If you’re concerned about contraceptive deserts and access to a full range of birth control methods for people across the U.S., there’s a lot of things you can do to speak out! First and foremost, contact your members of Congress. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. You can also do so through Power to Decide!

Give to BCBenefits and help low-income folks who need access to birth control right now!

 Coming up on November 13th is #THXBirthControl Day! Use this moment to shout out everything awesome about birth control and share your opinions, stories, and why birth control access matters to you on social media using the #ThxBirthControlDay hashtag! You can also get #ThxBirthControl stickers, shirts, and more!

 For more information on contraceptive deserts, you can find an interactive contraceptive desert map here, a factsheet on the domestic gag rule here, and our most recent podcast episode on Title X and Planned Parenthood here.

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Worried about the LGBT and reproductive health laws that are finding their ways in front of the Supreme Court? Continue to organize!

These laws originate from state legislatures that across the country. State legislatures can be persuaded or replaced. Make sure you vote in your local elections as well as national elections.

Educate people around you about TRAP laws. You can find more information on TRAP laws through Population Institute’s 50-State Report Card here.

Call your Senators and tell them to support the Equality Act! You can reach the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Investigate your employer’s protections of LGBTQ+ people. Is your employer-based health insurance trans inclusive? Are there protections in place for LGBTQ people at your place of work?

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Follow SCRJ on Twitter and Facebook to learn more and get involved with providing reproductive healthcare on campuses across America.

Share or donate to SCRJ’s donate page in order to support the important work that this new nonprofit is doing!

If you are a student at a Catholic university, you can also start a chapter of SCRJ on your own campus. If you are a Catholic alum or donor, speak up to your alma mater and withhold donations until reproductive healthcare is provided on campus.

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Follow the National Center for Lesbian rights on Facebook and Twitter and stay up-to-date with their work.

Comment on regulations! Flooding agencies with comments slows the process down and may prevent the rule from being passed. It’s extremely important that your voice is heard.

Be engaged on social media! Use hashtags like #ProtectX and #LicenseToDiscriminate and let your stories and opinions be heard! Keep these conversations in the spotlight.

Contact members of Congress and tell them that you are worried about the ways that the Department of Health and Human Services is erasing LGBTQ voices. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.

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While litigation between Planned Parenthood and these rule changes is ongoing, there is still a lot listeners can do.

Follow PPFA on Facebook and Twitter and stay up-to-date on how they are fighting back against the Title X rule changes. Use the #ProtectX hashtag to explain what Title X means to you. Take action through Planned Parenthood here, and text PINKOUT to 22422. Check out the community letter that urges Congress to say no to gag rules.

Call your U.S. Senator and tell them that you are worried about the Trump-Pence administration’s changes to the Title X rule. The House spending bill has included protective language against the Title X changes and the Senate has yet to act on this bill. You can press them on where they stand on this harmful rule. You can contact the Capitol Switchboard here! 202-224-3121.

 Call the House of Representatives to thank them for helping protect those that are covered by Title X.

 You can listen to our past episodes on attacks on Title X as well as the Global Gag Rule.

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You can find Amy Littlefield’s articles here. Follow Rewire.News on Twitter and Facebook for more news on reproductive health and rights!

Keep an eye on the health care landscape in your community for Catholic healthcare mergers. If there are any present, get involved in the democratic process! Spread information about Catholic hospitals in your community.

 If you want to make sure the hospitals in your area aren’t Catholic, you can find that information on the Catholic Health Association Directory, or you can visit the hospital’s website and look at the hospital’s mission statement and history. Logos and names can be a clue, but not every Catholic hospital has a religiously-affiliated sounding name. Merger Watch often publishes reports that names larger Catholic health systems. You can also ask your provider.

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It is important that we address cultural and social gender norms wherever we are, and you can take action to influence those norms.

First, follow Pathfinder International on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on their work providing sexual and reproductive health services and addressing gender norms for women and girls around the world.

You can also analyze the way children and young people in your life are impacted by gender norms, and work to actively change those stereotypes by having open conversations and breaking the silence when you see micro-aggressions, acts of violence, and perpetuation of patriarchal norms. 

Keep your language in mind, and make sure that it is inclusive.

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Follow Human Rights Watch on Facebook and Twitter here and Amnesty International USA on Facebook and Twitter here to stay up-to-date on both organization’s work on human rights.

Reach out to your elected representatives and tell them to de-fund the “Commission on Inalienable Rights,” because it is Congress’ decision to route appropriations. You can also request your Senators and House Representatives to hold a hearing on the commission. You can reach the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. 

While you are on the phone with your Congressional representatives, urge them to ratify women’s right, children’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. If rights are ratified, this prevents administrations from being able to “question” the rights of certain groups.

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Follow Women’s Refugee Commission on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with the work they are doing for adolescent girls in humanitarian settings.

Find more information on WRC’s work in humanitarian contexts, including work on gender-based violence, on their website.

If you are currently working with adolescents or want to work with adolescents, remember what it was like to be a teenager. Teenagers are not a homogenous group, so it is vital to engage in active listening in any context.

Check out Julianne’s blog post on adolescent needs in humanitarian settings here.

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On an individual level, we can all help teenagers access the sexual and reproductive health care they need. Refrain from judging a girl in your life who approaches you about information regarding their sexual and reproductive health care. Point her in the right direction, instead. 

You can follow Marie Stopes International on Facebook and Twitter, and Marie Stopes Zambia on Facebook here in order to stay up-to-date on their SRHR work! 

Find more information on the Divine Divas program here and more information on MSI’s work in Zambia here!

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Follow IWHC on Twitter and Facebook and keep up with their organization!

For people in countries where the global gag rule applies, advocate with your government about health autonomy! Become an advocate for awareness around safe abortion, reproductive health rights, and reproductive health and rights.

In the U.S., the solution is to end the global gag rule. Support the Global HER Act, which would put an end to the policy and prevent future presidents from re-enacting the rule. You can call your House Representatives and Senators at the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Find information on the Global HER Act here!

You can also check out IWHC’s report Crisis in Care here.

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First and foremost, follow Katelyn Burns on Twitter here. 

 Second, you can follow these trans-affirming and inclusive reproductive health organizations in order to stay up-to-date on attacks on the transgender community and reproductive health care:

Planned Parenthood Action Fund

NARAL  

National Women’s Law Center

Show up at protests that are happening in your local community! 

There is a desperate need to fund transgender healthcare. Use the hashtag #TransCrowdFund on Twitter. Here you can find GoFundMe’s and other trans-based crowdfunding efforts.  

Most importantly, go to https://protecttranshealth.organd submit a comment regarding the attacks on transgender health and rights. 

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Follow Population Council on Facebook and Twitter in order to keep up with their contraception developments and other news!

Do you use a method of birth control? Funding and investment decisions about contraceptive methods are made because product users share their experience and stories! You can do that here.

You can find more information on Annovera in the FDA press release here.

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What can you do to support abortion access? 

Follow the National Network of Abortion funds on Facebook and Twitter in order to stay up-to-date on the critical work they are doing.

Abortion funds are only able to support about 1/5 of the people that call to request help securing care. Donating to these funds make a huge difference and ensure direct access to care. Donate to your local fund or donate at the national level by visiting The National Network of Abortion Funds here.

You can also become a member of your local abortion fund! Find more information on becoming a member, donating, and joining abortion funds campaigns here!

Let your local and national lawmakers know where you stand on the issue of abortion access. You can contact the Capitol Switchboard here at 202-224-3121.

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How can people of faith fight back and engage in the battle over sexual and reproductive health and rights?

Exploring how your faith informs your position on reproductive health and rights is the first step! If you are in a faith-based community now, ask around to see if there are people that feel similarly to you regarding reproductive health and rights, and start conversations in your religious community about SRHR issues. This give you practice talking about the intersection of these issues and your faith.

Follow Rev. Katey Zeh on Twitter and pick up her book Women Rise Up: Sacred Stories of Resistance for Today’s Revolution here!

You can also reach out to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice for more guidance, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

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Want to learn more about sexual and reproductive health and rights in countries like Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe? Follow CHANGE on Facebook and Twitter and keep up with the work their advocates do on these vital issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

You can also find current information on sexual and reproductive health and rights standards in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe here.

To learn more about PEPFAR and DREAMS, check out our past podcast episode PEPFAR: Achieving an AIDS-Free Generation here.

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For those who are outraged by these recent bans and are becoming newly involved in the fight for access to abortion care, it is important to be careful of the language that is used. Practice using the terms “later abortion,” rather than “late term abortion”, and “pregnant person/people” rather than “pregnant woman/ women.” These keeps the fight for comprehensive access to abortion care inclusive and scientifically factual.

Continue to reaffirm that abortion is currently legal in all 50 states! These bans may be frightening and many may think they live in a state that does not guarantee access to abortion care, but that is not true.

Call your local abortion funds and see what you can do to help, whether through donations or volunteer work. You can donate to Alabama’s abortion fund here and Georgia’s abortion fund here.

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If you are interested in keeping up to date with reproductive justice issues, give In Our Own Voice: The National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda a follow on Twitter and Facebook.

If you want to support the reproductive justice movement, make sure to support and center the leadership and power of women of color, who are historically the most excluded and marginalized folks in any environment.

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Follow Ipas on Twitter and Facebook here, and keep up to date on the sexual and reproductive health and rights work they continue to do in Nigeria!

If you want to make sure we end the expanded global gag rule, write to or call your legislators and tell them to support the Global HER Act in both the House and the Senate! You can reach the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

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Visit In Our Own Voice National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and find out more about voting rights and how they intersect with reproductive justice. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and visit blackwomen.vote!

Get engaged. Study up on legislators and their issue areas at the local and national level. Find out your voting rights based on where you live. If you don’t like your state’s voting guidelines, protest them with groups like ACLU!

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