NEW REPORT: A study by the Center and our partners examines the impact of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi & Uganda, revealing that low-income communities struggled with accessing reproductive health care during the pandemic.
The study showed that:
➡️26% of women and girls across the countries in the study could not access modern contraceptives.
➡️People could not access #SRHR services because of long distances, excessive costs, closure of health facilities and other factors
“The rights of entire populations to access sexual reproductive health services, including during the pandemic, remain a key responsibility of every government.”—Evelyne Opondo, Senior Regional Director for Africa, Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center’s report also outlines recommendations for governments to improve access to SRHR services in the near future.
ICYMI: Yesterday the Biden-Harris administration issued a proposed rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which would restore and strengthen vital nondiscrimination protections in health care. 👏 reproductiverights.org/biden-harris-a…
“Everyone deserves access to the health care they need, free from discrimination. The Biden-Harris administration’s proposed rule is an important first step towards ensuring that goal...” —Nancy Northup, President & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights
“At a time when we’re seeing unprecedented attacks on reproductive rights and trans rights, now more than ever people seeking access to care need strong nondiscrimination protections...” —Nancy Northup, President & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights
#BREAKING: We just filed a case in Georgia state court against the state’s 6-week abortion ban. Last week a federal appellate court allowed the extreme law to go into immediate effect, causing a devastating crisis as clinics were forced to turn away patients &cancel appointments.
Since #SCOTUS overturned Roe last month, a domino effect of bans has decimated abortion access in the south and across the U.S. A six-week abortion ban is particularly dangerous in Georgia, where the maternal mortality rate is alarmingly high, especially among Black Georgians.
Additionally, forced pregnancy can derail people's education, career and life plans, resulting in greater economic hardship for the pregnant person, their children, and their families. #AbortionIsEssential
#BREAKING: A state court in Louisiana has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s "trigger bans" from taking effect while litigation continues. This means abortion clinics in the state will be able to continue providing abortion services while the case plays out.
“Today’s decision will allow so many people in Louisiana + neighboring states to continue to chart their own lives & futures. Patients have been terrified that any day these bans might take effect again & they’ll be left with no options...” —Jenny Ma, Center Senior Staff Attorney
“But this ruling means doctors can provide healthcare that is best for their patients, and not be subject to laws that are so ambiguous that they don’t know how they can do their jobs...” —Jenny Ma, Center Senior Staff Attorney
Today allies in the U.S. House introduced the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act. This crucial legislation will support those who need to travel hundreds of miles for abortion care as access has been decimated across the U.S. following the #SCOTUS decision that overturned #Roe.
Since #Roe fell, six states have made abortion totally illegal and many more have made it virtually inaccessible. People are now forced to travel 100+ miles to access abortion, which increases cost and wait times, and pushes care out of reach for those working to make ends meet.
The people harmed most are those who already face discrimination when accessing health care–particularly Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, young people, women, people in rural areas, individuals in the LGBTQI+ community, immigrants, and people living on lower incomes.
#BREAKING: In a highly unprecedented move, an appeals court blocked a lower court's injunction on a six-week abortion ban in Georgia. This means the state’s six-week ban takes effect today, pushing abortion out of reach for Georgians before many even know they’re pregnant.
A joint statement from the Center, @ACLU, @ACLUofGA@PPSE_Advocates, and @PPFA: “This is a highly unorthodox action that will immediately push essential abortion care out of reach for patients beyond the earliest stages of pregnancy...”
“...Across the state, providers are now being forced to turn away patients who thought they would be able to access abortion, immediately changing the course of their lives and futures. This is horrific...”
#BREAKING: A federal district court in #Arizona has blocked a “personhood” law—one that would grant rights to fetuses, embryos, and fertilized eggs—from being used to criminalize abortion services.
After #SCOTUS overturned #RoevWade, abortion providers in Arizona stopped services, unsure whether the "personhood" law would allow state officials to inflict a total abortion ban on Arizonans.
In 2021, the Center and its partners filed a lawsuit to challenge a harmful abortion ban that put providers and pregnant people at risk of being prosecuted. #BansOffOurBodies#AbortionIsEssential