Want to learn more about the impact of the global gag rule on Malawi? You can find CHANGE’s helpful report “A Powerful Force: U.S. Global Health Assistance and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Malawi” here.
Stay up-to-date on the status of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Malawi by following the Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre on Twitter, Center for Solutions Journalism on Twitter, and UNFPA Malawi on Twitter.
Read MoreFirst and foremost, check out the Sate Innovation Exchange on Twitter and Facebook and stay up to date on their amazing work!
Read up on reproductive health, rights, and justice and find out more about the layering of abortion restrictions and how that impacts people on an intersectional level. Radical Reproductive Justice is a good resource for doing so.
Support your local abortion clinics and abortion funds! Folks face so many barriers when accessing abortion care, so providing love and support to folks in your community who are on the frontline of abortion access can be helpful. You can donate or volunteer just in time for Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, which is March 10th, 2020.
Read MoreFirst and foremost, you can find Dr. Nisha Verma and Stephanie Goodell’s most recent Op-Ed piece, “We met as doctor and patient, but a life-saving abortion was the start of our friendship,” here.
Find vital sexual and reproductive health research and data through the Guttmacher Institute here.
For more information on June Medical Services vs. Russo, click here.
Read MoreStay up-to-date on all things June Medical Services vs. Russo by following the Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter and Facebook.
Speak out about your support for abortion services – write letters to the editor in your local paper or share your thoughts on social media.
A current bill in Congress, the Women’s Health Protection Act, seeks to set a statute that would ensure abortion access across the country. You can contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them to support the Women’s Health Protection Act.
If you are in the D.C. area, show up in front of the Supreme Court on March 4th, and rally in support for Center for Reproductive Rights!
Keep an eye out for other laws and court cases that attack access to abortion care, including the recent onslaught of abortion bans seen around the country. Find out what the legal precedent for accessing abortion is in your state.
Read MoreIt may feel like attacks on Medicaid are ever-growing, but there are things you can do to fight back!
First and foremost, you can follow Center for American Progress on Facebook here or Center for American Progress Women on Twitter here.
Pay attention to Medicaid in your state and if your state is seeking a waiver. There is always an opportunity for public comment, and you can submit personal stories or a letter to your congress members.
Let your elected officials know how important Medicaid is to you in your state and dissuade them from using Medicaid waivers or block grants to attack the program! You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Read MoreFirst and foremost, follow In Our Own Voice on Twitter in order to stay up-to-date on their incredible work.
You can find In Our Own Voice’s issue brief, Maternal Health and Abortion Restrictions: How Lack of Access to Quality Care is Harming Black Women here.
Vote early and vote often. In Our Own Voice will be re-launching their I am a Voter campaign, which focuses on issue areas that deeply affect Black women at the federal and state level. Keep an eye out for this campaign!
You can also call your congressmen and women and your Senators and urge them to make the connection between maternal health and abortion access. You can ask if they support the EACH Woman Act, the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Maternal Care Act, the MOMMIES Act, and the MOMMAS Act. You can contact the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Read MoreFollow Reproaction on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with their amazing work!
If you want to avoid accidentally visiting a Crisis Pregnancy Center, you can find Reproaction’s fake clinic database here. You can share with resource with friends to ensure their safety, as well. You can also ask the front desk “Do you oppose abortion?” “Can I get birth control here?” or “Will you provide a referral for abortion if that’s what I need?” If they skirt the question or do not provide a simple yes or no answer, it is likely that you are at a CPC.
You can also find a toolkit through Reproaction’s website that will allow you to start a local protest. If you find that there’s a CPC in your area, write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
Keep a close eye on who is teaching sex education in your children’s school, since crisis pregnancy centers are increasingly being contracted to teach sex ed.
Read MoreFollow Lauren Rankin on Twitter.
If you’re interested in volunteering as an abortion clinic escort, contact your local clinic or find clinics in your area by looking it up through the National Abortion Federation.
You can always donate to larger reproductive health organizations, but smaller, local abortion funds need your help! You can find your local abortion fund by checking out the National Network of Abortion Providers.
Call your Senators and Representatives about these pressing reproductive health issues. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.
Smash stigma by having conversations about abortion with people you wouldn’t normally converse about these topics with. Use the word “abortion”. Thank any clinic escorts you see.
Read MoreFollow CHANGE on Facebook and Twitter and stay up-to-date with their work and the sexual and reproductive health and rights index.
Find CHANGE’s SRHR Index here.
This episode has been uploaded on Dec. 17, 2019, which is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Find more information here.
Read MoreFollow these organizations on social media and keep up-to-date on their amazing work!
Population Institute on Facebook and Twitter
rePROs Fight Back on Facebook and Twitter
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) on Facebook and Twitter
Rewire.News on Facebook and Twitter
Read MoreContact your Congressmembers and tell them to support the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019 ! This would provide funding for more comprehensive sex education.
You can also tell your Congressmembers to support Youth Access to Sexual Health Services Act of 2019 would provide grants to increase access to sexual and reproductive health care for marginalized young people. Access the REHYA and YASHS action tool here!
You can reach the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
SEPAC is the State Sex Education Policy Action Council in 25 states. SEPAC provides technical policy assistance to activists who want to advance comprehensive sexual education in their state. Check out the newest blog from SIECUS and learn how to advance sex education for social change forward in your community!
You can also find the toolkit here for tips on how to expand access.
Read MoreIf 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.
Read MoreWorried 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?
Read MoreFollow 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.
Read MoreFollow 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.
Read MoreWhile 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.
Read MoreYou 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.
Read MoreIt 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.
Read MoreFollow 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.
Read MoreFollow 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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