Dear John, 

While we love a good parade, we know that it’s not enough to celebrate Pride— we also have to fight for it. As we stand together as members and allies of the LGBTQ community this month celebrating resilience, there is still so much work to do. 

Did you know liberation for the LGBTQ community is a reproductive justice issue?

What we now know as Pride originated as a march in New York City commemorating the one-year anniversary 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a protest against police harassment led by Black and Brown Trans folks. Pride keeps the spirit of the original uprising, serving as an annual protest for bodily autonomy, sexual freedom, and the right to take up space with dignity.

The Reproductive Justice movement shares these values with the struggle for LGBTQ rights. Reproductive justice calls for every individual to have the right to make their own decisions about their bodies, their sexuality, and about having children, regardless of their circumstances and without interference or discrimination. Within these demands is the same desire for freedom and dignity that sparked the Stonewall Uprising. 

No matter who you love or who you are, everyone deserves access to reproductive rights and healthcare. That’s why we’re calling for Congress to enact a proactive abortion agenda by:

• Codifying the right to abortion into law,

• Appointing judges with pro-abortion rights records,

• Preventing government interference,

• Making abortion affordable for all,

• Ensuring everyone has access to the full range of options for abortion care, 

• Protecting patients and providers,

• And integrating abortion into the broader health care system.

This Pride Month, stand up for LGBTQ rights by standing up for reproductive justice. Use our tool to tell your legislators, it’s time to make reproductive healthcare available to everyone.

Happy Pride, 

Edwith Theogene
Director of Advocacy
Generation Progress