Repro Blueprint First Priorities lays out more to do to advance access
January 28, 2021
For Immediate Release
Healthy Teen Network applauds President Biden for taking the first steps to undo the harms of the previous administration’s dangerous and restrictive policies that robbed countless people of the right to control their own bodies and access sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion.
Rescinding the dangerous global gag rule; taking steps to strengthen Medicaid; initiating an open enrollment period; disavowing the Trump administration’s abhorrent anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ Geneva Consensus Declaration, restoring funding to UNFPA for their critical reproductive and maternal health work around the world; and beginning the important process of reviewing the harmful domestic gag rule for the Title X program are important and impactful first steps.
“Young people have a right to quality and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and care. Access is essential for them to make decisions about their bodies and relationships, and about pregnancy and parenting,” explained Janet Max, Healthy Teen Network Interim President and CEO.
As the Biden-Harris Administration works to rebuild from the devastation of the pandemic, the economic crisis, and centuries of systemic racism, it is important to state that sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice cannot be an afterthought.
Access is essential for young people to make decisions about their bodies and relationships, and about pregnancy and parenting.
For women, Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, young people, and people with low incomes, bodily autonomy and access to health care is the foundation of a better future. It’s how they build families, careers, and communities.
That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration and a pro-reproductive health care majority in Congress must implement the Blueprint for Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice, a comprehensive and proactive policy agenda endorsed by more than 100 bold, progressive organizations. Healthy Teen Network is proud to join these organizations in endorsing the Blueprint.
The Repro Blueprint includes First Priorities, a detailed punch list of executive actions to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice for people in the U.S. and around the world. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken action on several of the First Priorities.
The Repro Blueprint is co-convened by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“We continue to celebrate the historical significance of the Biden-Harris administration and look forward to taking bold steps to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice for women and femmes. For Black women our fight is not just about the right to abortion care, but also about overcoming the barriers that prevent us from accessing that care,” said Marcela Howell, president & CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. “Reproductive Justice demands an intersectional approach that fully addresses the right to control our bodies, our sexuality, our gender, our work and our reproduction.”
“Today, we celebrate one of the initial steps on the path towards reclaiming full ownership over our bodies, our health, and our futures. As we continue to face down a pandemic that has claimed the lives of so many, it is more clear than ever why people need access to affordable health care, and why science—not politics—should guide policymaking, said Alexis McGill Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“For sure, there is far more work to be done to ensure everyone has the freedom to make their own health care decisions — ending medically unecessary restrictions on medication abortion to championing permanent repeal of the global gag rule and an end to the racist Hyde and Helms amendments. We look forward to working alongside the administration and the pro-reproductive health care majority in Congress to protect and boldly expand sexual and reproductive health care and rights for all people in the U.S. and across the globe.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tabrez Syed on Unsplash
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Child Trends
Child Trends is the nation’s leading nonprofit research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives and prospects of children, youth, and their families.
Chapin Hall
Chapin Hall is an independent policy research center at the University of Chicago that provides public and private decision-makers with rigorous research and achievable solutions to support them in improving the lives of children, families, and communities. Chapin Hall partners with policymakers, practitioners, and philanthropists at the forefront of research and policy development by applying a unique blend of scientific research, real-world experience, and policy expertise to construct actionable information, practical tools, and, ultimately, positive change for children, youth, and families. Established in 1985, Chapin Hall’s areas of research include child welfare systems, community capacity to support children and families, and youth homelessness.
Healthy Teen Network
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Contact: Gina Desiderio, Director of Communications
