Webby Award Winner; #FreeThePill; WHPA Reintroduced

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NEWS FROM POWER TO DECIDE

We Won Two Webbys!

We’re unbelievably proud to announce that our AbortionFinder platform has been selected as a Webby winner and a People’s Voice Webby winner at the 27th Annual Webby Awards.

These awards recognize the huge impact AbortionFinder has made in a world where abortion access matters, each and every day. Thank you to everyone who voted to recognize this invaluable resource.

What’s Your Sex Ed Story?

May is Sex Ed for All Month. Now in its fifth year, this movement focuses on improving young people’s access to power, information, and rights to give them the tools they need to make healthy decisions for themselves and live life on their terms.

This year we call on parents to activate their local leaders in support of comprehensive sex ed for all. Alongside our partner organizations, we will highlight the voices of young people, sex educators, parents, policymakers, and others; all of which are needed to improve reproductive health, rights, and justice for all. To participate in Sex Ed for All Month, follow #SexEdForAll on all your favorite social media channels.

As our contribution to Sex Ed For All, each May Power to Decide promotes a national effort to spark meaningful conversations between young people and the champions who care about them most through #TalkingIsPower. This year’s theme is #MySexEdStory and we’ll be publishing questions to start conversations, tips on how to talk sex, birth control, and more, as well as meaningful stories from a variety of people’s own experiences. Get ready for the month with our toolkit.

Starting the Conversation About Pregnancy Desire

One Key Question^® (OKQ) is a pregnancy desire screening tool that research shows dramatically increases patient satisfaction. Available online, the OKQ approach is patient-centered and focuses on equally supporting those who want to get pregnant, those who do not, and those who are ambivalent and is used by thousands nationwide. We also offer a Preconception and Contraception Pathways to Care online training takes that conversation one step further by teaching providers how to offer preconception and contraception counseling and care in a personalized, non-judgmental, and unbiased way. Email our team at [email protected] to learn more about enrollment!

Our Newest Power Player

We’re committed to uplifting the many individuals championing reproductive well-being. This month’s Power Player is Dr. Tanya Bass, Founder, North Carolina Sexual Health Conference. Read her story.

Help Us to #FreeThePill

Next week, on May 9 we’re celebrating the fifth annual #FreethePill day! This year’s celebration is even more special as it also marks the beginning of the FDA’s two-day advisory committee meeting to review the first-ever application for an over-the-counter birth control pill.

Why do we want to #FreeThePill? There is broad support for making birth control pills available over the counter. And with more than 19.5 million women living in contraceptive deserts, or counties in which they do not have reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive methods, over-the-counter birth control could make a world of difference.

If you agree and want to see over-the-counter birth control become a reality, join us and others on social media all day by using #FreeThePill to share why you want to free the pill.

Dr. Raegan Testifies Before Congress

We are so proud that our CEO Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley testified last week in front of the Democratic Women's Caucus to speak on the abortion access crisis in the United States. She shared her experience as an OB-GYN who includes abortion care in her practice and highlighted the 3 million people who have so far visited AbortionFinder.org looking for critical information about access.

We are also thankful to all of the representatives and advocates who joined her! Let's continue to fight for abortion access for all.

POLICY UPDATES

Federal Update

Supreme Court and Abortion

On April 21, the US Supreme Court issued a stay in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, blocking a lower court ruling that would have severely restricted access to mifepristone. This protects the current availability of mifepristone while legal challenges to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the medication proceed. Read Power to Decide’s statement on the decision.

Women’s Health Protection Act Reintroduced in the House

On March 30th, Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) reintroduced H.R. 12, the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) with nearly all House Democrats co-sponsoring the bill. WHPA would reinstate nationwide access to abortion care and prevent medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion, such as mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, and biased counseling, all of which had been permitted prior to the Dobbs decision. See Power to Decide’s statement and contact your Representative to either thank them for supporting WHPA or urge them to do so.

President Biden Proposed New Budget

In March, President Biden released his budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2024. The budget proposes, among other things:

Increasing funding for the Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) from its current level of $286.5 million to $512 million.
Increasing funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program from its current level of $101 million to $111 million.
Eliminating funding for discretionary Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA, also known as abstinence only until marriage) program.
Removing the harmful Hyde Amendment, a policy that blocks insurance coverage of abortion for people enrolled in Medicaid.

We are pleased to see the strong show of support for Title X and the TPP Program in the president’s budget proposal (read Power to Decide’s full statement). The president’s budget is just the first step in the appropriations process; Congress ultimately decides what gets funded. For FY 2024, Power to Decide has requested that Congress provide $150 million for the TPP Program and $512 million for Title X. Take two minutes to urge your members of Congress to support these funding levels.

State Update

In March, Wyoming became the first state this year to pass a total abortion ban, which was in effect for approximately 48 hours before a Teton County District Court issued a temporary restraining order. It also became the first state to specifically pass a ban on medication abortion that would go into effect on July 1. This is in addition to the so-called trigger ban that Wyoming enacted in 2022 which was set to go into effect on July 27, before a district court issued a preliminary injunction. In addition to the ban on abortion, women face other barriers to reproductive health. This includes nearly 33,000 women of reproductive age with low-incomes lack reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive methods. Learn more from our Wyoming contraceptive access landscape fact sheet.

GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM OUR SPONSORS

Over the last year we have watched the existing gaps in accessing reproductive and sexual health care expand exponentially. We believe in a world where everyone—no matter who they are or where they live—can decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child.

As the ongoing attacks on reproductive and sexual health care grow, we need the resources to help provide the information and resources so desperately needed by millions. Your gift will help us fund initiatives like AbortionFinder, BCBenefits, and Bedsider, as well as our essential policy work, which has only become more critical in 2023.

Will you join us in our mission to advance sexual and reproductive well-being for all and make a gift today?

Copyright © 2023, Power to Decide
1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036
email: [email protected]

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