We’re looking to a brighter future 

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Dear John,
With the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Ipas—along with our partners around the world—looks to a brighter future.

For four years, we have persisted against anti-rights attacks. We have spoken out about attempts to divide and destroy human rights. We have stuck to our belief that everyone, no matter where they live, should be able to determine their own future. We have fought for justice because we know that reproductive justice, racial justice, economic justice and climate justice are intertwined and indivisible.

Our commitment to our mission—to ensure that access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly abortion and contraception, is improved around the world—is stronger than ever. At its core, abortion is about a woman’s role in society and whether she can realize her full potential. We are confident that the new U.S. leadership supports the belief that everyone should be able to make their own decisions about their health and future—without harmful restrictions mandated by U.S. foreign policies, like the Global Gag Rule or the Helms Amendment ([link removed]) . And we are thrilled to witness the first woman, first Black person, first Indian American to be elected vice president.

Restrictions only make abortion unsafe; 35 million people around the world resort to having an abortion with unsafe methods each year. And due to global health inequities, almost all are Black or brown and live in impoverished countries. Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal deaths but it’s entirely preventable. And contraception is a lifesaving public health best bet around the world.

We’ll keep working to keep abortion care essential ([link removed]) during the pandemic. And, we will work to reshape the U.S. role in the world by advocating for the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act ([link removed]) that will repeal the Helms Amendment and usher in a new era of health rights for women around the world. This bill was introduced this summer by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and original co-sponsors Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Norma Torres (D-CA). The more than 100 Congressional co-sponsors and 115 endorsing organizations that support this bill support a collective vision for U.S. assistance that embraces comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services for all people, including access to safe, legal abortion care.

This is the time to re-assert American leadership in U.S. foreign policy and cast out the regressive policies and anti-rights rhetoric of the last four years. We’re ready. Join us in this powerful movement.

In solidarity,

Anu Kumar

Ipas President and CEO
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