Hi Friend,

A lot is happening around Reproductive Justice right now, here’s the quick and dirty... 

On Friday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a decision in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case to halt the FDA’s 2000 approval of Mifepristone (one of the medications that can be used for medication abortion), which would effectively take this safe, effective and widely-used medication off the market. Kacsmaryk then gave the federal government 7 days to appeal his decision. 

Less than an hour after the Texas ruling, a competing decision from Washington state came down from Judge Thomas O. Rice, partially granting a request from 17 states and the District of Columbia to stop the FDA from making any decisions regarding accessing Mifepristone in the states that filed suit. Then, the federal government filed an appeal of the Texas decision and asked for clarity in the Washington case because they are just as confused as the rest of us about what the conflicting opinions mean. The bottom line for right now is that access to medication abortion remains the same as it was prior to all these decisions, at least for now.

As we wait for more information from the courts, let's shift our focus to something equally important: Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW). Founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Black Maternal Health Week is a weeklong campaign that occurs annually to build awareness, activism, and community-building to amplify the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of Black mamas and Black birthing people. The theme this year is “Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy!” and we couldn't agree more. Black mamas and Black birthing people deserve access to quality and holistic health care, and that cannot be achieved until we invest collectively in the advancement of the movement for racial and birth justice.

While this may be a lot to digest, we know that all of these things are interconnected. Reproductive Justice provides the framework through which we recognize intersectional issues impacting folks from marginalized communities. And we need your help to fight all these battles at once.  

Here’s how you can get involved: 

• Take action and sign this petition asking the Biden-Harris administration to do everything in their power to keep medication abortion accessible. 

• Join URGE members for a Town Hall on Thursday, April 20th at 5:30 PM ET for an update on the next steps for the Mifepristone case.

• Learn more on social media by viewing and sharing our Black Material Health Week resources, including our first installment of the Coffee Talk video series, and visit the Black Mama's Matter BMHW event page for a full schedule of online actions.

Having to worry about nationwide access to mifepristone, an abortion and miscarriage management medication, flies in the face of a week celebrating Black women and Black birthing people’s reproductive autonomy and Black joy. It’s another sad reminder of how far we have to go, but we know that we are going to do what we have always done – take care of our people.

In solidarity, 

Kwentoria Williams

(she/her)

Senior Director of Communications

P.S. Share information about the If/When/How’s Repro Legal Helpline, which provides free legal information and advice for people having an abortion and those who are supporting them: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org or 844-868-2812. 

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