URGE Activists Attend Advocacy Day in Montgomery Alabama to Have their Voices Heard by Legislators
MONTGOMERY, AL – Today, URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, in partnership with Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health (ACASH) and AIDS Alabama, convened for Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocacy Day at the State House in Montgomery. Advocacy Day was attended by over 100 activists having their voices heard by their state legislators.
URGE, working hand-in-hand with young people, harnessed their recommendations in the national Young People’s Policy Agenda and laid out key policies for lawmakers to implement. The agenda envisions a future rooted in safer and healthier communities, fairer economic practices, and opportunities for all of us to be active participants in our government. It highlights six main issue areas:
- Accessing Abortion Without Barriers;
- Supporting Trans, Intersex and Queer Young People;
- Realizing the Potential of Our Democracy;
- Access to Healthcare and Comprehensive Sex Education;
- Transforming Our Economy So Young People Can Thrive; And
- Creating Safe And Healthy Communities.
Following Advocacy Day, URGE released the Alabama State Addendum to the Young People’s Policy Agenda, a living document uplifting the most important legislation young people care about in Alabama.
“There is not a single policy area that will bring about Reproductive Justice and liberation for all, so we need to focus on making sure this document remains a living, working reflection of all the values young people hold. That’s why attending Advocacy Days, like today, are so important to the movement: this is the best way to hear directly from people exactly what they care about,” says Austin Roark, Alabama Policy and Movement Building Director with URGE.
“We see every day in our work the impact people have on their communities, their peers, and now we see it in their conversations with legislators today. But it’s also important to highlight the intersectionality of this work, and how we’re working together for the same goal of making Alabama a better place,” says Shante Wolfe, Southeastern Field Director with URGE.
