My grandfather was U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina. He passed away in 2008, but one of his most painful legacies lives on: the Helms Amendment. This 50-year-old legislation restricts the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds for abortion, denying millions of people access to abortion—even in countries where it's their legal right, and even in conflict zones where sexual violence is rampant.

As an activist and philanthropist, I advocate for abortion access for all. Like you, I believe that every person should have the right to reproductive freedom. That’s why I’ve long supported Ipas.

In 1973, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade guaranteed Americans the legal right to abortion, my grandfather became intent on undermining abortion access on the international level. Sadly, he succeeded with the Helms Amendment. But Ipas and a diverse array of partners have been working for years to repeal this harmful legislation, most recently with the historic introduction of the Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act in the U.S. Senate last month.

I’ve published an opinion in Politico about the need to end my grandfather’s harmful legacy—and how President Biden can act now to prevent further suffering, and to protect abortion access for all who need it.

If you’d like to see the Helms Amendment gone, like I do, please consider donating to Ipas today. Ipas’s advocacy work in Washington, D.C., is crucial to this fight, and I’m proud to support them in it. I hope you’ll join me.
 
In solidarity,

Ellen Ellen Gaddy, PhD Ipas supporter, activist, philanthropist