WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri along with 100 other organizations spanning reproductive health, rights, justice and movements, outlined a first-of-its-kind joint proactive vision for lawmakers to deliver on sexual and reproductive health.
On Election Day, people around the country made it clear that they want leaders that are going to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. Pro-reproductive health majorities will be taking shape in the House of Representatives, governor’s houses and state legislatures.
“With Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and the Trump administration trying to roll back access to reproductive freedom at every level of government, we’re teaming up with organizations across the country to take bold action and a call for change,” Alison Dreith, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Executive Director said.
According to NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, the organizations outlined a coordinated policy vision of bold action, for the present and future, on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The news release stated that the vision statement is a phase one of an unprecedented, collective effort to work towards policy change in service of their shared vision.
The organizations will continue to meet over the next few months to develop policy recommendations for key areas including health care access and coverage; abortion access and rights; youth health and rights and sex education; healthy pregnancies; health care refusals; judicial nominations; clinic security; immigrants’ access to health care; supporting access to providers; sexual and reproductive health in delivery system reform; research and development and global reproductive health.
“Everyone deserves access to care that will allow them to control their bodies and their reproductive choices,” Dreith said. “We’re proud to join this coalition of 100 organizations to make sure we’re proactively protecting access to care and working to end unnecessary and unconstitutional barriers.”
A complete policy agenda along with legislative and administrative recommendations will be released publicly in the spring of 2019.
“All people should have access to affordable, quality health care and as part of that, access to health care providers that meet their needs, including their sexual and reproductive health needs. In the past two decades, we have made significant progress in improving health access through policies rooted in that principle, like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by 193 countries, including the United States. As attacks on that progress continue, lawmakers must not only defend those gains but urgently push for policies that are designed to ensure equitable access to health.”
“The success of pro-reproductive health candidates was powered by women, people of color, LGBTQ people and young people: those who have endured a disproportionate share of attacks on people’s health and rights. These election results send a clear message: We expect politicians to listen to us, and fight to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care.” – “A Call For Change: Putting People’s Health and Rights First”
The organizations who are involved in the vision and have signed on to the effort are 9to5; Abortion Care Network; Access Reproductive Care-Southeast (ARC-Southeast); ACCESS Women’s Health Justice; Advocates for Youth; AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families; AIDS United; All-Options; All* Above All; American Association of University Women (AAUW); American Atheists; American Civil Liberties Union; American Jewish World Service; American Sexual Health Association; Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum; Black Mamas Matter Alliance; Black Women for Wellness; Black Women’s Health Imperative; California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom; Catholics for Choice; Center for Health & Gender Equity (CHANGE); Civil Liberties & Public Policy Program; Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR); Community Catalyst; Feminist Majority; Feminist Women’s Health Center; Fund Texas Choice; Gender Justice; Guttmacher Institute; Healthy and Free Tennessee; Healthy Teen Network; Ibis Reproductive Health; Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health; In Our Own Voice: National Balck Women’s Reproductive Justice Agende; International Women’s Health Coalition; Ipas; Iris House, Inc.; Legal Voice; Lift Louisiana; NARAL Pro-Choice America; NARAL Pro-Choice California; NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut; NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts; NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota; NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri; NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina; NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon; NARAL Pro-Choice Texas; NARAL Pro-Choice Virgina; National Abortion Federation; National Asian Pacific AMerican Women’s Forum (NAPAWF); Natioal Center for Lesbia Rights; Natioal Center for Transgender Equality; ational Council of Jewish Women; Natioal Health Law Program; National Institute for Reproductive Health; National LGBTQ Task Force; Natioal Network for Abortion Funds; National Organization for Women & Families; National Women’s Health Network; National Women’s Law Center; New Voices for Reproductive Justice; Northland Family Planning Centers; Not Without Black Women; Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice; PAI; Physicians for Reproductive Health; Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Population Connection Action Fund; Population Insitute; Power to Decide; Preterm; Raising Women’s Voices; Reclaim; Reproductive Health Access Project; Sexuality Information and educatio Council of the United States (SIECUS); SIA Legal Team; Sierra Club; Sister Reach; SisterLove, Inc.; SisterSong: National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective; Social Workers for Reproductive Justice; Southwest Women’s Law Center; SPARK Reproductive JusticeNOW!, Inc.; State Innovation Exchange (SiX); Surge; Texas Equal Access Fund; The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health; Transgender Law Center; URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity; UU Women’s Federation; #VOTEPROCHOICE; WV FREE; Whole Woman’s Health; Whole Woman’s Health Alliance; Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health; Women’s Rights Empowerment Network (WREN); Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Yellowhammer Fund.