State Action Needed to Maintain Access to Reproductive Health: What Advocates Can Do

Dear Jack ,

Families USA just published a new blog focusing on how advocates can best protect reproductive health in 2026. This year brought an onslaught of budget cuts and restrictions to funding for essential health care providers that provide abortions, as well as their affiliates. With access to essential reproductive health care and family planning services at risk, consumers need states to act fast. We hope this blog provides meaningful guidance on what you can do to safeguard reproductive health access next year.

"Ahead of any future action by the states or Congress, advocates can act now to safeguard reproductive health care in your communities. Here is how you can help:

Add reproductive health priorities to your policy agenda. Reproductive health must be a core component of your federal and state policy strategy, and you should join the leaders of the reproductive justice movement in your state and at the federal level to advance these goals. Specifically, advocates should work to:

Secure state dollars for nonprofit health care providers, including Planned Parenthood, that deliver essential services such as birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and abortion care, and that have been harmed by recent “defund” provisions.

Advocate to fully fund reproductive health services through Medicaid, ensuring that family planning benefits are comprehensive, accessible, and reflective of patients’ holistic needs.

Support providers of reproductive health care, including abortion services, by establishing legal safeguards that shield them from civil or criminal liability."