Posts Categorized: Abortion
STATEMENT FROM URGE ON THE F.D.A. EXPANDING ACCESS TO ABORTION PILLS TO BE OFFERED AT RETAIL PHARMACIES
Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that retail pharmacies can offer abortion pills with a prescription from a certified healthcare provider, and the Justice Department cleared the Postal Service to carry abortion pills into states with bans. These decisions will expand reproductive care options for some individuals across the country. However, abortion bans take precedence, and fears of criminalization regarding mailing the medication cannot be overlooked. In response, URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity released the following statement. Kimberly Inez McGuire (she/her/ella), Executive Director of URGE, said: “The F.D.A.’s decision to lift some of the restrictions on abortion pills is a step in the right direction. Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication and many people’s first choice for abortion care. Allowing people to receive mifepristone at retail… Read more »
YOUNG PEOPLE DEMAND MORE FROM BIDEN ON ABORTION ACCESS
Today, President Biden signed an executive order to protect and expand reproductive health care services, including efforts to safeguard access to medication abortion, and emergency contraception. In a speech with Vice President Harris, President Biden laid out the administration’s plans to increase public outreach, provide legal support, and launch a task force to coordinate other potential policies to protect access. “Every day, clinics across the South and Midwest are closing, people are scrambling for care as appointments are canceled, and right now someone is sitting in an ER with a nonviable ectopic pregnancy wondering how close to death they’ll have to be to get the care they need. This is a crisis that requires swift, courageous, and comprehensive action. According to new polling, young people overwhelmingly support abortion access and… Read more »
URGE – MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA FUTURE OF ABORTION (CA FAB) COUNCIL – SUPPORTS NEWLY INTRODUCED CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO SPELL OUT ABORTION & CONTRACEPTION AS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
As the nation braces for the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (with the anticipation that the 15-week Mississippi abortion ban will be upheld and the Court’s 49-year-old precedent set by Roe v. Wade will be overturned), state legislators in California have introduced SCA 10 to explicitly name abortion and contraception access as fundamental rights for Californians. This legislative maneuver underscores previous efforts to position the state as an abortion sanctuary, which have been backed by Governor Newsom. While URGE recognizes that California’s progressive strides in no way eliminate the harm caused by rampant anti-abortion legislation in states across the South and Midwest, we applaud California legislators for their work to uphold bodily autonomy. “SCA 10 would take a step further California’s commitment to being a… Read more »
URGE RESPONDS TO LEAKED SCOTUS OPINION OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE
On Monday, May 2, 2022, POLITICO shared a leaked draft majority opinion for the upcoming Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case, revealing that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will likely be overturned. This decision would effectively ban abortion in many states across the country. While the leaked draft is not a final opinion, it has been confirmed by Chief Justice Roberts to be an authentic draft opinion from Justice Alito. Simply put, if the Court moves forward with this ruling, it will be devastating for young people, communities of color, and people who need abortions and will change the reality of abortion access for millions of Americans. As we wait to hear about the fate of nearly 50-years of precedent, URGE: Unite for Reproductive… Read more »
URGE RESPONDS TO SENATE’S FAILURE TO PASS THE WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT
WASHINGTON – Today, in a 46-48 vote the U.S. Senate refused to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity is disappointed by the Senate’s vote on this necessary legislation that would move us one step closer to real abortion access for all. WHPA is bold federal legislation that creates a statutory right for healthcare providers to provide abortion care, and a corresponding right for their patients to receive that care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access. At a time when states like Texas and Mississippi have launched attacks on Reproductive Justice, it is critical that the federal government steps in to defend abortion care across our nation. Yet, despite these consistent and dangerous attacks on abortion, many politicians… Read more »
How S.B. 8 Impacts Undocumented Immigrants Seeking Abortions In Texas
The passage and eventual enactment of Texas Senate Bill 2 (S.B. 8) has people rightfully concerned over abortion access in Texas. S.B. 8 limits abortion procedures past six weeks, before most people even know they are pregnant. As researchers and reproductive advocates have already pointed out, S.B. 8 creates several barriers for people seeking abortions beyond the six-week limit. For people seeking abortions after six weeks, they must travel to the nearest state that performs abortions. Consequently, the clinics in these states are being overwhelmed with patients traveling from Texas in addition to their usual patient load. Most notably, there is also the ten-thousand-dollar reward that people who report individuals who help someone receive abortion care after six weeks can receive. However, something that is less talked about is how… Read more »
Biden Begins to Restore Pre-Trump Status Quo with Administrative Action on Reproductive Health – Young People Say More is Needed
(Washington, DC) — Statement from Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the Biden-Harris Administration’s executive actions on sexual and reproductive health. “Today, the Biden-Harris Administration took steps to address some of the Trump–Pence Administration’s damage to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and undo some of their appalling sexual and reproductive health policies.” “While we applaud the administration’s actions: to revoke the global gag rule, open Medicaid enrollment under the ACA, withdraw from the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ Geneva Consensus Declaration, and plans to restore Title X contraception funding, we are here to remind them: there is much more work to be done.” “Black women, people of color, queer and trans folks, and families with low incomes are facing multiple crises: a deadly pandemic, economic devastation, and systemic racism. At the same time, abortion access is vanishing. The racist Hyde Amendment continues to deny abortion coverage to families pushed to the economic brink and hundreds of abortion restrictions combine to render the legal right to end a pregnancy meaningless for many. The Biden-Harris Administration must listen to those most harmed… Read more »
Abortion: But Make It Positive (and Destigmatized)
“I never thought of you as someone who would make such a decision” were the words that were uttered to me in such a disbelieving and disapproving tone by one of the most trusted and beloved elders in my life. These words came after I revealed to them that I was 5 weeks pregnant and getting an abortion. This statement was bothersome for a multitude of reasons. The primary one being that while it occurred during a one on one conversation, it also echoed the sentiments of so many others that also take a larger role in collectively stigmatizing abortion. In translation, this individual really was saying “ I never pegged someone like you, who is such a staunch supporter of social justice and civil rights, to be a baby… Read more »
On the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Advocates Grapple With Abortion Restrictions
One advocacy group, URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, has focused on training and mobilizing youth. “Young people are not clinging to Roe to save them,” says Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE. “Young folks look at a flawed system, a system that’s not working, a system that’s actually harming them, and they say, you know what, we don’t need that. We deserve better.”
Statement from URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity Executive Director and Board of Directors
Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director: “URGE envisions a world where each of us can live, love, express our gender, create families, and enjoy sexuality with liberation, joy, and dignity. Essential to this vision is ending sexual and gender-based violence, harassment, and abuse, and addressing the disparate impact of these harms on young people, women and femmes, queer and trans folks, and people of color. As a survivor of sexual assault, I know the pain of these kinds of trauma, and how hard it is to speak up. We at URGE extend our support and solidarity to all survivors, those who tell their stories and those who do not. “Any allegation of sexual misconduct, harassment, or abuse should be investigated and addressed, in collaboration with those who have come forward. These… Read more »
