Black women leaders call on Biden-Harris administration for broad expansion of reproductive rights

In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda Founder joins with more than 100 allies to demand swift action.

WASHINGTON — Today, President Biden issued executive orders to expand access to reproductive health services. In a memorandum, the president rescinded the “global gag rule” which prevents groups overseas from providing the full range of reproductive health services, including abortion, or make abortion referrals. The new orders also instruct HHS to re-examine barriers to the Title X family planning program imposed by the Trump administration that prevented nonprofit organizations that provide abortions from participating. The orders are a critical first step toward expanding health care for all people, but advocates warn that there is more to do.

Yesterday, the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice, a coalition of more than 100 organizations, published a full-page ad in the Washington Post to encourage the Biden-Harris administration to swiftly expand access to reproductive health care. The Repro Blueprint is co-led by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Blueprint lays out a vision for the future that includes forward-thinking ideas to transform sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice policy domestically and globally, as well as basic and fundamental measures to undo the damage of the last four years.

“With a newly elected administration and Congress, Black women demand immediate action to expand access to reproductive health care and to restore reproductive rights,” said In Our Own Voice President and CEO Marcela Howell. “We must ensure that all pregnant people have access to the full range of reproductive care, including abortion care and the resources to make reproductive health decisions – including the decision to have and raise our families with dignity.”

“In particular, we are calling on the  Biden administration to send Congress a clean budget without the harmful Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion under Medicaid. Over the years, the Hyde Amendment has been attached to other federal programs, including the Affordable Care Act.

“The Hyde Amendment disparately impacts people of color and is an inherently racist policy that violates the most basic human right to decide whether or when to have children. It threatens the economic security of those who are denied access to abortion, who often are more likely to fall into poverty or long-term economic insecurity.

“As the country struggles to address systemic racial injustice, the hypocrisy of restricting coverage of medically safe and legal abortion care is palpable. As Black Reproductive Justice advocates it is our expectation that the Hyde Amendment and all other restrictions on funding be removed.”

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In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda is a national Reproductive Justice organization focused on lifting up the voices of Black women at the national and regional levels in our ongoing policy fight to secure Reproductive Justice for Black women, femmes, queer, trans and gender non-conforming people and youth. Our strategic partners include Black Women for Wellness, Black Women’s Health Imperative, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, SisterLove, Inc., SisterReach, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW, The Afiya Center and Women With A Vision.