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NIRH’s Recent Successes:
Abortion Without Punishment Campaigns
With the implications of a gutted Roe, and fewer abortion clinics open and accessible, we now face the perfect storm for the criminalization of women and medical professionals for seeking or providing abortions. Archaic laws criminalizing abortion could become enforceable and states could introduce new legislation to ban abortion outright, as they have in Ohio. In 2018 and 2019, NIRH supported statewide campaigns in Ohio, New York, and Michigan to decriminalize people seeking abortions and providers who offer abortion care.
Combating Misinformation, Advancing Proactive Policies
Following the successful passage of the Reproductive Health Act, opponents of abortion access began spreading lies and misinformation about the law in an effort to push their anti-abortion agenda and halt similar progress in other states. In response to the web of misinformation spun by those who would like to see abortion criminalized, NIRH launched an aggressive ad campaign in Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Washington, DC to set the record straight on the RHA and other proactive legislation.
Passing & Protecting New York’s Reproductive Health Act
For more than 10 years, NIRH and the NIRH Action Fund led the advocacy campaign to educate the public, rally New Yorkers, and convince elected officials to update New York’s laws by passing the Reproductive Health Act.
Passage of the CCCA
After 5 years of NIRH’s advocacy, public education efforts and deep work with legislators, the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act (CCCA) became law in 2019. The CCCA ensures that all New Yorkers have access to the contraception that is right for them at no cost. Following years of grassroots organizing, the 2018 election delivered a pro-choice majority in the New York State Senate, and a mandate for passing the CCCA. The CCCA, which was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in early 2019, guarantees insurance coverage without a co-pay, allows individuals to obtain up to a year’s worth of contraception [...]
NIRH Digital Campaign Educates Public About New York’s Outdated Self-Managed Abortion Law
In October 2018 NIRH launched a month-long education campaign to inform the public about New York’s outdated abortion laws. Before the Reproductive Health Act passed in 2019, New York was just one of a handful of states with laws from the 1800s still on the books that criminalized self-managed abortion performed without a medical provider. With the creation of three videos and digital ads that explain the different ways these antiquated laws impact women and other pregnant people, we reached over 123,000 New Yorkers raising awareness about this issue. Watch the videos here: [...]
Polling on Abortion Access in Massachusetts
In 2018, the NIRH Action Fund partnered with NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts to illustrate that Massachusetts voters care about protecting abortion rights and abortion access. The ultimate goal was to pave the way for passing proactive legislation to repeal barriers to abortion on the books, safeguard reproductive freedom in state law, and expand access to reproductive health care. As part of these efforts, we conducted a first-of-its-kind poll of Massachusetts voters regarding reproductive freedom and abortion access. This polling included an oversample of Catholic voters in order to address the misconception that Catholic voters’ opposition to reproductive freedom was a barrier [...]
Massachusetts Passes State Decriminalization Bill Safeguarding Abortion Access
On July 18, 2018, the Massachusetts legislature passed long-overdue proactive legislation to decriminalize abortion. This win is significant because it overturns archaic statutes that have been used to prosecute women who self-manage their own abortions. With this win, Massachusetts pushed back against a hostile anti-choice federal landscape, and laid the groundwork to push even further to enshrine he full range of protections for abortion access in Massachusetts law. NIRH worked closely with NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts on the effort to decriminalize abortion in Massachusetts, providing funding, communications support and strategic guidance. We were proud to work closely with NARAL Massachusetts to get [...]
Passing Resolution Supporting Insurance Coverage for Abortion Care in Durham County, NC
On April 9, 2018, the Durham County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution calling for an end to the Hyde Amendment and calling upon President Trump and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to support measures to ensure and protect the rights of women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals everywhere to have unhindered access to safe and comprehensive health care. NIRH and All* Above All partnered with NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and a broad coalition of local organizations, including Carolina Abortion Fund, SisterSong, ACLU of North Carolina, Action NC, American Association of University Women NC, Equality NC, Jewish Voice for Peace, [...]
NIRH White Paper on Self-Managed Abortion – “When Self-Abortion is a Crime: An Analysis of Massachusetts Law”
NIRH’s white paper, “When Self-Abortion is a Crime: Laws that Put Women at Risk: An Analysis of Massachusetts Law,” raises awareness about the harms of criminal bans on self-abortion, with a particular focus on Massachusetts, which is one of a handful of states with criminal laws on the books that explicitly make self-abortion illegal.
Youth Ambassadors Council in Hillsboro, OR Expands Access to Teen-Friendly Reproductive Health Care
The members of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) at the Inukai Family Boys & Girls Club are changemakers in their community, and in 2016, NIRH was proud to support them as they work towards their goal of increasing access to teen-friendly reproductive health care. In the first quarter of 2016, the Hillsboro School Board voted 4-3 to deny a policy that would have allowed the town’s school-based health center to dispense and prescribe contraceptives to students, despite advocacy by the YAC urging them to support the policy. Undeterred, the young people turned to a partnership with Washington County Public Health [...]
