England!
→ Google’s AI Overviews echo anti-abortion messaging, report finds
Big Tech has once again been revealed not to be a friend to abortion access, as a new study from the Campaign for Accountability has revealed that Google’s AI overview – which works by automatically taking up the first segment of search results – echoes anti-abortion sentiments and messaging. Per CfA’s research, Google routinely points pregnant people seeking ultrasounds towards anti-abortion centers in states with ultrasound requirements, both with targeted advertisement and through the AI overview. The AI overview also echoes talking points from the websites of anti-abortion centers.
Check out our Blog, Reel, and TikTok with tips on keeping your data safe when accessing abortion care. And remember, you can always use our New England Abortion Care Guide to find verified, trusted information on where and how to access abortion care.
Get Involved!
📍ANYWHERE! Purchase tickets 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! Purchase tickets at this link, and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here.
📍ANYWHERE! Join the Abortion Access Advocates!
Abortion Access Advocates is a growing volunteer resource program designed to support you as abortion and reproductive equity advocates. At our AAA trainings, we gather virtually with fellow advocates, get to know each other, and dig into a new topic each month. Sign up for AAA so you can be the first to know what May’s topic will be!
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 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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