Posted on March 5, 2019
Tuesday Tip: 6 Ways to Fight for Reproductive Rights
It’s a frightening thought: Republicans have never been closer to overturning Roe v. Wade.
Donald Trump used his stage at the State of the Union address to repeat anti-abortion advocates’ lies. His administration is working to implement the Title X gag rule, which will ban federal funding to health clinics that provide or refer patients to abortion services, with the goal of defunding Planned Parenthood and similar providers.
With Brett Kavanaugh now sitting on the Supreme Court and Donald Trump playing to his base on abortion, the court’s solidly conservative 5-4 majority has a real opportunity to overturn the landmark case protecting a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
Overturning Roe v. Wade would leave more than 25 million women in 20 states – more than one-third of women of reproductive age – without access to legal abortion. That includes “more than 4.3 million Hispanic or Latina women, nearly 3.5 million Black or African American women, more than 800,000 Asian women, and nearly 300,000 American Indian or Alaska Native women.”
In the 46 years since the court handed down this monumental decision, conservatives have tried to overturn Roe v. Wade and restrict access to abortion through legal battles, unconstitutional legislation at the state and federal levels, and intimidation and violence against women and providers. But never have they had a chance like now to truly overturn women’s protected right to a safe and legal abortion nationwide.
What can we do to stand up for a woman’s right to an abortion?
There are ways activists, allies and progressive lawmakers can protect women’s rights if states begin banning abortion or if the court agrees to take up and rules unfavorably on one of the many abortion cases making their way through the court system.
Our friends at Planned Parenthood have released a 3-part plan to fight back against any attempts to restrict women’s health and access to reproductive services now that Kavanaugh has been installed on the Supreme Court.
They include:
- Expanding access to reproductive services in states where abortion remains legal and increasing support for women in states where abortion is restricted
- Increasing pressure on state lawmakers to strengthen good laws protecting access and oppose bad laws restricting women’s health, and
- Fighting the negative stigma of abortion that continues to pervade politics and popular culture.
And here are three more ways you can take action right now:
- Push back on the Trump administration’s Title X gag rule. This gag rule is another blatant attempt by Trump and Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood, take away reproductive health care from women living in poverty and end access to abortion nationwide. Learn more and join Planned Parenthood’s fight
to overturn it. - Sign our petition calling on the House of Representatives to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. This legislation, if passed, would bar federal and state lawmakers from advancing laws that would ban abortion or make it extremely difficult for a woman to access abortion services. You can add your name here.
- Join CREDO (or tell your friends to join!). We are one of Planned Parenthood’s largest corporate donors and have a long history of donating to other organizations standing up for women’s rights, so you know that you will be supporting reproductive rights every day by just using our products and services.
By taking these actions, we can generate massive public pressure at both the state and national levels to create an environment where conservative lawmakers and right-wing hate groups feel the pressure to back off their attacks on women and where advocates have the support to continue standing up for women’s rights.
In the coming months and years, we hope you will continue to help us in the fight to protect reproductive freedom, no matter what Trump does or what happens at the state level or at the Supreme Court.