Dear Friend,

Abortion justice can’t wait. The Supreme Court is currently allowing Texas to ban most abortions after six weeks, with other states like Ohio promising to follow suit. This moment demands that we persist in our fight for a future where abortion care is there for everyone who needs it.

Legal abortion has never been enough to ensure everyone can get the abortion care they need when they need it, especially young people, queer and trans people, and people of color working to make ends meet. The same people who are most harmed by abortion restrictions are also bearing the brunt of the pandemic and systemic racism every day. And now that the Supreme Court has allowed an abortion ban to take effect in Texas, it’s clearer than ever before that we can’t rely on the courts to step in.

URGE is supporting All* Above All’s Abortion Justice Week of Action and In Our Own Voice’s 7th Annual Black Reproductive Justice Week of Action. You can join the Abortion Justice Week Of Action and be an Abortion Justice advocate by following us on social media and retweeting, reposting, and learning everything you can about systemic barriers to abortion access and Reproductive Justice so we can fight them with an even bigger team. To follow the Black Reproductive Justice Week Of Action on social media use hashtags #RJWOA21 #HearOurVoices you can also follow state partners for events in the states!

We need policies that lift bans on insurance coverage of abortion, end unnecessary barriers to medication abortion care and ensure that whatever someone’s documentation status they can get the care they need. For lawmakers to advance true abortion justice, they must protect the availability of all abortion care and the people who provide that care; ensure it is affordable; and ensure it can reach BIPOC communities and those working to make ends meet without unnecessary barriers, stigma, or shame.

We are urging Congress and the White House to act quickly and to think beyond legality when they create policies. We need this administration to ensure abortion care will be there for anyone who needs it, whoever we are, wherever we live, and however much we make.

You can also plug into the following events from In Our Own Voice’s Black Reproductive Justice Week of Action:

• MONDAY, SEPT. 27
  • The Policy Landscape and What’s at Stake, 7-8 PM ET with Radio One to learn about the Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, the current political attacks we're countering, and ways to get involved during the 7th Annual RJWOA!
• TUESDAY, SEPT. 28
  • Congressional Briefing: “Why Black Moms Need the Momnibus and Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Now,”11 AM-12 PM ET Join In Our Own Voice for a briefing on key investments in Black Maternal Health, featuring remarks by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14).
• WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29
  • Hear from Black RJ state partners and allies on two virtual advocacy panels about their policy and movement-building work at the state level. Beyond Binaries: Building State Movements for LGBTQIA+ Liberation, 12-1 PM ET & Decriminalizing Blackness: Dismantling Systems That Punish Our Bodies, 6-7 PM ET
• THURSDAY, SEPT. 30
  • Voter Suppression is Reproductive Oppression: Building Power Against State Attacks on Voting Rights and Reproductive Justice, 1-2 PM ET – Join for a conversation with State legislators and Allies on Voting Rights and Reproductive Justice. Connect with Black RJ leaders in your state to see how you can support their state legislative advocacy efforts.
• FRIDAY, OCT. 1
  • The Future of RJ: Activism on HBCU Campuses, 11-11:40 AM ET - Join In Our Own Voice on Instagram Live to hear from Next Generation Leadership Institute Fellows about their on-campus mobilizing for Reproductive Justice.

Thank you for supporting Reproductive Justice, and I can't wait to see you online!

In Solidarity,

Kenyetta Whitfield, she/her

Communications Manager