John,

This Mother’s Day, let’s continue the fight for reproductive justice from the United States to Palestine.

In Rafah, where 1.5 million internally displaced Palestinians are sheltering, Gaza’s last maternity hospital is under threat. Over 150,000 pregnant and birthing people are going without prenatal care and giving birth without medical support, including C-sections without anesthesia.

Blocking maternity kits and medical supplies as well as food and water, the Israeli government is starving over 1 million women and girls in Gaza. Breastfeeding people are unable to supply milk for their babies, and they’re giving birth to babies who are already too small and malnourished.

In one heartbreaking story, Rania spent 10 years and 3 rounds of IVF trying to get pregnant, and finally gave birth to twins—who were both killed in an Israeli airstrike. With U.S. bombs and our tax dollars, Israel’s government has killed over 14,000 children, orphaned over 19,000 children, destroyed crucial health infrastructure like hospitals, and targeted ambulances as well as doctors.

This is reproductive genocide. This is a reproductive justice issue, and any lawmaker who cares about women’s rights and reproductive justice should be demanding a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s brutal blockade.

In the United States, we’re also facing a maternal health crisis: the United States maternal mortality rate is rising, and due to systemic racism, Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Black infants are also 2 to 3 times more likely to die than white infants.

This is devastating, and preventable. It’s connected to the dehumanization of Black and brown people. We must urgently implement solutions, including policies within the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, and create a more equitable society that values all life.

I founded the Congressional Mamas Caucus with Detroit-based Mothering Justice to advocate for mothers of color and working class families who have too often been underserved by our government. We’re pushing for much-needed policies like affordable childcare and paid family leave, and prioritizing Black maternal health and reproductive justice.

I will continue demanding our government stop sending billions of dollars to weapons contractors and the Israeli military, and instead invest in our communities, including by ensuring affordable healthcare and eliminating medical debt. I will continue the push to eradicate racial disparities in maternal and infant health, and to dismantle systemic racism in all our institutions.

If you’re able to, can you chip in $5 or more to my re-election campaign today so I can continue to demand a world with freedom for all people—including equal access to abortion care and reproductive care?

May is women’s health month, an important time to recommit to life-affirming policies that help marginalized women thrive. Together, we will keep building a society that recognizes that all people deserve safety, dignity, and bodily autonomy.

In solidarity,

Rashida