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Reproductive Health Access Project

Advocating for sexual and reproductive health care, access, and rights nationwide.

Advocacy

Introducing Access Watch – RHAP’s 2024 Advocacy Campaign 

Title page for Advocacy Watch podcast featuring title and icons of contraception, advocacy, pills, and binoculars.

The Reproductive Health Access Project is excited to announce that we are launching our 2024 ongoing advocacy campaign, Access Watch, that will address key areas of sexual and reproductive health access, rights, and freedom in 2024. Access Watch was created due to the increasing attacks on sexual and reproductive health care in order to mobilize our members, supporters, and clinicians to take action and use their voices! Access Watch will focus on one major theme per month, and will encompass a state of events, upcoming political legislation, advocacy opportunities, rapid news pushes, and more. We will also be posting on our Instagram about each month’s topic!

Listen to the first episode of our Access Watch Podcast here! 

July Access Watch: Disability Pride Month 

Welcome to the July edition of Access Watch, RHAP’s ongoing advocacy education campaign addressing key areas of sexual and reproductive health access and freedom in 2024. This month we’re celebrating Disability Pride Month and discussing disability justice and sexual and reproductive health care. Everyone deserves access to safe and supportive sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion, regardless of (dis)ability.

Disabled People & Abortion Bans 

People living with disabilities*, chronic illness, and/or chronic pain need and deserve access to the full spectrum of abortion care and sexual and reproductive access. 

“Abortion bans threaten the lives, safety, and autonomy of disabled people by creating barriers to critical medication and forcing pregnancy upon disabled individuals unable to carry a pregnancy to term without significant health risks, sterilization under coercive circumstances, or death.” – National Women’s Law Center 

In a medical system that expects uniformity, disabled people  often face disproportionate barriers to accessing health care, discrimination, assumptions, and even medical violence. Abortion bans pose greater threats to people with disabilities or chronic illnesses who may face heightened risks to their health and lives if pregnant. Due to disproportionate barriers to health care in general, abortion bans impact people with disabilities more than others.The states with the most restrictive abortion bans also have the highest number of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. More than 3 million disabled people of reproductive age (15-49), more than half of all disabled people in the U.S., live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion since Dobbs. In these states, many pregnant people seeking abortion use telehealth services or travel out-of-state to access the care they need –  but for disabled people, these options are not always accessible. 

Additionally, disabled communities are often left out of the abortion conversation due to a history of stigma and glaring misconceptions about sex and sexuality. Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) stated, “We are not seen as sexual beings. In fact, the assumption is that we just don’t have sex when, in reality, disabled people do have sex. We need and deserve accessible, affordable reproductive and informed reproductive health care, and that includes abortion.” 

When advocating for disabled people to access essential, potentially life-saving care like abortion, we must also advocate for their right to have children and be parents. It is critical that we not forget the long history and continued practice of forced/coerced sterilization of disabled people.

“We cannot remedy the compounding barriers to care that disabled people face daily until we address and dismantle the shameful history of coercion and reproductive control of disabled people in the United States” – National Women’s Law Center

Health care systems and policy‐makers must do better to ensure that all people, regardless of ability or identity, have control over their sexual and reproductive health, and address how ableism, racism, and sexism compound to create reproductive health challenges for people with disabilities. Reproductive rights and disability rights are interconnected— we have to expand and  protect bodily autonomy for all.

Disability Justice in Sexual & Reproductive Health Care 

At the Reproductive Health Access Project, we aim to center people with disabilities in our work to expand sexual and reproductive health care for everyone. Some of the common barriers to inclusive and person-centered care include: 

  1. Lack of training for clinicians on alternative methods for providing care 
  2. Infrastructure needs for making exam rooms and facilities accessible 
  3. Needed resources for disabled patients in understanding options for care 

RHAP’s newest resource, “The Pelvic Exam: Multiple Positions for Patient-Centered Care” features illustrations and descriptions of different options for pelvic exams. Since posting the resource online, we’ve heard from patients, med students, and clinicians how helpful it is to have this information. 

Interested in learning more? Check out some of our most popular resources for patients with disabilities: 

  1. The Pelvic Exam: Multiple Positions for Patient-Centered Care
  2. Insights: Supported Decision-Making for Patients with Disabilities That Affect Capacity
  3. Contraceptive Pearl: Practices of Consent and Autonomy for Patients with Disabilities, Part 1 & Part 2
  4. Insights: Best Practices for Making Your Office Physically Accessible For Disabled People Seeking Abortion Care
  5. Share the Instagram Post! Pelvic Exam Positions for Patient-Centered Care

 

Learn More & Take Action 

Organization Highlights 

  1. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
  2. Sins Invalid
  3. Disability-inclusive Sexual Health Network

Resources 

  1. Reproductive Justice for Disabled Women: Ending Systemic Discrimination
  2. NWLC Report: Forced Sterilization of Disabled People in the United States
  3. The Intersection of Disability and Reproductive Rights

*Editors Note: RHAP is always responding to continuously changing language and strives to use preferred identifiers of communities and individuals. With many individuals and communities preferring identity-first language rather than person-first language, and others preferring person-first language, we are using terms including disabled people and people with disabilities interchangeably

June Access Watch – LGBTQIA+ Pride 

Welcome to the June edition of Access Watch! This month we’re celebrating Pride and discussing key issues in LGBTQIA+ reproductive and sexual health care access. Reproductive freedom and LGBTQIA+ liberation are deeply intertwined – everyone deserves access to make choices about their bodies and futures without legal and political barriers. Legal challenges to fundamental care like abortion and gender-affirming care are on the rise—and often pushed forward by the same anti-abortion, anti-trans groups.

Gender-Affirming Care 

Gender affirming care is undoubtedly part of the spectrum of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. Access to this care can significantly improve the mental health of transgender youth, who face higher risks of depression and suicidal ideation compared to their peers. Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation. However, despite this being life-saving care — especially for young people — there are more restrictions on access to gender affirming care across the United States than ever before. As of May 2024, 25 states have banned gender affirming care for youth despite evidence from the medical community that this care saves lives. Additionally, half of the states without current bans are facing similar bills moving through their legislatures. Bans and restrictions often include denying access to medication, such as hormones and puberty blockers for trans youth. There are also laws that make it an offense for parents to support their children in accessing this kind of care. Other laws criminalize the clinicians who provide care — in some states, it is a felony to prescribe medication for gender affirming care. 

While many of these bills claim that they are protecting young people from irreversible harm, we know that the real harm lies in preventing young people from making choices about their own bodies and health care.

In the face of the anti-trans rhetoric that state legislators use to justify these unjust laws, we must advocate for individual autonomy and the freedom to express oneself and remember that, “The fight for abortion access and access to gender affirming care are linked by a simple belief — you are the rightful author of your own life story” (ACLU).

Barriers To Abortion Care 

As an organization that seeks to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care for everyone, it’s important to recognize that LGBTQIA+ people have always faced disproportionate barriers to care, including abortion. Oftentimes trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming folks aren’t even part of the conversation around abortion access. But here’s what we know: People of all genders need and deserve abortion care.  

Despite the national American Care Act, which prohibits health care providers and insurance companies from engaging in discrimination, LGBTQIA+ individuals face discrimination in health care today. Among trans people who had visited a doctor or health care providers’ office in the past year, nearly one third said a doctor or other health care provider refused to see them because of their actual or perceived gender identity, or experienced unwanted physical contact from a health care provider. Among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) respondents who had visited a doctor or health care provider, around 10% experienced discrimination, harsh language, or unwanted physical contact. 

Expanding inclusivity in primary care requires acknowledging and addressing these barriers to care and working to ensure that queer people feel safe and supported when receiving this care. This is why RHAP ensures that all of our patient education resources are written using gender-neutral language, and why we have developed resources and clinical training on gender-affirming sexual and reproductive health care in primary care. 

Together, we must recognize the impact of systemic inequalities and barriers to reproductive health care that have and continue to disproportionately impact the LGBTQIA+ community. Issues of free gender expression and access to reproductive health care, including abortion, are inseparable. RHAP is committed to uplifting reproductive justice values and working from a framework where all people have bodily autonomy and freedom. We hope you will join us in learning more and taking action to ensure LGBTQIA+ people have access to the essential health care they deserve. 

Take Action 

Medication Abortion May 

Welcome to the May edition of Access Watch, where we shine a spotlight on crucial issues impacting access to sexual and reproductive health care! This month, we’re celebrating “Medication Abortion May,” dedicated to exploring the vital role of medication abortion in securing access to care for people nationwide, especially in our current political landscape. You can also listen to our first Access Watch podcast episode for this month, featuring medication abortion access topics and interviews from RHAP Director of Programs and Evaluation, Silpa Srinivasulu, Director of Organizing and Advocacy, Laura Riker, and clinician and RHAP Network leader, Dr. Maya Bass! 

Medication Abortion Implementation with Project ACCESS

Project ACCESS, RHAP’s technical assistance program, provides individualized support for integrating medication abortion and early pregnancy loss care (miscarriage) into primary care and community health settings. Through workshops and resources, we empower clinicians and support staff to champion medication abortion in their clinics and foster a community of expertise promoting access to comprehensive reproductive health care. By equipping health care providers with the necessary tools and knowledge and helping them implement cultural change while also overcoming institutional barriers, we’re expanding access to medication abortion for those who need it. Learn more and support our TA program here! 

Education & Outreach 

RHAP’s clinical resources offer unbiased, noncoercive, and easily accessible information on medication abortion – all available for free online! Designed to empower everyone to make decisions about the sexual and reproductive health care that is best for them, our resources ensure informed decision-making in sexual and reproductive health care. We also adapt our materials for social media, presenting information through graphics, GIFs, short videos, and more to reach new audiences and foster meaningful conversations about medication abortion and abortion access at large. Follow us on Instagram! 

Political Attacks on Medication Abortion:

In 2023, medication abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions that took place in the formal health care system in the United States – up from 53% the year before. With nationwide political attempts to restrict abortion care including the Supreme Court case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, it is more important than ever that we loudly and proudly support, advocate, and uplift efforts to protect and expand access to mifepristone and medication abortion care. 

Take Action:

Throughout this month, we invite you to engage with us as we delve into the importance of medication abortion in securing reproductive health access for all. Take action by: 

  1. Donate to RHAP 
  2. Supporting self-managed abortion by following Abortion On Our Own Terms 
  3. Uplift RHAP’s resources on medication abortion 

April – Fighting Reproductive Health Care Criminalization 

Introducing Access Watch 

The Reproductive Health Access Project is excited to announce that we are launching our 2024 ongoing advocacy campaign, Access Watch, that will address key areas of sexual and reproductive health access, rights, and freedom in 2024. Access Watch was created due to the increasing attacks on sexual and reproductive health care in order to mobilize our members, supporters, and clinicians to take action and use their voices! Access Watch will focus on one major theme per month, and will encompass a state of events, upcoming political legislation, advocacy opportunities, rapid news pushes, and more. We will also be posting on our Instagram about each month’s topic! This month is the launch of Access Watch and will be focused on our first topic: Fighting Reproductive Health Care Criminalization 

The Issue 

Across the country, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care is being legally targeted through harmful and discriminatory legislation. Most widely known are the attacks on abortion access in the time since the Supreme Court overruled the protections in Roe v Wade, and the wave of anti-abortion legislation. Fifteen states currently fall under the Guttmacher Institute’s “Most Restrictive” category, and many others under the “Very Restrictive”. Most recently, the six week ban in Florida will go into effect soon until voters have the opportunity to vote on abortion rights in November. These bans and criminalization of abortion care deeply harm abortion seekers across the country and force people into traveling for care or continuing an unwanted pregnancy. These laws threaten the lives of pregnant people and do not protect the health of the pregnant person, as shown in the recent popular case of Kate Cox in Texas. As an organization that has a nationwide network of over 7,000 clinicians, many of whom are abortion providers, we also see the distinct legal threats to the people providing this care. 

Another urgent reproductive justice and criminal justice issue is pregnancy criminalization, and the targeting of majority Black and pregnant people with unjust and non consensual drug testing or criminal charges for common experiences like early pregnancy loss. Pregnancy Justice’s report, “The Rise of Pregnancy Criminalization” explores the dangers of fetal personhood and rise of criminal cases related to pregnancy. Key findings noted that nearly 80% of pregnancy related cases occurred in southern states and that “poor Black pregnant people and poor white pregnant people bore the brunt of the consequences”. Recently, a Black woman in Ohio, Brittany Watts, experienced miscarriage at home and was charged with a felony. 

Throughout the month, we will continue to discuss the various forms of reproductive health care criminalization and the organizations working to combat it. We will also include resources to learn more and ways to take action as they arise. 

Learn More 

  1. March Insights: Prenatal Drug Testing and Reporting
  2. Abortion Criminalization & Self-Managed Abortion
  3. Pregnancy Justice
  4. Black Mamas Matter Alliance 
  5. Repro Legal Helpline 
  6. Donate to RHAP

 

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