Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. These times are unquestionably tumultuous and unsettling, and the emanating effects of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of so many around the globe is staggering.
The Power to Decide team and I are continuing our work, remotely. We remain dedicated to ensuring that everyone—no matter who they are or where they live—have the information, access, and agency they need to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child.
Now more than ever, access to health care, including reproductive health care, remains incredibly important. To protect health care facility capacities for those most in need right now and to protect our own health, we are updating Bedsider to provide the most up to date information about obtaining hormonal birth control and other health care services via telehealth solutions. Many states are opening special enrollment periods for their Affordable Care Act plans and we are updating information about what states are doing so and how to enroll as well. Lastly, if you are feeling grateful about your own circumstances amidst so many people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of the pandemic and want to help, consider donating to our Contraceptive Access Fund, giving to someone in need the ability to get the birth control they need and deserve.
We are also working with our sister organizations to promote policies and regulations that will expand health care access and support other safety net services for people in need. Specifically, we are fighting to ensure that non-profit health centers are eligible for small business loans included in any stimulus package and increased federal Medicaid dollars to states to help support the increase in need for the program.
Many of you are sheltering in place with your loved ones, including the young people in your lives. Such intensive time at home with your young person is the perfect time to start conversations about sex, love, relationships, and their futures. If you want some tips about how to jumpstart the conversation or manage “sex talks,” please take a look at our Talking Is Power resources.
Together, we can help support the reproductive well-being so many in our nation who are more in need now than ever. We know that we – collectively – will get through this challenging time. We look forward to working with you and to doing our small part to be a part of the solution.
Stay safe and well,
Ginny Ehrlich, CEO, Power to Decide
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