National Institute for Reproductive Health Joins Fight for $15 at Hofstra University Presidential Debate To Demand Reproductive and Economic Justice from Our Future President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 26, 2016

Contact: Christie Petrone, 646-520-3504, [email protected]

NEW YORK — The National Institute for Reproductive Health today joined the Fight for $15 and other allied organizations at Hofstra University ahead of the presidential debate to demand from our future president a progressive agenda, including an end to the unjust policies that deny abortion care. The diverse coalition of protesters includes reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates, immigration reform activists, environmental advocates, and citizens committed to reform of the justice system.

“We’re sending a powerful message to the presidential candidates that our basic rights are not up for debate,” said National Institute for Reproductive Health President Andrea Miller. “The National Institute is proud to stand in unity with other advocates for social, economic, and reproductive justice, as we acknowledge that women face discrimination on many interrelated levels, compounding their hurdles to equality. A woman who is already struggling to make ends meet shouldn’t be further penalized by inequitable restrictions on abortion simply because she is insured through Medicaid.”

The protest comes on the first day of the United for Abortion Coverage Week of Action, a coordinated effort by the All* Above All coalition calling for insurance coverage of abortion care. The National Institute is a member organization of All* Above All and has partnered with local organizations to pass resolutions in localities across the country urging repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which has denied abortion coverage for women insured through Medicaid for 40 years.

Resolutions calling for an end to restrictions on abortion coverage have passed in recent years in Cambridge, Mass.; Cook County, Ill.; Ithaca, NY;  Madison, Wis.; New York; Philadelphia (Board of Health); San Francisco; Seattle; and Travis County, Texas. This year, resolutions have been introduced by city councils in Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Polling released earlier this year by the National Institute for Reproductive Health found that voters across the country overwhelmingly want abortion to be safe, legal, respectful of a woman’s decision, supportive, affordable, available, and without embarrassment, pressure, or shame.

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health works across the country to increase access to reproductive health care by changing public policy, galvanizing public support, and normalizing women’s decisions to have abortions and use contraception.