Repro Roundup 01.31
We’re only two weeks into the second Trump Administration, and his extreme anti-abortion agenda is already moving full steam ahead. In just 11 days, Trump:
Reinstated the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, preventing any foreign aid group or non-governmental organization that receives funding from the United States from providing information about abortion care. Read our statement on how gagging frontline providers from informing patients of their reproductive health care options will worsen the global maternal mortality crisis.
Declared that the Department of Justice will be rolling back their enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects patients seeking abortion care from physical intimidation and harassment from anti-abortion extremists. Trump also pardoned nearly all of the people convicted under the FACE Act during the Biden Administration, including those who have physically injured nurses at abortion clinics.
Issued an Executive Order directing agencies to ban and obstruct access to gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 19. Read our statement about the cruelty of robbing transgender youth of access to life-saving, life-affirming care.
Buried an endorsement of fetal personhood in an Executive Order targeting non-binary gender markers on passports.
Directed the Department of Health and Human Services to bolster protections for religious refusals to provide abortion care. Read our statement in Connecticut urging the state to take action to protect providers who offer information or referrals for abortion care against the objections of their employing health care institution.
Doubled down on the Hyde Amendment by revoking two Executive Orders from the Biden Administration, one of which allowed TRICARE to pay for travel costs for active duty military to travel for abortion care.
Froze all federal funding, then reversed that decision, with ongoing ramifications for Medicaid enrollment and management.
Eleven days. The first eleven days of the next four years. Trump is showing us his hand, and it’s plain to see that he will cave in to the demands of the anti-abortion extremists who supported his candidacy. But it is also abundantly clear that this extremism demands bold, responsive action from state leaders. New England states must form a firewall against anti-abortion extremism, and ensure that the Northeast remains a beacon for abortion access.
And we need you in this fight now more than ever. Sign up to get involved, and forward the roundup to three friends who you want to invite to join us in this work. Now is the moment to build up our reproductive equity community and take action to defend our rights from Trump’s anti-abortion extremism.
On to this week’s headlines –
News from New England
→ We launched our Massachusetts Legislative Agenda!
We know the battle to preserve and expand abortion access is in the states, and we have to focus our attention locally. So we’ve taken our anxiety over the new presidential administration and turned it into action by launching our Massachusetts Legislative Agenda for 2025-26! Our new agenda is a bold and innovative slate of policy advancements for reproductive equity. We will fight to end arbitrary restrictions on abortion throughout pregnancy, protect the digital privacy of abortion seekers and providers, ensure that the full spectrum of pregnancy care is affordable to parents, and more.
Want to learn more about our plans for Beacon Hill? Join our legislative briefing on February 11th to hear from our state director, Lyv, about what we’re working on in the Bay State and how to get involved!
→ And we launched our New Hampshire Legislative Agenda!
If you thought responding to the Trump Administration’s slew of action and launching one state legislative agenda was a lot, wait till you see that we also launched our New Hampshire legislative agenda for the 2025 session! Our new agenda meets the demands of this moment with strong defense against a hostile anti-abortion majority, while continuing to fight affirmatively for abortion and maternal health care. We will hold the line and ensure anti-abortion politicians do not further erode our access to care, fight back against vicious attacks on gender-affirming health care, demand that the legislature recognize that abortion care is essential health care, and build upon maternal health care advancements by advocating for Momnibus 2.0!
→ Granite Staters: we need your help!
We jumped headfirst into our legislative session in the Granite State by testifying live for the House Judiciary Committee in opposition to a 15-week abortion ban and by submitting written testimony in opposition to a bill restricting travel for abortion care and a bill collecting statistics on abortion care in New Hampshire that may endanger patient privacy. We’re especially proud of the fact that we helped activate over 12,000 Granite Staters to register their opposition to the 15-week ban and over 6,000 Granite Staters to register their opposition to the travel ban. Check out our Reddit posts on the 15-week ban and the travel ban to see how Granite Staters are voicing their disapproval for these extreme anti-abortion bills.
But now we need you to take action with us. The lead sponsor of the 15-week ban is seeking to withdraw the legislation. Now, this bill sits in the hands of the full House of Representative, which will take a vote to withdraw the bill next week. We need YOU to contact your State Representatives in New Hampshire and ask them to support the motion to withdraw and send the message that Granite Staters will not tolerate further restrictions on our access to abortion care. Use the form below to contact your reps in opposition to this legislation!
→ Husky4Immigrants
Reproductive Equity Now’s Connecticut State Director, Liz, joined the HUSKY4Immigrants coalition for their campaign launch this past week! With the Trump Administration’s increased attack on immigrants and their families, states need to ensure that all people have access to health care – regardless of their immigration status – because health care and bodily autonomy are human rights. We’re proud to be members of the HUSKY4Immigrants coalition, because all people need and deserve access to comprehensive reproductive health care and abortion.
→ How Massachusetts is Responding to the Trump Administration
Last week, we joined Senator Ed Markey, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Mayor Michelle Wu, and our friends at the ACLU of Massachusetts, the AFL-CIO MA, Mass Equality, and MIRA, on a call to talk about what we’re expecting with the new Trump Administration and how local leaders can take action. Collective action and mobilization will be how we move forward despite the hostile environment advocates are facing, and we were proud to participate in this inspiring evening! You can watch the full conversation here.
→ Repro Equity Now @ the People’s March in Boston and New London!
We joined folks at the People’s March in Boston and New London, CT the weekend before inauguration to spend time with our communities and find strength in collective action. We handed out some emergency contraception, stickers directing people to our New England Abortion Care Guide, and action guides for folks looking to get involved in the fight against anti-abortion extremism. We’re so grateful to the organizers for holding this space for our movement!
National Notice
→ Senate Blocks “Born Alive” Bill
Congress saw its first piece of anti-abortion legislation voted on last week – the so-called “Born Alive” bill, which criminalizes providers who provide life-saving abortion care later in pregnancy. Anti-abortion politicians supporting this legislation claim it is to prevent something that literally does not happen in the course of abortion care – i.e., physicians who engage in feticide. What this bill would actually do is prevent physicians from providing compassionate care to pregnant people experiencing fatal fetal anomalies or life-threatening pregnancy complications, and interrupt tragic moments during which expectant parents are grieving the loss of a wanted pregnancy by forcing physicians to engage in futile and extreme medical procedures. Thankfully, this legislation was blocked in the Senate.
→ Meta Censors Abortion Information on Instagram
Last week, telemedicine abortion providers such as AidAccess and HeyJane found their Instagram and Facebook accounts restricted, shadow-banned, and posts greyed out. Meta, the parent company, confirmed to the New York Times that it had restricted certain posts and accounts that promote access to telemedicine abortion care, seemingly acquiescing to the Trump Administration’s efforts to decrease access to information on abortion care. This action followed the Trump Administration’s deactivation of reproductiverights.gov, a site created by the Biden Administration as a clearinghouse for information on birth control and reimbursement policies for travel related to abortion care, as well as state laws related to abortion care. This is a great moment to refresh yourself on online safety when seeking abortion care. Check out our Blog, Reel, and TikTok with tips on keeping your data safe when accessing abortion care.
→ Trump, Vance, and Johnson Speak at March for Life
The three most politically powerful men in the United States were key speakers at the March for Life Ending Access to Abortion Care – President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Johnson touted that Trump’s Executive Order on passport gender markers endorses fetal personhood, making clear that the language in that order was intentional and meant to promote anti-abortion extremism. Vance and Trump affirmed that their administration would be an ally to the anti-abortion movement, despite their campaign promises for a “moderate” approach to abortion laws – proving that those promises were total lies.
→ Continued Hearings on Anti-Abortion Trump Nominees
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pam Bondi, and Russell Vought were among the Trump Administration cabinet nominees who had hearings in Senate Committees, and their anti-abortion views were put into the public record in each hearing. During Bondi’s hearing, she declared that she is “personally pro-life,” and refused to answer questions on whether or not she would weaponize the Department of Justice against abortion seekers and providers. In Vought’s hearing, he was grilled on his anti-abortion history and his involvement in the development of Project 2025. And in RFK Jr.’s hearing, he was grilled by Senator Maggie Hassan about his flip-flopping on abortion policy, to which he responded that he agrees with Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy,” and refused to answer if he would defend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone or the Department of Health and Human Services’ policies related to EMTALA. We urge the Senate to reject these extreme nominees and prevent anti-abortion extremism from dominating the Executive branch.
Get Involved!
📍BOSTON! Craft with us at Stitching Our Futures!
Join Company One Boston for Stitching Our Future: A Community Craft Circle for Reproductive Justice at the Civic Pavilion at Boston City Hall Plaza on February 8th at 3 PM. Come knit hats or tie fleece scarves to donate to Women’s Lunch Place, design your own zine, and make Valentines to share your love for reproductive equity. (All materials provided) RSVP HERE!
📍MASSACHUSETTS! Join us for our Legislative Agenda Rollout and Briefing!
Our legislative agenda for 2025-26 is a bold and innovative slate of policy advancements for reproductive equity. We invite you to learn more about this exciting legislative agenda at our virtual briefing on February 11th at 6 PM! Register here!
📍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.
If there’s anyone you know who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, they can sign up here!
