John,

The tragic loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left many concerned about the future of abortion rights.

But John, even with Roe v. Wade in place, access to abortion is not a reality for all. The Hyde Amendment and unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion are just some of the ways that abortion access is pushed out of reach for many.

Today marks the 44th anniversary of the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which denies abortion coverage to anyone who gets their healthcare through the federal government. Anti-abortion politicians have used the Hyde Amendment to restrict coverage for anyone with Medicaid, Native American communities with Indian Health Service (IHS), veterans, federal prisoners, and so many more targeted communities.

This week also marks 20 years since the FDA approved medication abortion, a safe and effective method for ending a pregnancy. The promise of medication abortion is easier access to abortion care -- but that promise has been hampered by unnecessary state and federal restrictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has made medication abortion available via telehealth by lifting a rule that forced patients to take unnecessary trips to a doctor’s office, but the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate this outdated rule -- which could be one of the first Supreme Court rulings following Justice Ginsburg’s death.

As we all realize by now, we cannot depend solely on the federal government or the Supreme Court to uphold access to abortion. NIRH will continue to take up this fight at the state and local levels, working with cities like New York and Austin to fund access to abortion care, and working in states to push forward proactive policies, like the Reproductive Health Equity Act in Virginia, that protect and expand funding for abortion care.

We must work at every level -- federal, state, and local -- to get rid of these outdated, unnecessary restrictions once and for all.

In solidarity,