Protecting Abortion Rights
How To Defend Reproductive Freedom
Abortion rights are under attack. Abortions are one of the most common medical procedures - one in four women in the US will have an abortion by age 45. Yet, a growing number of legal restrictions deny sexual and reproductive health and rights to an increasing number of women, adolescent girls, and people who can get pregnant because they can’t access safe abortion services.
Here’s what you can do about it.
Support legislation to protect reproductive freedoms
Safe and legal abortions save lives. Across the country, states are enacting bans and proposing legislation, constitutional amendments, and ballot initiatives that restrict reproductive freedoms, defund access to abortion, and change key definitions such as when life begins.
AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
Pass the Women’s Health Protect Act
Contact your congress members via this Act for Women form to let them know you want them to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to protect abortion rights and safeguard against bans. And/or sign this ACLU petition to contact your congress members.
Repeal the Hyde Amendment and pass the EACH Act
The Hyde Amendment is a 40-year-old ban that prevents Medicaid from covering abortions, even when a patient’s health is at risk and their doctor recommends terminating the pregnancy. This unfair policy puts politicians at the center of people’s private lives and penalizes millions of low-income people who rely on Medicaid and do not have other options to terminate a pregnancy safely. Repealing the Hyde Amendment would make abortion care available to all, not just to those who can afford it. Learn more at All Above All.
Contact your congress members via this All Above All petition urging them to support the EACH Act which would reverse the Hyde Amendment and related abortion coverage restrictions.
AT THE STATE LEVEL
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect the right to abortion (as of December 2020).
Find out where your state stands using this Guttmacher list of each state’s level of hostility towards abortions and this Guttmacher spreadsheet of hostile and protective abortion policies at state level. Then contact your reps (keep reading for instructions).
Apply a reproductive justice lens to your activism
Reproductive justice combines reproductive rights with social justice and centers Black and Indigenous women, women of color, and trans people, analyzes power systems, and addresses intersecting oppressions. The Reproductive Justice movement believes in a world free of reproductive violence and oppression where individuals and communities have the resources and power to make decisions about their bodies, genders, sexualities, and lives.
Learn more at Sister Song and SPARK.
Defeat abortion bans and anti-abortion laws
The criminalization of abortion, restrictive legislation that limits access to safe abortion, and failure to provide adequate abortion services do not prevent unintended pregnancies or stop abortions from happening. They simply make abortions less safe. They also increase barriers to abortion that disproportionately impact low-income people who may not have health insurance and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who are more likely to live farther away from high-quality medical care.
Contact your state reps to let them know you oppose abortion bans and anti-abortion legislation (keep reading for instructions).
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about why you oppose bans and why you support abortion rights.
Stay up-to-date on bans with Planned Parenthood’s state access status, and track legislation at Ballotpedia.
Support pro-choice candidates and elected officials at all levels of government
When politicians know their constituents care strongly enough to vote for pro-choice candidates and vote against anti-choice candidates, they become more emboldened to publicly support the issue.
Vote pro-choice in every election. Sign up for a personalized #Voteprochoice voter guide for pro-choice recommendations for every race on your ballot, along with key moments and action alerts.
Find your Congress members’ record using this Planned Parenthood scorecard.
Thank your pro-choice reps for protecting abortion rights and reproductive freedoms.
During election season: NARAL endorses candidates who make reproductive freedom a priority. Check-in on their endorsements for more on how you can support pro-choice candidates.
Stay up-to-date on the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus.
Contact your state reps
Once you’ve done the research to understand where your state and your reps stand on abortion rights, you can contact your reps with your specific ask. For example, you can:
Tell them how you want them to vote on specific legislation
Voice your support for - or opposition to - specific ballot measures, constitutional amendments, and policies. Let them know you expect them to protect reproductive freedoms and oppose restrictions
Let them know you support abortion rights including:
Affirming a right to abortion in the state constitution
Establishing a legal standard that protects access to abortion
Guaranteeing abortion coverage through Medicaid
Mandating private health insurance plans cover abortion
Limiting religious exemptions in order to protect patient rights
Protecting access to abortion clinics and funding for family planning services
Expanding access to reproductive health services via telemedicine
Reducing health disparities rooted in racial discrimination and systemic disenfranchisement
Do an internet search for a petition or letter to elected officials on the specific issues at play in your state. You might find a template to help you figure out what you want to say.
Not sure who your state reps are or how to contact them? Read our posts Who Are My Reps and How to Contact Your Reps.
Take personal accountability
Help reduce abortion stigma
Abortion stigma shames and silences people who seek abortions and contributes to social, medical, and legal marginalization even though it’s one of the most common medical procedures.
Don’t be afraid to normalize talking about personal abortion experiences with your friends and family.
Reject narratives that create categories of “good abortions” vs. “bad abortions.” All people have the right to decide if, when, and how many children to have. Any reason for terminating a pregnancy is a valid reason if it is the right decision for that person. Research has shown that unintended pregnancy and the decision to seek an abortion can produce a range of emotions. People who have abortions are not required to agonize about the decision or feel guilty afterward.
Check out this movie list from Planned Parenthood and screen a movie to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
Participate in Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. On March 10, 1993, a white supremacist anti-abortion extremist murdered Dr. David Gunn. Now the day is commemorated to honor his life and work, and to thank all of the courageous and compassionate people who provide abortion care.
Join or start a local pro-choice coalition
Work with like-minded people to:
Stay abreast of developments in your state and collectively take action at impactful times.
Organize community events to raise awareness.
Check out groups like NARAL to see if they have a local chapter in your area.
Volunteer as a clinic escort
Contact your local abortion provider to learn how you can volunteer to accompany people past protestors and into clinics. Help ensure that anyone who needs an abortion can safely, and with dignity and compassion, access their abortion care provider.
Find an abortion provider in your area using abortionfinder.org.
Tackle root causes
There will always be a need to protect the right to safe and legal abortion. That said, we can work to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies through evidence-based strategies, including:
Comprehensive sexuality education
CSE teaches people, particularly young people, to make well-informed and healthy choices in relationships and their sexual lives using a holistic curriculum that addresses gender norms, sexuality, human rights, and public health. Support comprehensive sexuality education in your school system and reject abstinence-only programs and virginity pledges. Learn more at the Pop Council.
Access to quality, affordable contraceptives
Women and people who can get pregnant face multiple barriers to accessing contraceptives such as convenience, privacy concerns, insurance restrictions, and coercion/lack of control over decisions about their own bodies. Over 19.3 million women in the U.S. live in contraceptive deserts (aka a county that lacks reasonable access to a health center that offers the full range of contraceptive methods). To combat lack of access, we must encourage providers to offer the full range of contraceptive services and protect contraceptive coverage in healthcare plans. Learn more at the Power to Decide.
Youth-centered services
Provide high-quality reproductive health care that meets the needs of young people by ensuring that access to services, condoms, and contraceptives are accurate, confidential, compassionate, stigma-free, and informed by young people’s experience. Learn more at IPPF.
Donate | Follow | Amplify
Donate to support their work. Follow for updates and urgent action alerts. Amplify their message to raise awareness.
Support Texas Abortion Funds
Make a donation with Act Blue to support groups on the ground in Texas working to ensure that all people who need an abortion can get an abortion. The donation will be evenly split between Texas Equal Access Fund, Clinic Access Support Network, Support Your Sistah at the Afiya Center, The Bridge Collective, Jane's Due Process, Frontera Fund, Fund Texas Choice, West Fund, Whole Woman's Health Alliance, Inc., and the Lilith Fund.
Remove financial and logistical barriers for people seeking abortions in any state
Visit the National Network of Abortion Funds to find your state, or pick a fund in a hostile state (think: mandatory waiting periods, long distances to the nearest clinic). Check out this Guttmacher list of each state’s level of hostility towards abortions.
Support abortion care providers
Find your local clinic at abortionfinder.org as well as your local Planned Parenthood Health Center.
Provide supports health and social services workers to build a healthcare system that responds to unintended pregnancy and abortion through comprehensive, compassionate care.
Fund abortion rights advocates and lawyers working to pass protective policies and defeat bans
Center for Reproductive Rights
National Institute for Reproductive Health
Address compounding vulnerabilities through reproductive justice and racial equity
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center
Looking to support a local reproductive justice group? The Groundswell Fund partners with grassroots organizations led by women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people of color. Consider donating to one of their grantee-partners in your area by searching through their list of grantees (click on each fund for a grantee list).
Check out our posts Making the Most of Your Monetary Donations and What Is A Nonprofit to increase your impact when you donate.
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Originally published May 18, 2021. UPDATED September 6, 2021.
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