On the final Friday of Black History Month, RHAP is taking the time to highlight black women’s health pioneer and lifelong activist Byllye Avery. Avery’s path first led her to a career in education, where she taught children with special needs in Jacksonville, Florida while pursuing a Master’s in Education. After being diagnosed with an…
Make a gift that can help generations! The Reproductive Health Access Project (RHAP) trains and supports clinicians to make abortion, contraception, and miscarriage care accessible to everyone. By joining this group of supporters, you will provide RHAP with reliable resources needed to tackle the challenges we face every month, all year long. The monthly members…
On our third Friday, RHAP’s #BlackHistoryMonthFeature focuses on the radical, lesbian, black feminist organization Combahee River Collective. The group, founded by sisters Barbara and Beverly Smith and Demita Frazier in 1974 was named after the historic raid on the Combahee River, where Harriet Tubman led a campaign in the rescue of over 700 slaves in…
February is a month that recognizes and celebrates different aspects of sexual and reproductive health. Along with Valentine’s Day, Sexual and Reproductive Health Day (February 12th), International Day of Women’s Health (February 12th), and National Condom Day (February 14th) were established to promote healthier sex lives, decrease unwanted pregnancies, and create awareness of different sexual…
RHAP’s second #BlackHistoryMonthFeature is Dr. Percy Julian, a revolutionary organic chemist who set the tone for the future of contraception and family planning. Dr. Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1899. With the rural south prohibiting African American students from attending high school due to Jim Crow laws, Julian went to DePauw University with…
“…if you look at our country’s history, change doesn’t come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if Day 1 is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen.” Aziz Ansari, Saturday Night Live Monologue Ever since the election, the Reproductive Health Access…
RHAP’s first #BlackHistoryMonthFeature is Dorothy Roberts; a law professor, essayist, and social justice scholar focusing on the intersections of race, gender, socio-economic conditions and the law. Her work primarily focuses on African Americans, women, and children through the lens of public policy, bioethics and health. In 1997, Roberts’ groundbreaking book “Killing the Black Body: Race,…
I saw a number of women in our clinics for abortions in the past few days. A 22-year old got squeezed into my regular schedule with a note by the medical assistant that just read, “Needs a sonogram to see how far she is.” It turns out, she had just has a positive pregnancy test…
In 2016, with all our staff and board, the Reproductive Health Access Project thought deeply about two inter-related topics: 1) reproductive justice and 2) policy and advocacy. We agreed that while our organization is dedicated to issues of reproductive health, the principles of reproductive justice underlie our mission, inform our work, and shape our organizational…
If there is a silver lining to the challenges that lie ahead, it is the satisfaction of knowing that more people are willing to mobilize and become aware of the injustices the incoming administration tries to pose on the American public. We have seen the impact of this increased engagement. Since the election more individuals…