[Issue 081] Health Care is a Human Right
This week I'm in DC at the Planned Parenthood National Conference.
That's me.
I am a board member for the Northern California affiliate of Planned Parenthood, and yesterday I joined staff, board members and supporters from around the United States on Capitol Hill where we spoke to our representatives about access to healthcare.
More specifically: We are asking that our elected representatives protect Title X and fight the administration's new Gag Rule.
That's a mouthful, but here's what you should know:
Title X is a federal program established in 1970 that provides affordable contraception and reproductive health care anyone who needs it
Currently 4 Million people receive care under the program
2/3rds of Title X patients live under the poverty level, and many are also people of color and members of the LGBTQ community
The "Gag Rule" is a new rule by the Trump administration alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that prevents doctors working with the Title X program from informing and educating their patients on how they can safely and legally get access to an abortion (despite the fact that 0% of these funds cover abortions).
What that means: It would also make it virtually impossible for people in the Title X program to get birth control from their normal healthcare providers, especially Planned Parenthood which currently serves 41% or Title X patients. This is in part due to the removal of federal funding for clinics that perform or even offer abortion referrals. Ultimately it harms patient-doctor trust because it removes the guarantee and assumption that patients will get full and comprehensive information about their health care options.
I would love to say that there are companies joining us to fight this right now, but I was unable to find any companies speaking up on the issue. So I hope you will allow me to make an ask of you instead.
If you believe that healthcare is a human right, here are 3 things you can do today:
Sign this letter supporting Planned Parenthood's lawsuit fighting the Gag Rule, which we hope will at least keep it from going into effect in May.
Show your support by spreading the word and posting these graphics on social media.
Donate to your local Planned Parenthood, if you have the resources to do so.
As you can tell I'm incredibly passionate about this. Between being here in DC with so many other passionate supporters and finishing the second season of Handmaid's Tale, I feel compelled to use this platform to advocate for reproductive rights.
I hope you will join me!
️❤️,
Nikita.
MAC and Benefit cosmetics have partnered with Planned Parenthood to support the sexual-health chatbot Roo, which is closing the sex education gap in America by answering teens’ questions 24/7.
The app is amazing! You can read about it here. And you can learn more about the partnership here.
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The headlines were curated with the help of ABL's badass intern, Lora.
“We all need to be stepping up and fighting for our rights and our health like never before.”
- Dr. Leana Wen, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America
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