Planned Parenthood Advocates for DC, Maryland, & NoVa |
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Dear Advocates,
Leaning into our motto "when they go low, we go local," Planned Parenthood Advocates for DC, Maryland, and NoVa (PPAMDV) started the new year immediately hard at work across DC, MD, and NoVa. In just the first few months of 2023, we've worked alongside partners to fight back against multiple proposed abortion bans in VA, to advocate for abortion protections in DC, and to support a legislative package that will set the foundation for a constitutional amendment and abortion protections in MD; PPADMV also welcomed five new team members! We are excited to partner with you in this continued fight for reproductive freedom.
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- Mifepristone Case
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Anti-abortion organizations and activists filed a lawsuit against the FDA seeking to revoke its approval of mifepristone. Mifepristone is the first drug in the two drug process for a medication abortion. The consequences of this case could go as far as removing mifepristone from the market entirely, thereby decreasing accessibility for medication abortion, even in states where abortion is accessible, legal, and protected like D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. While this court case would not outright ban medication abortion, it would reduce access to critical reproductive health care services for many people, especially those who are already marginalized. We are currently awaiting a decision that could come any day now.
Thank you to DC Attorney General Brian Swchalb and Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown for signing on to an amicus brief.
On February 23, PPADMV, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV), and the ACLU of Virginia hosted a teach-in on mifepristone and this court case. If you missed the teach-in, you can watch it here (Passcode: 54eS68.a)!
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Maryland
- PPADMV continues to be in the room for reproductive health care bill hearings, monitoring floor votes and maintaining relations with elected officials who testify in support of these bills.
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Less than a month after Maryland Governor Wes Moore was sworn into office, he, with Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, and Senate President Bill Ferguson, announced a legislative package centered on reproductive rights called the 2023 Reproductive Freedom Package. The package outlines how Maryland can best protect patients, providers, and support networks while expanding access to care in certain environments.
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One of the proposed pieces of legislation in this package is a Constitutional Amendment that would enshrine abortion in the Maryland state constitution. Initially introduced in 2019 then in 2022 (with both failing in the Maryland General Assembly), this attempt in 2023 is looking promising. The bill has made it past the third reading this week and now moves into the Senate.
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Check out the 2023 Reproductive Freedom Package here:
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These bills have been moving steadily through the Maryland General Assembly with the hope that they’ll reach a voter referendum. Attempts by Maryland elected officials who are anti-reproductive healthcare to alter the bills in ways to limit their scope have been unsuccessful so far, with other officials overwhelmingly voting against these amendments.
Washington, DC -
As many of you have seen in the news, over the past several weeks Congress decided to interfere with our local D.C. policy making process. On March 8, 2023, the U.S. Senate, after passage from the U.S. House, approved a congressional resolution of disapproval to overturn a law passed by the D.C. Council that would have revised the D.C. criminal code that is outdated.
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PPADMV was very discouraged by this political interference from Congress. We stand firm in our belief that DC statehood is essential to ensure not only reproductive freedom, but also for justice in every aspect of life for the residents of DC. We must continue the fight for D.C. statehood to make sure the voices of DC residents are heard and have voting representation in Congress.
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PPADMV has hit the ground running in 2023, supporting two bills that we helped move through the hearing process last session:
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B24-0831: Reproductive Health Care Insurance Coverage Expansion Amendment Act of 2022, introduced by Councilmember Robert White, would require private insurers to cover abortion with no out-of-pocket costs.
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B24-0829: Medical Malpractice Clarification Amendment Act of 2022, introduced by Councilmember Robert White, would prohibit medical malpractice insurers from taking adverse action against a D.C. abortion provider based on professional discipline from another state for providing abortion care that is legal in D.C., or for providing abortion care in D.C. to a patient coming from a state where abortion is illegal.
Virginia - PPADMV is very excited that Virginia’s 2023 legislative session proved to be successful for reproductive health care by defeating all abortion bans introduced.
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There was also an attempt to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution through a proposed amendment, SJ 255, that was passed by the Senate and then unfortunately failed in the House. Although it ultimately didn’t become law, the advancement of this amendment is a step in the right direction to ultimately protect access to abortion in the state of Virginia.
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The Virginia General Assembly also adjourned this year without any cuts to reproductive healthcare, and the Contraceptive Access Initiative, a grant program that provides $4 million/year to provide contraceptives to qualifying low-income people in Virginia, remains protected.
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Maryland
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During Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s (PPAF)’s Patient Advocacy & Organizing 2023 Summit’s lobby day in Washington, DC, PPADMV and advocates met with Maryland U.S. Senator Christopher Van Hollen and Maryland U.S. Senator Ben Cardin’s office. In our meetings we thanked the senators for their support of reproductive healthcare and urged them to oppose all attacks on abortion access and support legislation that would protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care. Some of the bills we highlighted included the EACH Act, Global HER Act, and the Women’s Health Protection Act. We also encouraged the senators to prioritize confirming diverse reproductive health champions to the judiciary and executive branch.
Virginia -
PPADMV was proud to join forces with PPAV for a phone bank to help elect Aaron Rouse in January’s SD-7 Special Election. Aaron Rouse successfully won the Senate seat leading Virginia to secure a 21-19 pro-abortion rights majority! Thank you to all PPADMV supporters who helped secure this critical win!
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PPADMV made a trip to Richmond, Virginia for PPAV’s Lobby Day where we witnessed Governor Youngkin’s three abortion bans get shut down! After that win, we led teams of volunteers to meet with their legislators to encourage them to support a constitutional amendment that protects reproductive freedom and to oppose all abortion bans in Virginia.
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During the Patient Advocacy & Organizing 2023 Summit’s lobby day in Washington, DC, we also met with Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton’s office to thank her for her support and to discuss how crucial it is to ensure Northern Virginia has abortion access and to push back against any bans. Many patients travel from Northern Virginia to PPMW for abortion care and the health center is experiencing an influx of out-of-state patients. We also urged the Congresswoman to support DC Statehood and the EACH Act, highlighting how DC statehood supports DC residents and reproductive health care.
- In celebration of Black History Month, PPADMV participated in PPAV’s Shop Chat where we met the owner of Green Vibes RVA in Richmond, VA and learned how her business serves Black communities and relates to reproductive rights.
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Washington, DC - PPADMV tabled at Maggie Rogers’ concert at The Anthem on February 13th where we distributed “Bans Off Our Bodies” merchandise and information about Planned Parenthood affiliates’ continued service in the DMV. We were proud to be a part of the artist’s tour’s goal of uplifting reproductive rights organizations.
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PPADMV collaborated with the ACLU of Virginia (ACLU-VA) and Planned Parenthood Advocates for Virginia to host a mifepristone virtual teach-in in response to the court challenge in Texas in the case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. Over 100 attended and were able to hear from PPMW’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Serina Floyd, a storyteller from PPM, and an ACLU-VA’s staff attorney. If you missed the teach-in, you can watch it here! (Passcode: 54eS68.a)
- As we await the pending decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, stay tuned to PPADMV for actions you can take in DC and beyond, depending on the outcome of the ruling.
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Roe v. Wade’s 50th Anniversary
Sunday, January 22, 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States recognized a person’s decision to end a pregnancy was a protected right under the 14th amendment. Although Roe was a monumental win for reproductive rights, Roe gave people a basic right to abortion, but did not guarantee access to it.
For the last 50 years, abortion rights have remained under constant attack by anti-abortion extremists’ coordinated efforts through state and federal legislation, regulations, elections, and court cases. We know the most harmed communities by these restrictions continue to be the most marginalized among us: Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, immigrants, rural communities, people with low-incomes, and LGBTQ+ people - communities already facing extreme barriers to healthcare - and we will continue the fight to ensure everyone has true reproductive freedom.
Our partners at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC (PPMW) and Planned Parenthood of Maryland (PPM) took this bittersweet anniversary as an opportunity to be amongst their communities with a clearer vision and renewed sense of purpose. PPMW: PPMW organized a poster-making session on Saturday, January 21st in preparation for the Women’s March “Bigger than Roe” rally and march, where their organizers distributed swag and information on abortion access in the DMV. |
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PPM: In January, our Partners at Planned Parenthood of Maryland held their 6th annual screening of Dirty Dancing to mark the anniversary. Why Dirty Dancing? The words of screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein are downright haunting now: "When I made the movie in 1987, about 1963, I put in the illegal abortion and everyone said, 'Why? There was Roe v. Wade--what are you doing this for?'" she told Broadly in 2017. "I said, 'Well, I don't know that we will always have Roe v. Wade,' and I got a lot of pushback on that."
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Visit ppadmv.org for more information. Planned Parenthood Advocates of DC, Maryland & NoVa
1225 4th St NE
Washington, DC 20002
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