Repro Roundup 07.12
This week, the Massachusetts House unanimously passed a bill that marks big progress in our work to protect the digital privacy of abortion patients and providers in the Commonwealth! The legislation would protect the sensitive location data of people visiting places that provide gender-affirming and reproductive health care in the state.
In this day and age, our cellphones hold some of the most private and intimate details of our daily lives. Companies collect precise location information from our cellphones – showing where we live, work, seek health care, and more – and share it without our knowledge or consent.
We’re grateful to House leadership for advancing this issue, and that lawmakers understand that abortion patients and providers are not protected until their digital privacy is protected, too!
This bill marks important progress to protect the deeply sensitive and personal information that location data can reveal about all parts of our lives, whether at an abortion clinic, at home, at work, at worship, or beyond. We look forward to continued collaboration with lawmakers in the remaining weeks of session to advance this issue.
On to this week's headlines –
News from New England
→ There’s Still Time to Contact Governor Sununu and Prevent the Passage of Anti-Trans Legislation
The New Hampshire Legislative Session ended weeks ago, but Governor Sununu still has not acted on several pieces of enrolled legislation – including four awful anti-trans bills that would greatly harm trans and queer youth in the Granite State. Governor Sununu has previously signed legislation protecting transgender folks from discrimination, and is famous for his history of vetoing legislation. We need him to act on his record and veto this cruel, discriminatory legislation.
CALL Governor Sununu’s office [(603) 271-7676] and tell him to veto HB 1312, HB 1205, HB 619, and HB 396 TODAY!
→ A Promise from Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz and REN: Connecticut Will Remain a Bastion for Reproductive Freedom
Last week, our Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson and Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz teamed up to pen an op-ed for Connecticut Insider stating firmly that Connecticut will never stop working to protect abortion access and reproductive autonomy for all Nutmeggers. Connecticut has served as a critical firewall against anti-abortion attacks post-Dobbs, and as Liz and the Lt. Gov wrote, “In a post-Dobbs world, state leadership to advance reproductive equity has never been more important.”
Feeling inspired? Now is the time to get off the sidelines and get organized for reproductive equity. Get involved in our efforts to protect and expand reproductive equity across New England this election cycle.
→ Massachusetts and Connecticut Data Reveal Increase in Out-of-State Abortion Patients
Last week, we learned that in the last three years, the number of patients traveling to Massachusetts from out-of-state for abortion care doubled. Connecticut saw a 150% increase in patients traveling to the Nutmeg State for abortion care – a huge leap from the 60% increase of the previous year. As patients are increasingly forced to travel for in-person care or seek out telemedicine care with some personal legal risk, New England-based providers are a lifeline. While we must always remain vigilant about defending abortion access in New England states, we must also work to expand access and resources to continue supporting patients living in states with abortion bans.
→ We Need Your Help to Get the Massachusetts Maternal Health Package Across the Finish Line
In June, the Massachusetts House passed a major maternal health package with a bunch of priorities from our reproductive equity agenda, including provisions to create a pathway to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives and improve access to freestanding birth centers. Now, the package has to pass the Senate. We need you to contact your senator in support of the maternal health package— it takes less than a minute to reach out to your elected leaders!
→ Boston Globe: Project 2025 is Coming for Us.
Project 2025 is looming ahead of us – and New England must be prepared. We must take seriously the threat posed to us by Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s extremist plans for the first 100 days of a second Trump presidency, which outlines a path to a national abortion ban, restrictions on contraception, and more. Right now, we have to ensure we have strong state-level firewalls to protect our rights from extremist attacks on the national stage. That’s why we need to keep up the vital work to expand access to care in Connecticut, elect repro equity champions up and down the ballot in New Hampshire, and pass the Location Shield Act in Massachusetts.
→ Fact-Checking New Hampshire Republicans on Abortion
The New Hampshire GOP has launched a $6 million campaign to deceive Granite Staters about New Hampshire’s abortion ban and their history of attacking abortion access. Clearly, they know abortion access and reproductive freedom are core Granite State values and that the party’s stance and history on repro will not get them far at the ballot box, so they have resorted to outright lying and misleading voters. Fortunately, the good folks at the New Hampshire Bulletin put out a comprehensive fact check on the lies of the NHGOP on abortion. Check it out and spread it widely so we can combat this disinformation campaign.
→ Reflecting on Organizing for Repro Equity in Connecticut
Our Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson spoke with the Hartford Courant this past week about her experiences organizing for reproductive equity in the Nutmeg State, changes and trends she’s noticed, and the ongoing need to keep the fire alive within the movement post-Dobbs. The Courant also looked back at the state of abortion access and maternal health two years after the fall of ˆ in Connecticut, offering helpful insight into how things have changed in Connecticut and where we have room to grow and expand access to reproductive health care. As Liz told the Courant, “People in Connecticut understand that this fight is not over and what impacts abortion seekers somewhere impacts abortion care everywhere.”
→ Tides for Repro Freedom Survey Shows Gaps in MA Abortion Access
Tides for Reproductive Freedom, one of Massachusetts’ abortion and practical support funds, has spent the year conducting a community access scan across the state to better understand the barriers patients in Massachusetts face when seeking abortion care. 40% of surveyed people in the state did not know where they could access abortion care, and a larger percentage of people living in rural communities did not know where to access OB/GYN services. This is why we have been working to raise awareness of Reproductive Equity Now’s New England Abortion Care Guide, a comprehensive map and guide to accessing abortion care, which is regularly updated to reflect new providers and the breadth of services, financial support, and resources available to patients.
National Notice
→ Senate Republicans Block Abortion Rights Bill
Senate Republicans this week used the filibuster to block a vote on the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, a bill calling for the codification of the right to abortion as it was guaranteed under Roe v. Wade (even though we know Roe was never enough!). It’s one of several bills put forth by Senate Democrats, primarily as messaging bills, to get the Republican Caucus on the record voting against guarantees for abortion legality and birth control access.
While we knew this bill was not going to pass, the failure of this legislation is another infuriating reminder of what is at stake in November. The anti-abortion far-right is running a massive propaganda campaign to obfuscate their unpopular, inhumane record on bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom. We cannot forget that they want to ban abortion, birth control, IVF, and gender affirming care – regardless of how much money they spend on misleading campaign ads or how much they push the conversation away from their awful record and alarming plans.
→ RNC Gives the Green Light to States to Pass Fetal Personhood Bills
The Republican National Convention is next week, where the presumptive nominee and convicted felon Donald Trump will announce his vice president and the Republican National Committee will finalize their platform. Their released platform structure, to be voted on, explicitly allows (and somewhat encourages) states to push forward fetal personhood statutes, all while posing as a “moderate platform” by not explicitly campaigning for a nationwide ban. This platform is just another example of the GOP attempting to bury their record on abortion and appear more moderate, even though that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Fetal personhood laws are the anti-abortion movement’s pathway to a national abortion ban, and voters should not be deceived.
Get Involved!
📍CONCORD, NH! Join us for our first New Hampshire Roe’d Show!
Join us in downtown Concord on Wednesday, July 24th at 6pm for “Organizing for Equity: The Roe'd Show” where we'll partner with advocates and volunteers to discuss what's at stake this November and how we can mobilize our communities around repro equity issues up and down the ballot. RSVP for location details here.
📍GREAT BARRINGTON! Join us for a screening of Preconceived!
Join Reproductive Equity Now at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington on August 7th for a private screening of Preconceived, a new documentary that exposes anti-abortion centers' deceptive and dangerous agendas. Purchase tickets here!
📍MARTHA’S VINEYARD! Join us for a screening of Preconceived!
Or, if you’re on the other side of the state, join us at the Martha's Vineyard Film Society for another private screening of Preconceived on August 13th! Purchase tickets here.
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.
If there’s anyone you know who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, they can sign up here!
