Power to Decide Applauds Bill to Improve Contraceptive & Maternal Health Counseling

(Washington, D.C.) Power to Decide is proud to join with other reproductive health organizations in applauding the introduction of the Enhancing Questions to Understand Intentions for Pregnancy (EQUIP) Act, led by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. The EQUIP Act seeks to improve reproductive well-being by funding demonstrations and evaluations of pregnancy desire screening tools by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Preliminary research into existing programs, such as One Key Question^®, Power to Decide’s own pregnancy desire screening tool, suggest they can help providers address unconscious bias and improve patient care.

The following statement can be attributed to Power to Decide CEO Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH:

“At Power to Decide, we believe all people should have access to the information, services and support they need to make their own decisions when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health. We also know that the ability to plan pregnancies is directly linked to a long list of benefits – not only healthier pregnancies, but also healthier children, families and communities. Unfortunately, longstanding racial and economic barriers have limited access to quality and person-centered reproductive care for far too many people.

“This is why we are proud to support the EQUIP Act, which would support and expand efforts to ensure that all people have the power to decide for themselves if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. This bill would bolster efforts to provide health care professionals access to tools they can use to guide conversations with patients about their pregnancy desires and to ensure patients get counseling and care in line with their goals.

“Thanks to the support of legislative champions like Rep. Bonamici and our own work with the One Key Question framework, we understand the transformative power of having conversations about pregnancy desires in ways that meet people where they are so they can get the care they need. We urge members of Congress to join us in supporting this critically important legislation.”

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Power to Decide is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to ensure all people—no matter who they are, where they live, or what their economic status might be—have the power to decide if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant or have a child.