NEWS: Abortion looms over 2022 state ballots
Five forthcoming state ballot initiatives on abortion rights could add fissures to the fractured post-Roe landscape and the evolving patchwork of reproductive health policies. The big picture: The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion has hardened sentiments in red and blue states and put critical access questions in front of voters this fall. Kansas showed how potent the issue is in driving turnout last month, when voters during state primary elections overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that would have struck abortion protections in the state’s constitution. The turnout of more than 900,000 was nearly half of all registered voters in the state, and almost double the amount of voters that Kansas normally sees in a primary election.
NEWS: Democrats urge Biden administration to use HIPAA to protect abortion rights and privacy
Thirty Democratic senators led by Washington’s Patty Murray are calling on the Biden administration to use health care privacy laws to protect patients’ reproductive health information, specifically when it comes to abortion. In the letter sent Tuesday, first shared with The 19th, the senators ask the Biden administration to use the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to prohibit health care providers and personnel from sharing any information about patients’ medical records “without explicit consent.”
New Census Data Show Policy Matters But There Is More Work to Do
Public policy has the power to set women and families up for success, and new data released by the Census Bureau yesterday provide a critical look at where our country stands on the issues that matter most in determining just how successful they are. The data, which look at poverty, health insurance, and income in the United States, make clear that policy makers have unfinished business to take care of to make sure women and families have all the supports they need to live healthy and secure lives.
Moms’ Equal Pay Day: Another Thing on the To-Do List
Well, it’s Moms’ Equal Pay Day again. All the way in September. That’s right – a typical mother would have to work nine additional months into 2022 just to be paid what fathers made in 2021. And wow, has it been a tough nine months for moms in the United States.
NEWS: Abortion pill providers experiment with ways to broaden access
As bans and restrictions proliferate across the country, abortion pill providers are pushing the envelope of regulations and laws to meet the surging demand for medication abortion in post-Roe America. Some are using physician discretion to prescribe pills to patients further along in pregnancy than the 10-week limit set by the Food and Drug Administration.
NEWS: Nearly 1/3 low-income Asian women in states with limited abortion access
When a young Rohingya woman touched down in New York in 2018, she thought she had finally reached safety – the end to an arduous lifelong journey of fleeing persecution without much choice. […] “Getting an abortion had a financial cost to it, but now that cost has essentially tripled,” said Rachna Khare, the executive director of Daya, a Houston-area survivors organization.
State Abortion Bans Could Harm More than 1.3 Million Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
The Dobbs decision has unique impacts on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Our analysis finds more than a quarter of Asian American and Pacific Islander women ages 15-49 live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion.
NEWS: States with abortion restrictions fail to support pregnant people
States that have enacted abortion restrictions or bans are doing little to “support the health and economic security of pregnant and birthing people and their families,” according to a new report from the National Partnership for Women & Families first shared with Axios.
NEWS: New Biden abortion rights push addresses both women and men
“Cheered by a decisive win for abortion rights in a Kansas vote and eyeing November midterm elections, the White House is launching a push for abortion access that aims to influence men as well as women, sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.”
NEWS: Online privacy in a post-Roe world
“The case of a Nebraska woman charged with helping her teenage daughter end her pregnancy after investigators obtained Facebook messages between the two has raised fresh concerns about data privacy in the post-Roe world.”
NEWS: Biden signs second executive order to protect U.S. abortion access
“Joe Biden signed a second executive order on Wednesday that aims to protect access to reproductive healthcare after the US supreme court struck down the constitutional right to abortion.”
Centering the Wellness & Mental Health of Communities of Color
In the fight towards equity and justice for women and families, we must acknowledge the factors that negatively impact communities of color’s well-being, which include but are not limited to collective, cultural, generational, and systemic trauma. Compounding that harm are the structural and cultural barriers to accessing culturally congruent, trauma-informed, anti-racist support and care exacerbate mental health challenges and inequities. We have compiled some resources that center the experiences, expertise, voices of communities of color.
