Raise Your Voice with Decision Makers
Visit our action page to see what you can do to effect change on a larger scale by engaging with decision makers at the local, state, and national levels. Speak up today!
TLC’s Unexpected Continues to Educate Viewers
For the sixth consecutive season, Power to Decide is proud to collaborate with TLC’s ‘Unexpected’. We are bringing resources to viewers to help jumpstart important discussions between young people and their parents and the champions who care about them. In our latest blog, we present five questions based on the season so far that parents and champions can ask the young people in their lives. Each question can help begin a conversation about birth control, sex, and healthy relationships.
Watch new episodes of 'Unexpected' on Mondays at 9/8c on TLC and catch up whenever you want on Max. Throughout the season, we will use the situations in the show to help viewers think about and have important conversations about sex and relationships. Check out PowerToDecide.org/Unexpected for more information and join the conversation in social media with @PowerToDecide, @TLC, #Unexpected, and #TalkingIsPower!
What’s Your Birth Control Story?
We want to hear your birth control story — and help amplify it. So, tell us why you love your method, your journey to find the method that’s right for you, or your struggles to access birth control. Your story can help others feel less alone, change a policymaker’s mind about legislation, and help shift public opinion.
Share your story today.
Access One Key Question Training Online NOW
Power to Decide’s One Key Question® (OKQ) online training is an interactive training that helps providers start the conversation about if, when, and under what circumstances people want to get pregnant and have a child.
The notion behind OKQ is simple — it provides a framework for health care providers, social service providers, and champions to routinely ask: “Would You Like to Become Pregnant in the Next Year?” Client-centered and focused on understanding people’s goals and providing follow-up care based on the client’s response, whether that is for birth control, preconception health, prenatal care, or referral to other services, OKQ is a helpful tool to spark important conversations. It is non-judgmental and equally supports those who want to become pregnant, those who do not, and those who are ambivalent.
Become OKQ certified today!
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Federal Update
Congressional Appropriations Continue
On July 10, the House appropriations committee marked up and approved its version of the FY25 Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Once again, this proposed bill fails to meet the needs of our communities. The legislation would eliminate the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) and Title X Family Planning Program (Title X). It would also attach harmful anti-abortion provisions.
On July 24, the House announced that it would enter August recess early, further delaying the appropriations process, and pushing any vote on Labor-HHS in the House until September. As the process continues to unfold, and members go back to their districts for recess, we urge members to reject this proposed bill.
Finally, On August 1 the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 25-3 to approve its version of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill which includes level funding of $286.5 million for the Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) and $101 million for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP). The bipartisan legislation also includes $35 million for the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program (SRA) and the harmful Hyde and Weldon Amendments. Read Power to Decide’s statement on the legislation to learn more.
While we’re grateful for our Senate champions who worked to include funding for critical sexual and reproductive health programs, this bill still falls short of what our communities need to achieve reproductive well-being. Contact your legislators and tell them to increase funding for Title X and TPP.
State Update
With Iowa Abortion Ban in Effect, 22 States Restricting Abortion before 20 Weeks
On July 29, an Iowa law that restricts abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy went into effect. The ban was passed in 2023, and almost immediately blocked by an Iowa state trial court judge. On June 28, 2024, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the law is constitutional, and declined to reconsider its ruling. As of this writing, 14 states have total abortion bans in effect and 8 states have gestational age limit restrictions in effect that would not have been allowed under Roe. This includes bans around 6-weeks in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina; 12-week bans in Nebraska and North Carolina; a 15-week ban in Arizona; and an 18-week ban in Utah. As always, AbortionFinder.org is your resource for the latest on abortion laws and providers in your state.
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