#TakeActionTuesdays
Here at Power to Decide we believe that everyone has the power to activate and make a difference. Check back regularly for a new call to action. Make your voice heard!
June 27, 2023
This past weekend marked one-year since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. During the past year, the nation has plunged deeper into a reproductive health crisis, with the harshest impact falling on women, people of color, people in rural communities, young people, and those with low incomes—in other words, those who were already facing significant barriers to accessing abortion and contraception.
Even before the Dobbs decision, there were many restrictions on reproductive health care. It is important to remember, however, that this is not, and has never been, acceptable. The landscape of abortion access was deeply inequitable even when Roe was the law of the land. We can and should imagine better for ourselves and our communities. We must fight for a world in which all people–no matter who they are, where they live, or what their economic status might be—have control over their bodies and the power to decide if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant or have a child.
With attacks on reproductive health care on the rise, it can be hard to feel like we can affect change. However, the more voices we add to the chorus, the greater our impact can be. Now, more than ever, it is important to make your voice heard. Even if you think—or know—your representatives in Congress will never agree with your position, it is still important for them to hear from you. They should know that many of their constituents support policies to increase access to reproductive health. On the other hand, even if your members of Congress agree with your position, they still need to know about your support for these policies. Legislators have many competing priorities and hearing from constituents can help keep these issues at the top of their list.
Add your voice to the chorus and participate in this crucial fight by taking part in one of our campaigns:
- Urge Your Representative to Support the Women’s Health Protection Act
- Urge Congress to Support the Affordability is Access Act
- Call on Congress to fund Title X and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
- Tell Your Representatives to Support REAHYA
- Tell Congress to Support the EACH Act
With your help, we can pass these important pieces of legislation and begin to transform our world for the better by ensuring access to reproductive health care for all.
May 9, 2023
Today and tomorrow (May 9 and 10), an FDA advisory committee will meet to consider the first ever application for a birth control pill to be sold over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription!
We are all counting on the FDA to follow the science, which clearly shows that birth control pills should be available OTC, covered by insurance, and free of age restrictions.
Join the conversation on social media today and tomorrow to share with the world how limited access to birth control pills affects you. You can also check out the Free the Pill social media toolkit for inspiration and don’t forget to add the hashtags #FreethePill and #ThxBirthControl.
April 4, 2023
Abortion is health care, but in 14 states there are no clinics providing abortion care. Five other states have abortion bans restricting access to care, and four more have bans that are temporarily blocked by courts.
We must protect the right to abortion and ensure it is accessible. We both the Women's Health Protect Act (WHPA) and the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act (EACH) to become law. WHPA would protect the right to access abortion throughout the US, while the EACH Act would eliminate federal insurance coverage restrictions on abortion care.
Tell Congress to support these bill!
Urge your Representatives to support the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Urge your Senators and Representatives to support the EACH Act.
March 28, 2023
In March, President Biden released his budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2024. The budget proposes, among other things:
- Increasing funding for the Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) from its current level of $286.5 million to $512 million.
- Increasing funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program from its current level of $101 million to $111 million.
- Eliminating funding for discretionary Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA, also known as abstinence only until marriage) program.
- Removing the harmful Hyde Amendment, a policy that blocks insurance coverage of abortion for people enrolled in Medicaid.
We are pleased to see the strong show of support for Title X and the TPP Program in the president’s budget proposal; read our full statement to learn more. It’s important to remember the president’s budget is just the first step in the appropriations process; Congress ultimately decides what gets funded. For FY 2024, we have requested that Congress provide $150 million for the TPP Program and $512 million for Title X. Take two minutes to urge your members of Congress to support these funding levels.
January 31, 2023
Every person no matter where they live or how much money they make, deserves to be able to access the health care they need. But with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected the nationwide right to abortion, many states have moved to ban abortion or make it less accessible.
Even before Roe was overturned, abortion care was not accessible for everyone. This is in part due to restrictions on coverage for abortion care in public health insurance, including the Hyde Amendment. The burden of these bans does not fall equally—more than half of those who lack coverage for abortion care in Medicaid are women of color.
On January 26, several champions in the House of Representatives introduced the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act to address this issue. The EACH Act would ensure coverage of abortion for people enrolled in public insurance plans (including Medicaid, Indian Health Service, and the Veteran’s Administration) and their dependents. It would also protect against federal interference with private health insurance companies that choose to offer coverage for abortion care.
Rather than pursuing further restrictions on abortion coverage and access, Congress has a responsibility to help their constituents get the health care they need. Please contact your members of Congress today to urge them to support the EACH Act.
December 13, 2022
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24, 2022, we have seen an influx of attacks not only on abortion, but on contraceptive and sexual and reproductive health care in general.
That’s why it is so important that Congress act now to provide the Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) with the funding it needs to keep up with the growing demand for family planning services.
In communities across the country, Title X funds help provide birth control and other family planning services to those who may otherwise struggle to afford such care. In doing so, Title X gives people the ability to lead healthy lives and achieve their goals. In addition to the attacks on reproductive health, this program has been underfunded for years—and communities across the country are at risk of not having a Title X clinic for birth control access if funding is not increased. Please take two minutes today to tell Congress to prioritize a funding increase for Title X.
Funding for Title X, and the rest of the federal government, runs out on December 16. In the meantime, Congressional leaders are negotiating a year-end deal. The strain on safety-net family planning clinics will only get worse if Congress does not include a significant increase in Title X funding.
By increasing this funding, clinics that rely on Title X will be able to continue offering high-quality contraceptive services, preventive screenings, and health education to low-income people, people lacking health insurance, young people, and more—as they have done for the last 50 years.
Please contact your member of Congress today!
October 4, 2022
Since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, states have sought to enact bans on abortion and restrictions on other forms of critical reproductive health care. This has threatened the ability of veterans living in states that ban abortion care to receive the care they need in their own communities. In response, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced its intention to allow VA physicians to provide the following to veterans and their eligible dependents: all options counseling, referrals, and abortion care in cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment.
All veterans, regardless of where they live, deserve comprehensive access to reproductive health care. Make your voice heard and submit a public comment in support of the VA’s proposal that would improve access to care.
