SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Reproductive Justice & 15 Years of The Affordable Care Act

Written by Becky Martin, Ģ����Ƶ Senior Manager of Reproductive Health Advocacy

Sunday, March 23rd, marked 15 years since President Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare as many call it. Since its hard-won passage have signed up for coverage through ACA marketplaces – that means now get their health care coverage via the ACA. An have gained coverage through ACA supported Medicaid Expansion in 41 states and DC.��

�ճ󲹳�’s who now have affordable health care coverage here in the United States — thanks to those who knew our nation could do better and
raised their voices for change, and didn’t take no as the answer.��

We still have a way to go to achieve Ģ����Ƶ’s long-time goal of high-quality, affordable, accessible, sustainable, and equitable healthcare for all in our nation, and join the rest of the countries in the industrialized world in providing universal health care ensuring the human right to health care (Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25).

At Ģ����Ƶ we believe reproductive rights are human rights. With our Reproductive Health Project we explore the connections between reproductive justice and health justice, and work to help students�� lift their voices for reproductive freedom and health care for all. ��We invite you to explore and share the resources below, to celebrate the gains we’ve made, and know that even in the face of the turmoil rising in our country today Ģ����Ƶ’s vision of HEALTH CARE FOR ALL is absolutely achievable & YOU can find YOUR people in Ģ����Ƶ!

– CBPP��

�� – KFF

Medicaid & ACA Medicaid Expansion in YOUR State & Congressional District��

– HealthCare.gov

: Importance & Impact – NWLC

: A Critical Policy That Must Be Protected – Guttmacher Institute

– KFF

Preventive Care Coverage for:

No gender-based premiums:
– KFF

Insurers Cannot Limit Coverage Amounts
– KFF

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As future physicians committed to advancing public health and improving health outcomes—both domestically and globally—we believe this withdrawal poses significant risks to the health and well-being of people in the United States and beyond. This decision undermines decades of collaborative work in combating infectious diseases such as polio, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS and weakens the global capacity to respond to emerging threats like COVID-19 and future pandemics. Moreover, it isolates the United States from a key global health body, diminishing its ability to influence international health policies and initiatives that directly affect the safety and security of its population.

Possible Impact on Public Health

The WHO provides essential support to the United States through:

• Pandemic Preparedness and Response: WHO’s early warning systems and coordinated efforts have been vital in managing public health emergencies such as COVID-19, Monkeypox, and Ebola. The U.S. relies on WHO’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) to track emerging flu strains, supporting vaccine development and preparedness.
• Global Disease Surveillance: WHO-led networks provide critical data on emerging health threats, aiding U.S. efforts to prevent and respond to diseases like Zika, SARS, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). WHO’s initiatives help prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Evidence-Based Guidelines: WHO develops science-driven recommendations for disease prevention, treatment protocols, and health system improvements that inform U.S. health policies.
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Mitigation: WHO leads global efforts to combat AMR by providing frameworks and surveillance data that support U.S. strategies to contain resistant infections.
• Vaccine Distribution: WHO initiatives such as COVAX facilitate equitable vaccine access, helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases to the U.S.

The decision to withdraw from the WHO threatens to disrupt these critical functions, weakening the U.S. ability to respond to global health emergencies and potentially increasing healthcare costs due to the loss of shared resources and expertise. By severing ties with the WHO, the United States risks losing access to invaluable data, technical guidance, and coordinated international efforts that are essential in mitigating the spread of infectious diseases. Additionally, this withdrawal could strain relationships with global partners, making it more challenging to collaborate on future health initiatives and compounding the financial and logistical burden on the U.S. healthcare system.

The withdrawal from WHO threatens to undermine these vital efforts and may create a leadership vacuum in global health governance, increasing the risk of delayed responses to international health emergencies that can directly impact American lives. Without the leadership and support of the United States, the WHO may struggle to mobilize the resources and expertise necessary to address pressing global health challenges. This absence of U.S. participation also sends a concerning message to the international community about the nation’s commitment to collective health security and solidarity during times of crisis.

Call to Action��

Ģ����Ƶ urges policymakers to reconsider this decision and advocate for continued U.S. engagement with the WHO. We believe that robust international cooperation and investment in global health initiatives are fundamental to protecting public health and achieving health equity. Reversing this decision would reaffirm the United States’ role as a global leader in health and strengthen the partnerships necessary to address pressing challenges, from pandemic preparedness to non-communicable disease management. In the face of global health challenges, unity and collaboration remain our strongest tools.��

Ģ����Ƶ stands ready to work with stakeholders to ensure that the U.S. remains an active and committed participant in global health efforts. We encourage policymakers to prioritize diplomacy and evidence-based decision-making in shaping the nation’s global health strategy, recognizing that these efforts directly contribute to the well-being and security of American communities. The Ģ����Ƶ (Ģ����Ƶ) is committed to advocating for policies that promote health equity, and global health partnerships. We remain dedicated to ensuring that public health remains a national and international priority. Through continued engagement with global health organizations, we can build a healthier, more equitable future for all.

Resources & References

To inform and support advocacy efforts, Ģ����Ƶ members may review the following resources:

8. &

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What’s Next Is What We Make It

Ģ����Ƶ National President’s Statement on 2024 Election

Hi future doctor, Annelise here.

I’m writing to you and honestly, I’m not quite sure how to articulate all of my emotions as we face an upcoming four years of uncertainty. When it comes to leadership, especially student-led organizational leadership, we often grapple with how to lead when you’re not quite sure what’s next. For our national leaders, our chapter leaders, and all of us as future and current physicians,�� the question is now— what’s next? Regardless of how you voted during this election, there are still pressing concerns that we, as the future of healthcare, need to reckon with: affordability+accessibility of healthcare, climate sustainability, mental health, gun violence, abortion rights and women’s health… the list goes on.

Over the next four years, in a major way, we will�� inherit the healthcare system that is forged and changed by this election. All of you are going through your training, me included, and developing into the kind of physician you will become and the leader you will be�� in your community. Over the next four years you will, quite literally, learn how to stand between life and death not only in the hospital�� room, but also beyond it. You will take an oath, whether to serve as a student doctor or as a fully-fledged physician, and be charged with doing no harm regardless of your political or personal beliefs. You will be scrutinized, tokenized, and some of you will choose to risk your livelihoods and licenses because of your beliefs and commitment to this profession. To become a physician in this day and age takes a tremendous amount of courage, patience, and grit. It also takes a tremendous amount of privilege and opportunity that we, as future physicians, can use to continue to fight for our patients and our profession. Regardless of who is in the White House, our fight happens day in and day out, patient by patient, family by family. If you’re anything like me, that’s exactly why you chose to dedicate your life to this work.

Medicine is not sexy, it is not easy, but oh is it worth it. We bring a lens to the medical profession�� that our predecessors cannot possibly fathom. So, it is up to us to use our voices to help them, our patients, and our communities understand the dangers we see coming. We have faced crises like this before; standing up for our values unapologetically is something that we at Ģ����Ƶ know a thing or two about. Ģ����Ƶ was forged in the fire of the VietNam War alongside the vision for and the values found within the .��

Today, I hope you’re taking the time to process and be with yourself and your loved ones. I wish I had the answers as to what’s next, but I can promise you that Ģ����Ƶ is, and will continue to be, the place you can come home to find your people and your voice. It’s been 75 years of us standing up for each other and our patients, and we’re not about to stop now.��

To those of us who are scared, angry, outraged, saddened, exhausted—we see you, I see you, and we’re here with you. We have put together a whole host of resources to help you navigate through this time (see below) and we are working on ways we can share and be in community together— stay tuned. Know you are not alone! We will regroup and find the strength to carry on towards our founding vision of a high-quality, affordable, and sustainable health care system that puts people (patients and providers) ahead of profits and ensures all have access to the care they need — regardless of how much they earn, who they work for, or what state they live in.��

For those of you looking to do something right now consider:

• Sign & share the to implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and join me in calling on the United States government and private sector organizations to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights��
• Join one of the Ģ����Ƶ Action Committees here��
• Sign up for the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project enewsletter that is filled with useful information and action opportunities .
• Check out from the Ģ����Ƶ Wellness and Student Life Action Committee

In 1961, President John Kennedy posed to the generation of Ģ����Ƶ founders “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Join us at Ģ����Ƶ because now it’s our turn.��

Annelise

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SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Project 2025: What Future Physicians Need to Know about Threats
to Departments of Education & HHS, Reproductive Health Care, Physician Autonomy & More

Written by Becky Martin, Ģ����Ƶ Senior Manager of Reproductive Health Advocacy

is a 900+page “,” that a step-by-step guide for a conservative presidential administration to implement an “extreme agenda across the federal government from day one.”

Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project allies at the and the have both analyzed Project 2025 and its plans for reproductive health, abortion care, gender justice, HHS, the Department of Education, and beyond. What we are learning about the impact provisions in Project 2025 would have on healthcare and education in the U.S. is frankly alarming us, and we want to make sure it’s on your radar too!

Here are a few general findings from NWLC we want to highlight, Project 2025:

• “offers sweeping policy proposals that would dramatically overhaul how our federal government, including departments, agencies, sub-agencies, and personnel, would function”
  
  
• “seeks to impose a hierarchal, gendered, patriarchal vision of society” and “reinforce racial hierarchies”
  
  
• “seeks to dismantle all policies that are described as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and to reverse gains on gender justice and racial justice” and “calls for the elimination of federal funding for entities that promote diversity, equity, or inclusion”
  
  
• “seeks to harm LGBTQI+ people by narrowly defining sex to mean “biological sex as determined at birth,” seeking to deny transgender and nonbinary people’s existence” and “would undermine protections against sex discrimination in health care”

Related to Abortion Care, Project 2025:

• “calls for the elimination of references to “abortion,” “reproductive health,” and “sexual and reproductive rights” from all federal rules, regulations, contracts, and grants”
  
  
• “disavows abortion as part of health care. It seeks to recast HHS as the ‘Department of Life’ and would establish the mission of HHS as ‘furthering the health and well-being of all Americans from conception to natural death’ “
• “would seek to increase federal surveillance of pregnant people nationwide by mandating state reporting on state abortion data”
  
  
• “seeks to drastically expand federal laws that allow hospitals, doctors, and nurses to deny patients the care they need based on providers’ personal beliefs, not based on what is best for the patient”

Related to the Department of Education, Project 2025:

• “seeks to eliminate the Education Department entirely”
  
  
• “equates the acknowledgement of transgender people with child abuse and pornography” and “proposes harsh penalties against when school libraries include books that discuss transgender people”
  
  
• “calls for prosecuting ‘all state and local governments, institutions of higher education, corporations, and any other private employers’ that maintain affirmative action or diversity, equity, and inclusion policies”
  
  
• “strip ED’s power to cancel, discharge, or forgive balances, or modify the terms or repayment amounts, of student loan debt”
  
  
• “would rescind regulations that made it easy for those who were defrauded by their college—or who attended an institution that closed—to discharge their loans”
  
  

Find & share the full report by the National Women’s Law Center here

The Guttmacher Institute fact sheet details how its “far-reaching recommendations would severely limit reproductive autonomy and access to reproductive health care, while turning back the clock on hard-won gains, both domestically and globally.”�� They find some of the “most serious threats to sexual and reproductive health” in Project 2025 include:

1. Threats to Medication Abortion��

Project 2025 strategies include:

• “restricting—and ultimately eliminating—access to mifepristone” and “reinstating medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone that require in-person dispensing and limit who can prescribe and receive the medication”
  
  
• “effectively ending telehealth provision of the method” and “revoking mifepristone’s US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, which would remove the drug from the market entirely”
  
  
• “bypass the FDA and effectively ban medication abortion—and potentially all abortions—through enforcement of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law that prohibits mailing anything ‘intended for producing abortion.’ The law could be used to prevent the distribution of medication and supplies needed for abortion care and if applied broadly, it could result in a nationwide total abortion ban.”

2. Broader Attacks on Abortion Access

• Project 2025 “calls on Congress to codify into law the and Amendments, harmful policies that limit access to abortion care in the United States by restricting the use of federal funds for abortion care and coverage”��

3. Denying Access to Abortion Care in Emergency Situations

• Project 2025 ��“calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to dismantle the abortion protections provided under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Refusal to enforce EMTALA’s protections for abortion care puts pregnant people’s lives in jeopardy, by forcing providers to risk criminal charges if they perform potentially lifesaving abortion care.”

4. Increasing Misinformation, Disinformation and Stigma

Project 2025:

• “uses charged, medically inaccurate anti-abortion rhetoric—including language falsely portraying abortion as unsafe—to break down support for abortion rights and bolster efforts to criminalize providers”
  
  
• “paves the way for increased criminalization of pregnancy outcomes other than abortion”
  
  
• “seeks to redefine basic sexual health education as ‘pornography “’ and “recommends replacing comprehensive with ���ܰ��������ܱ���”
  

5. Weaponization of Federal Medicaid Dollars

• Project 2025 “calls for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to encourage states to eliminate all Planned Parenthood facilities from their state Medicaid programs” and “suggests that CMS create a new regulation that would disqualify abortion providers nationwide”

6. Attacks on Contraception

Project 2025:

• “seeks to severely undermine two cornerstones of US contraceptive provision: Title X, the national publicly funded family planning program, and the federal contraceptive coverage guarantee of the Affordable Care Act”
  
  
• “proposes reinstating the harmful “domestic gag rule,” which would prohibit health care providers who receive Title X funding from providing abortion referrals and would require them to be physically and financially separated from any abortion-related activities, including counseling”��

7. Impact on Reproductive Health Worldwide

• Project 2025 “proposes immediately reinstating the global gag rule, which would prevent non-US NGOs from receiving US government global health assistance if they used their own, non-US funds to provide abortion services, information, counseling, referrals or advocacy”

Read & share the Guttmacher Institute detailed fact sheet here

###

Explore the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project

Find news, tips, tools, opportunities�� & more!
for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project eNews & Updates

Please send your comments and suggestions to rhp@amsa.org

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I am thrilled to share the profound experience I had as the honored . Congressman Scott’s invitation speaks volumes about the vital commitment all legislators should uphold: amplifying the voices of healthcare providers, especially amid challenging times where reproductive rights and freedom face threats, ensuring policymaking aligns with evidence-based, patient-centered care principles.

Attending the State of the Union address was an extraordinary experience, filled with inspiration and hope. Being on Capitol Hill among Congresspeople, esteemed guests, and fellow advocates, including abortion rights advocates like Dr. Caitlin Bernard, Dr. Damla Karsan, representatives from Planned Parenthood, and many others, was incredibly empowering. Engaging with leaders such as Whip Katherine Clark and the Pro-Choice Caucus allowed for profound discussions on why abortion access is essential healthcare and why it must be protected. Witnessing the collective dedication to fighting for reproductive rights and abortion access filled my cup of hope and reinforced my resolve to continue advocating for comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

During this significant event, I had the privilege of meeting with Secretary Becerra, we engaged in a thoughtful discussion on the underlying reasons why many aspiring physicians are hesitant to pursue practice in states burdened by abortion restrictions. We explored how these limitations not only discourage healthcare professionals but also perpetuate healthcare disparities, exacerbating the challenges faced by underserved communities.

As a future obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN) and abortion care provider, I am committed to ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive care for all individuals. It is why I have made the conscious decision to apply only to residency programs in states without stringent abortion restrictions. These states provide the environment necessary for me to receive the training I need to provide all aspects of comprehensive reproductive care without fear of legal repercussions and without fear of harming my patients.��

Sitting in the gallery, listening to President Biden’s address, I was reminded of the myriad challenges our nation faces, from education to reproductive freedom to global humanitarian crises. As the next generation of physicians, I am proud to stand with the Ģ����Ƶ in advocating for quality, affordable healthcare for all. Access to comprehensive health services, including reproductive healthcare and safe, voluntary abortions, must be recognized as fundamental human rights.

My in Ms. Magazine, which caught Congressman Scott’s attention, underscores the power of student activism in driving meaningful change. Through strategic collaborations with organizations like the Hub Project’s Free and Just Campaign, Ģ����Ƶ empowers students to advocate for healthcare policies that positively impact our future patients and communities.

At Ģ����Ƶ, every student has a seat at the table, an opportunity to engage directly with policymakers, and a platform to make their voices heard. By speaking up and taking action, we can shape the future of healthcare and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for all.

Check out & share our

Explore the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project
Find news, tips, action tools, skill-building opportunities�� & more!

for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project Updates

Learn about additional Ģ����Ƶ advocacy initiatives and how to get involved: /about/

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Loss of the Federal Right to Abortion Care at the 1-year Mark
Virginia: The Final Bastion of Bodily Autonomy in the South

By Elissa Cleland, Ģ����Ƶ Gender & Sexuality Chair and rising MS2 at Eastern Virginia Medical School

As a Virginia resident all of my life, I am well aware of the polarized cultural and political climate of my home state. In my hometown, confederate flags were the backdrop to my first twelve years of education. As I engaged with my community, I also became aware of the ubiquitous challenges far too many Virginians face in accessing healthcare regardless of political district. I’ve witnessed family, community members, neighbors, and caring physicians struggle to overcome barriers to get and give much needed healthcare. Wanting to remedy these struggles, both physical and systemic, is what drives my passion to become a physician.��

I was excited to foster and feed my passion for advocacy when I learned that my values aligned with Ģ����Ƶ’s foundational belief that everyone has a right to quality, affordable health care, and their long-time commitment to establishing a health care system that puts people above profits. During my time with Ģ����Ƶ, I have connected with like-minded future physicians that have reignited my hope for a generation of doctors that can dismantle systemic barriers blocking far too many from care they need to live healthy lives. Through Ģ����Ƶ, I’ve developed a deeper understanding of how policy-makers are often influenced by loud special interest extremist groups whose aim is to control healthcare in accordance with their rightwing ideology. Unfortunately, some legislators prioritize these groups rather than listen to the physicians and healthcare professionals who advocate with science and experience.

I have been a spectator to these political games in my beloved home state. Every election, I’ve relied on the liberal Northern Virginia districts to keep, protect, and grow progressive policies that would help more people access needed care. However, due to the conservative southern and rural districts like my own, we have mixed representation at the state level; Democrats control our state senate, Republicans control the House side of our state legislature, and Glenn Youngkin, a conservative Republican, won the seat for Virginia state governor in 2021.

This reality, coupled with the Supreme Court decision to overturn our federal right to abortion care, leaves me concerned that Virginia legislators will fail to uphold state policies that affirm patient rights to reproductive freedom and protect physicians who provide care to these patients. In particular, Governor Youngkin’s previously proposed 15-week abortion bill, VA HB 2278, makes me apprehensive for the future of Virginia as a safe haven for Southern abortion seekers and abortion providers. This extremist bill not only restricted abortion to rare cases of rape and incest, but also criminalized physicians with jail time up to 10 years for providing abortion care to patients in need. VA HB 2278 also had , many of which are not detected until after 15 weeks gestation. When discussing his extreme ban, Youngkin claimed his is what got him elected. However, VA HB 2278 was rejected by a by both Democrats and a Republican in January. Despite its failure, Youngkin has promised to continue to push for his 15-week abortion ban even though for any or most reasons. Therefore, such as VA HB 2278 backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Sen. Steve Newman not only violate the individual rights of the person with a uterus but also the will of the Virginia constituency.

Reproductive justice is an intersectional issue that should not be a geographical or financial privilege reserved for those wealthy enough to travel to another pro-abortion state. In fact, Virginia is one of the states to which abortion seekers travel since the Dobbs Decision a year ago. Therefore, as a Virginian, I want to highlight how disastrous the impact of renewing Gov. Youngkin’s ban will be. With West Virginia completely banning abortion and the new 6-week ban in North Carolina, Southern abortion seekers are flocking to Virginia for reproductive care. Other than Maryland, Virginia is the least restrictive state below the Mason Dixon line. According to Whole Women’s Health Clinic in Virginia, from around the country have contacted them seeking an abortion. If Virginia falls, there will be ramifications that reverberate throughout the nation.��

On this the 1-year mark of the overturning of Roe v Wade, Ģ����Ƶ reaffirms that abortion is part of normal healthcare and that all people who can get pregnant have a right to decide if, when, how, and where to give birth. Yet, Virginia is not the only battleground state for reproductive justice. States across the country are passing laws that ban abortion care entirely or restrict if and how physicians can provide care to patients in need.��

14 states now have near total abortion care bans with several more bans now working their way through the courts. ��

78 MILLION Americans live in states that have banned abortion, and millions more live in states where it’s heavily restricted.

worsen state outcomes and increase maternal mortality – 62% higher maternal death rates than in states where abortion care is accessible ().

I would be remiss if I did not center how abortion bans disproportionately affect and people in America. Transgender, LGBTQ nonbinary adults, and disabled persons also are deeply impacted by abortion bans and harmful biases, along with all those who face economic insecurity regardless of their race or how they identify (). These medically marginalized groups will shoulder the greatest burden as the bans take effect.

Therefore, it is imperative that we in Virginia stave off Youngkin’s sexist, racist, and heteropatriarchal abortion ban, or all Southern people in need of abortion care will suffer. With abortion clinics across the state already operating at maximum capacity, the harsher restrictions of neighboring states have pushed non-Virginians to our clinics and will only increase wait times for all people in need of abortion care in Virginia. Thus, Youngkin’s proposal to shorten the window for an abortion as wait times increase is a poorly disguised ploy to eradicate a necessary and evidence-based practice completely. Having already been rejected once, Youngkin has promised to rekindle his efforts this upcoming session to pass his fascist ban.

Abortion is a human right. To limit the choice of a person with a uterus of how and when to have a child is an infringement upon personal freedoms. In a country founded on the idea of freedom, it is ironic that the party that has wrapped itself in the American flag is the perpetrators of the greatest violation. Regardless of whatever moral right they feel to legislate abortion, many Republicans (i.e. Youngkin) are not doctors and to restrict a practice that is the standard of care without having received a medical education is pure hubris. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), the foremost professional organization that produces practice guidelines for healthcare professionals, upholds that abortion is an essential component of healthcare. Unsafe, illegal abortions account for around around the world each year. If Gov. Youngkin and the ultra-conservative state law-makers who support this bill truly wanted to reduce the number of abortions and not just control women’s bodies, they would support removing obstacles to abortion as. Abortions have been common practice in America and puritanical abortion bans like VA HB 2278 won’t stop them – making abortion illegal does not stop abortions.��

CALL TO ACTION

Fortunately, Ģ����Ƶ has a wide base of passionate future physicians that will stand against abortion bans like those under consideration now in Virginia and many other states. We can use our voices to speak out about what patients need and hold our elected officials accountable.��

If you are a Virginia resident, contact your , ��and ��to let them know you support reproductive freedom and want abortion care access and providers protected in Virginia (find out who your VA state legislators are ).��

for an email template you are welcome to adapt and use to let your law-makers know that you do not support and do not want abortion bans in Virginia.��

If you are NOT a Virginia resident, to learn if your state legislators are taking action to ban or protect abortion care. And, consider adapting the email template below if your state is considering abortion bans (email bmartin@amsa.org for assistance).

Join Ģ����Ƶ members in VA and from states across the country in sending big THANK YOUs to state legislators who are members of the – a network of over 900 state legislators across the country who champion reproductive health, rights, and justice. Find your state legislators .

Stay up-to-date on the evolving political landscape of reproductive justice by keeping up with the page and our Gender & Sexuality Action Committee page.��

COMING FALL 2023!

Skill-building action sessions designed to help future physicians across the U.S. develop and use their voices to effectively advocate for reproductive health and freedom by:

• Engaging state, federal and institutional policy-makers
• Writing Letters-to-the-Editor, Op-Eds, and blog posts
• Using social media to share info and mobilize for action, and more…����

– those on this list will receive priority notification when registration opportunities open.

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Current Extremist Efforts to Curtail Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Youth

On Friday, February 10th, the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine a discriminatory and politically motivated which will prohibit physicians in Florida from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. This statewide rule is one of the most extreme anti-transgender healthcare proposals in the United States. It will ultimately ban this lifesaving, evidence-based, and medically necessary healthcare for transgender youth in Florida.

Every major medical association in the United States supports the provision of gender-affirming care. Yet, across the nation, legislation is targeting the most fundamental rights and freedoms of transgender youth – including their ability to access critically important healthcare, exercise their bodily autonomy, and lead happy and healthy lives. According to, more than 80 bills seeking to restrict access to gender-affirming care have been introduced in more than half the states around the country as of February 9th, 2023. According to a in March 2022, more than one-third of transgender youth between the ages of 13 – 17 in the United States were at risk of losing access to gender-affirming care due to legislation being considered at that time.

Legislative attacks on gender-affirming care for transgender youth are one part of a larger coordinated attack by political extremists and national anti-LGBT+ organizations seeking to politicize the existence and well-being of transgender Americans. Only two months into 2023, the Human Rights Council has already identified across the country – the highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single year.

We invite you to read our letter sent to the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, which discusses the importance of gender-affirming care for the health of transgender youth and details the cruel repercussions of curtailing access to this vital form of healthcare.

Call to Action:

Sign up if you are interested in gathering together with the Gender and Sexuality Action Committee to strategize next steps. Working in solidarity with one another, we can begin combatting current discriminatory efforts to curtail access to gender-affirming care for youth.

In addition, Letters to The Editor (LTE) can be a powerful and effective advocacy tool. We have developed a toolkit for those interested.

EXPLORE the Ģ����Ƶ Gender & Sexuality Action Committee & Team

from the Ģ����Ƶ G&S ACT

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In the lead up to April 20, 2021, much like the rest of the world, we waited at the edge of our seats to see if the Chauvin trial would finally deliver accountability that has been so absent over the course of decades of racial injustice. A different outcome for the trial was not just possible, but probable given our historical record. But pivoting away from precedent, the former police officer was found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd.

It is a moment of accountability that is too few and far in between in an unjust criminal justice system – this a moment when the arc of the moral universe is bending in real time, a moment to realize that we do not have to accept an inhumane status quo, a moment to grow and support action for real change.

We hope that Mr. Floyd’s family receives a measure of justice and peace from this verdict.

We know this verdict does not bring back Mr. Floyd to his loved ones. We know that this verdict alone does not remedy the systemic racism endemic to our criminal justice system. Too often, officers are acquitted and far too many never see charges or any consequences beyond minimal reprimands or leaves with pay. This is only the beginning to bring accountability to the police officers who abuse and kill in communities they should be protecting.

And yet, from Chicago to Minneapolis and across the country, police violence remains ubiquitous and people of color – including children – continue to die at the hands of police. This is a failure of law enforcement. This is a failure of the criminal justice system. This is a failure of society.

These injustices must stop for our communities to heal and move forward. Ģ����Ƶ members dedicate their lives to becoming healers, to care for our communities and support our future patients. As physicians-in-training we see how systemic racism impacts the communities we are called to care for – we also see many paths towards change. We call on all of us to renew our commitment to dismantling the system of white supremacy that has targeted and violated people and communities of color throughout our nation’s history and today.

CALL CONGRESS TO ACTION
Urge Congress to pass H.R.1280 –
Call your US House Representative with a Thanks or to Urge Support:

2. See if your Representative is a : 199 co-sponsors (as of 4/21/2021)
3. Call the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

• If your Representative is already on the co-sponsor list above call/email/tweet your thanks and support
• If your Representative is not listed as a co-sponsor call and tell them you support this bill and urge them to also support it and become a co-sponsor

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Now, in 2021, we that over the past 20 years, state and federal courts, including the US Supreme Court have been who are openly hostile to the notion of a right to abortion, and – in truth – hostile to the very notion of a right to privacy, upon which the right to abortion has precariously rested since the 1973 decision.

Precariously, indeed. But that ought not actually be all that surprising – frustrating, sure – but not all that surprising, given that the right to abortion is predicated on (derived from) a notion of a constitutional right to privacy, which itself is not directly expressed in the US Constitution, but which is interpretively derived from several of the Constitutional amendments including the 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th. It’s an extraordinarily visible “tell” revealing the inner psycho-sexual-socio-political machinations of a legal system that never considered women – or anyone other than the and his male heirs – as full and fully legitimate citizen-subjects worthy unto themselves of the rights, privileges, and protections named or implied in our country’s founding documents. And since the 1973 ruling, we have engaged in a society-wide tug-of-war centered over the question of “To what extent, to what limits, privacy?” a back-and-forth struggle that largely serves as a clear-as-mud distraction from the actual fact that this question doesn’t even have relevance to so many people – largely Indigenous, Black, brown, poor, undocumented, LGBTQ+ people – whose lived experiences demonstrate quite clearly that a so-called “right” (whether to privacy or to abortion care) becomes effectively meaningless when keep them from exercising that right.

So, now that we have witnessed nearly 48 years of attempts to roll back the right to (privately) seek abortion care finally recognized in 1973’s decision, we ask ourselves, along with those who have been asking this question for far longer than 48 years, how do we expand our moral vision from the now-receding horizon of abortion (privacy) rights to the now-before-us horizon of abortion justice and, more broadly, ?

At , we affirm reproductive health services are essential to comprehensive health care, and we support full access to the entire range of reproductive services. We believe legal, safe, voluntary abortions should be available to all who need them, and that both UME (medical school) and GME (residency – especially family medicine and obstetrics/gynecology) programs should offer abortion education and training.
The works with Ģ����Ƶ members, chapters, alumni, and allies to advance these commitments, and ensure a diverse physician workforce that includes highly skilled, culturally competent physicians prepared to provide abortion services to those who need them in various health care workplaces.

Our nation’s medical schools and residency programs, serving as the educational and training pipeline for our nation’s physicians, are duty-bound and accountable to meeting the health needs of all people and communities that constitute our society; this is the nature of the social contract that exists (formally and informally) between the profession of medicine and our society. And yet, , academic medical centers have centered, represented, and advanced the vested interests of an exceedingly narrow – and ever narrowing – slice of this society: the dominant, normative white holders of heteropatriarchal sociopolitical and economic power, privilege, and platform. And nowhere is this more evident than in the state of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) medical education, especially in the inexcusable for medical students and residents. of SRH med ed curricula, including a longitudinal study spanning 2005 – 2015 conducted by (not yet published), show that only about one-fifth to one-half of medical schools include some topics related to abortion care in their curricula or offer abortion care experiences as part of the 3rd year ob/gyn rotation.

Once again, this deplorable state of neglect, disregard, minimization, and even outright hostility toward SRH med ed within our own academic medical centers is frustrating, but is not surprising, when we take account of the history of the professionalization of medicine and medical education in the US context of systemic racism and sexism and understand, for example, that within ten years of its formation the American Medical Association (AMA) initiated an anti-abortion campaign in 1857, motivated by the self-serving interests of white male doctors to related to pregnancy and delivery management. What better way to undercut the midwives than to cynically demonize abortion care and those who had traditionally provided it?

So, now in 2021, at a moment when both the right to have an abortion and the ability to exercise that right are more at risk now than at any point since 1973, how is Ģ����Ƶ contributing to the expansion of a moral vision for holistic reproductive healthcare that includes abortion care, not as an exceptional aspect of reproductive care, but as an aspect of ? How is Ģ����Ƶ contributing to the evolution of abortion care advocacy with an expanded moral horizon that envisions abortion justice as one part – but just one part – of reproductive justice?

As an organization dedicated to a mission of serving society by supporting the intellectual, spiritual, and ethical growth and development of this nation’s future physicians, we have a fairly straightforward theory of change. Recognizing that we need a physician workforce well educated, trained, and prepared to provide patient-centered, reproductive-justice-informed care, including abortion care, then it’s a matter of seeing and recognizing where formal medical education (UME and GME) has failed to consider critical perspectives outside of its own vested interests; has failed to honor and incorporate the knowledge, wisdom, and lived experiences of those for whom the paradigms of reproductive “rights” and “choice” have proven to be inadequate or irrelevant to contexts made complex by social forces of inequality, inequity, and injustice; has failed to live up to its own professed ethical commitments of non-maleficence and beneficence. Where formal medical education has failed and continues to fail both students and society, Ģ����Ƶ and other organizations such as Medical Students for Choice, step into the gap and in creative partnerships with activists and advocates for , we cultivate the conditions – the pedagogies and the curricula – for liberatory education. Because, after all, no one is denying the existence of pervasive social ills, but so far, not many of our medical schools have gone so far as to embrace the notion that medical education needs to be radically reoriented toward social transformation, not accommodation, and that requires a radically different kind of physician – .

Learn more about the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project at Ģ����Ƶ.org/rhp

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Combine passion, planning, and persistence

Effective advocacy combines passion, planning and persistence. That was the main takeaway offered by Justin Hatmaker, chief operating officer at , during a recent Ģ����Ƶ webinar. Rise, a national nonprofit that advocates for sexual assault survivors, has been successful with its model, which supports local volunteers who work with their state legislators to pass a Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights.
“Each time we pass a bill, I’m reminded that passion and dedication are really the most important resources that we have as advocates for these rights,” he said. “We know we’ll get the bills done. It’s really just a matter of time, and it really just takes the right people to do it, both from our side as staff and volunteers and the legislatures.”

Understand the process in your state and find sponsors

Although dedication is most important, planning plays a critical role. Every state legislature has its own way of doing things. “Fundamentally, the way a bill becomes a law is the same in state legislatures, but every state has different definitions, different terminology. They have different processes, different calendars, different written rules, different unwritten rules,” said Hatmaker. “Everything is really different and unique to each state, so we have to be prepared to make tweaks and adjustments to our approach in every state that we’re working in.”
Planning also matters when it comes to finding sponsors. Legislators have limited time and competing priorities, so prep work helps Rise volunteers connect with people in the legislature who will help shepherd the bill into law. “When we meet with potential sponsors in a state, we want to know everything about them. We want to know what they care about. We want to know other bills that they’ve sponsored,” said Hatmaker.
The method has paid off. Twenty-five states have already passed a Survivors’ Bill of Rights, thanks to Rise and its volunteers, most of whom have no experience with advocacy before they get involved.
“That preparation and attention to detail and really constantly reviewing and researching every state’s rules, players, calendars, and all the things that are unique to each state – that’s what’s given us a chance in so many states,” said Hatmaker.

Passing legislation takes time

He also emphasized that passing legislation takes time, even when the issue is nonpartisan and noncontroversial. “Understanding or supporting a cause doesn’t always necessarily translate into interest in the work it takes to sponsor a bill and usher a bill through that process,” said Hatmaker. “So even if you can find people to listen, you’ve got to convince them to do the work, and that can be tricky as an outsider.”
Under the best-case conditions, the bill will pass in a single legislative cycle, but in some states the volunteers work on bills for years before they’re passed. “These are volunteers that work in states with legislatures that only meet for a couple of months every other year.�� These are volunteers that are repeatedly told ‘no’ and ignored by committee chairs that won’t even read their emails,” said Hatmaker. “But they bounce back and persevere because of their dedication.”

Tips from a Senate Insider

The legislative process can seem opaque and intimidating at first, but it’s less difficult than you think to make a difference. Legislators welcome ideas from advocates and stakeholders, said Brian Kaplun, health legislative correspondent for Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). For example, a constituent brought to their attention a loophole used by health insurers to deny essential medical procedures.
That said, legislators and their staffers meet with hundreds of advocates every legislative cycle, all of whom are competing for time and resources. Kaplun offered some broad suggestions for making your meetings stand out and giving your issue the best chance to become a priority.

Bring the passion and study up

First, he said, the best meetings are the ones where it’s clear that the advocates care about an issue, are passionate about it, have done their homework, have a good pitch prepared, and have a powerful personal story that connects to the issue.
Second, they understand who they’re talking to when they meet. Oftentimes, the first point of contact is a staff member, who has reasonable grasp of the issues and wants to be as helpful as possible. Some advocates assume the staff member is unfamiliar with the issue or doesn’t care about it, which leads to unproductive meetings. Kaplun’s advice is to go to the meeting “assuming positive intent and making it as easy as possible for us to dive into the issues, go into my substantive questions on your perspective without spending the whole time talking about the very high-level background ….”

Be sure to follow up

Third, the best meetings are followed by further communication. “I might have a really good meeting with a group, but then there’s no follow up or the follow up is just a quick thank you email,” he said. “I would say building long-term relationships, really connecting with me after the fact, and really doing some follow-up is always good. I think there’s definitely a limit that’s a little annoying but I would say in general it’s very helpful to follow up, to ask me questions about how I view what we talked about, whether I had a chance to present it to the senator.”

Resources for Ģ����Ƶ Members

Ģ����Ƶ offers resources to members interested in becoming advocates, including:

• , which helps you gather basic information about your representatives and set up a meeting with a staff member or elected official. For physicians-in-training who haven’t interacted much with elected officials or who are starting with zero advocacy experience, this worksheet will help get you started.
• , a one-pager for each state, listing facts and data, such as the state’s overall health ranking, residents’ life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and so on. Advocates can use this sheet to organized conversations with elected officials and support calls for evidence-based policies.

For more resources, visit Ģ����Ƶ’s Activism Toolbox.

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