#BeBoldEndHyde
September 30, 2018, marked the 42nd anniversary of the Hyde Amendment.
It’s no secret that abortion care can be a costly expense for women around the country. As a result of the Hyde Amendment, about 7.4 million women ages 15-49 who have health insurance through Medicaid cannot use their insurance to cover abortion in most circumstances. Kelsey Ryland with All* Above All sits down with us to discuss the details of the Hyde Amendment related to abortion funding restrictions, how it affects women, and why it must go.
The Hyde Amendment states that abortion care is not covered for those that receive their insurance coverage through the Medicaid program. This amendment is a yearly appropriations writer and has been since 1976. Women who are enrolled in the Medicaid program are typically enrolled due to their income status. If a woman enrolled in Medicaid needs an abortion and lives in one of the 33 states that does not use state dollars to cover abortion care, that woman must pay for her abortion out of pocket. The cost of an abortion could equal someone’s rent or grocery bill for the month. This ban falls most heavily on young people, people of color, and LGBTQ folks. There are 17 states that have decided through their own courts or state legislatures to use their own state dollars for women enrolled in Medicaid to access abortion.
In the Medicaid program and under the Hyde Amendment, abortion care will be theoretically covered if the pregnant person is pregnant due to rape or incest, or their health is at risk.
There are multiple obstacles to keep in mind while trying to access abortion care in certain states, including gathering funds, finding transportation to the (sometimes only one) clinic, receiving scientifically inaccurate information, mandatory wait-periods, etc. These barriers at the state level can interact with the Hyde Amendment in order to further limit women’s ability to access services, which is a time-sensitive concern.
What does this mean for women across the country? Rosie Jimenez lost her life due to barriers created by the Hyde Amendment. Unable to receive a needed abortion shortly after the Hyde Amendment’s passing, she sought an abortion that was not provided in a safe environment. Rose Jimenez died from septic shock shortly thereafter. This isn’t just a discussion of policy, but of the well being of women.
The impact of the Hyde Amendment on women has a far reach, but it impacts women on Medicaid the heaviest. 7.2 million women of reproductive age are enrolled in Medicaid live in a state that does not cover abortion care with state dollars. Again, young people, people of color, and LGBTQ people often bear the brunt of these barriers.
Congress has come to the decision that the Hyde Amendment is not enough of an obstacle for women who are trying to access abortion care. We’ve seen renewed attacks this Congress to restrict abortion coverage, and these attacks reach to the private market. When women are denied access to abortion care, it is more likely that they will fall into poverty. Women can make the right decisions at the right time, and must be able to do so without political interference within their doctor’s offices. That’s why the EACH Woman Act, introduced in the 114th Congress by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, is a bill that champions the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
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Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back a podcast on all things repro. I'm your host Jennie Wetter. In each episode, I'll be taking you to the front lines of the escalating fight over our sexual and reproductive health and rights at home and abroad. Each episode, I will be speaking with leaders who are fighting to protect our reproductive health and rights to ensure that no one's reproductive health depends on where they live. It's time for repros to fight back.
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Jennie: Hi everybody, and welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. Last week was the 42nd anniversary of the Hyde amendment, so today we are going to talk about what the Hyde amendment is. I'm excited to have Kelsey Ryland from All Above All with me today to talk about what the Hyde amendment is, what it means to women, and why it must go. So, Hi Kelsey, thanks so much for being here!
Kelsey: Hey, thanks for having me. I'm, I'm excited to be here.
Jennie: So let's start at the very beginning. What is the height amendment?
Kelsey: So currently the Hyde Amendment essentially says that anyone who gets their insurance, they're enrolled in their insurance um, through the Medicaid program or, um, a couple of other programs that I can talk about later that abortion care is not covered for them. So currently Congress does not allow women who get their insurance or these programs to have abortion care. Um, I think it's important to note that this is a yearly appropriations rider. So every year the appropriations process is how Congress decides how they want to spend their money. And every year since 1976, when Henry Hyde introduced this amendment, it is included in the Labor age bill. So theoretically, um, next year Congress could just decide to not include it. Um, we know there are a lot of reasons why we have a long fight ahead of us, but I think it's important to note that, um, this, this is not a standalone law that exists. It is a yearly appropriations rider.
Jennie: So one of the places where we see the biggest impact from that is in Medicaid. Um, so how does that affect women's ability to access care on Medicaid?
Kelsey: Great question. So women who are enrolled in the Medicaid program, um, are typically enrolled because of their income status. So if you are low income, uh, that obviously we know means you don't have a lot of financial resources month to month and that is why your insurance comes, um, why you get your insurance through the Medicaid program. So let's say that I am enrolled in Medicaid, which I was as a law school student, um, and I need an abortion. If I live in one of the 33 states that does not use their state dollars to cover abortion care, I have to pay for that out of pocket, which we know the cost of an abortion can equal someone's rent, their grocery bill for the month, more than most families have on hand for an emergency. I also think it's important to note that, um, you know, the Medicaid population is also disproportionately women of color, young people, LGBTQ folks. So, um, this ban really falls most heavily on a population that already experiences other types of barriers and restrictions to accessing the health care they need.
Jennie: So it prevents women from accessing abortion. Does that, is that a blanket ban or are there exceptions?
Kelsey: Yeah, great question. So in the Medicaid program. If you are pregnant as a result of rape or incest or if the life of the pregnant person is at risk, theoretically your abortion should be covered under the Hyde Amendment. I will say we know that in practice there are a lot of barriers to actually making that happen, but that is the law on the books.
Jennie: So, and it's not actually super easy to then use those exceptions.
Kelsey: Correct. Yeah. And I know there is some advocacy going on with some of our partners around looking at really how many abortions are actually covered under the exceptions of the Hyde amendment. And you know, the statistics of the rates of rape and incest, uh, don't, don't really line up with how many women we know are accessing abortion under those exceptions.
Jennie: And you referenced this earlier, um, that some states allow women to access abortion using state dollars. Do you want to flush that out a little bit more?
Kelsey: So there are17 states that have decided either through their state legislature or through courts that um, they will use their own state dollars for women enrolled in Medicaid to access abortion. So, um, people who do Medicaid work are probably, will probably not love the way I describe this, but um, the Medicaid program is, you know, a match, a mix between federal and state dollars. And so, um, these 17 states have said we will use our state funds to pay, um, for abortion care for women, um, in the, in those states. And I think it's important to know that it's only 17. Um, and there are 33 states where women do not have that opportunity. And we also just added a state to that list. Um, Illinois last year passed a bill out of their state legislature saying that they will cover abortion care for women in their state. Uh, and their Republican governor signed that bill into law.
Jennie: That's great. One of the things that living in DC is always super annoying is that DC always tries to use their own money to make sure that women can, low income women can access abortion care, but the federal government always overturns it.
Kelsey: That is true. Um, yearly we have the DC abortion rider. I will say there was a very small period of time. It was one, maybe two years during the Clinton administration where President Clinton did not include the DC ban in his budget and it passed through Congress without the ban.
Jennie: Oh, I didn't know that.
Kelsey: Yeah. And I think it's important to mention because even when we have had what maybe people would consider pro choice presidents in office, so the Clinton budget, the Obama budget, they all have included the Hyde amendment. Um, and, and I say that just to say that, you know, we have work to do to like bring people along and I think we've been successful in a lot of ways and have seen incredible growth in the last five years, but we have work to do to bring people along who are pro choice to say that actually doesn't matter if you can't afford your abortion care.
Jennie: Yeah. I feel like we've seen similar thing on the international side with the Helms amendment, which is fairly similar to Hyde. It prevents, uh, US funding from funding abortion overseas. Um, and very often you kind of see the argument that well, Helms is in place or Hyde is in place, so, you know, no federal dollars are going to, abortion is a talking point often even from our champions.
Kelsey: Yeah, absolutely. It's a talking point from our champions, and I think it has allowed people to kind of walk this middle ground a little bit. Um, and I think, you know, that's been in Congress, that's been in our movement. So All Above All was created to try to pull our movement into a conversation about, you know, if we're really pushing for a comprehensive vision of what reproductive rights, health and justice looks like, it has to include a conversation about coverage.
Jennie: Absolutely. And you know, using that as like the default, like well no tax dollars go to abortion is one, it's not completely true. And two, it's current... it keeps stigmatizing abortion as you know, this other service that women don't need.
Kelsey: Correct. And All Above All has done an incredible amount of research to talk about how, how do we flip that message? Right? Because for me, um, I think it seems so, uh, misplaced to talk about tax dollars when we're talking about someone deciding the future of their family and their wellbeing. And so we know that when we flip that narrative and say, look, regardless of how we feel about abortion, nobody should be denied access to it because they're poor. And I think that really flips this narrative on its head and, and centers this on a, on a message of justice and equity, which is what, what I think a lot of us actually care about.
Jennie: Which kind of just flips the, like Henry Hyde statement on it's head, right? Like he wanted to ban all abortion. He was like, well the only way I can do it is through Medicaid, so I can't ban it for everybody, but I can ban it for poor women.
Kelsey: Exactly. I mean he did not hide the ball when he introduced the Hyde amendment. And you know what I think is incredible is that we have champions in Congress now, like Barbara Lee who was working in Congress when Henry Hyde introduced his amendment. Um, she's now the lead sponsor on our bill, the Each Woman Act, and we have Tammy Duckworth who was from Henry Hyde's district. So these really powerful women of color who were saying not anymore and, and, and you can't use my community as a scapegoat.
Jennie: You know, one thing that's also really worth talking about is that there are a lot of abortion restrictions at the state level and the Hyde amendment interacts with them in ways that inhibit women's ability to access services.
Kelsey: Actually, I'm going to reference my colleague Bethany van Kampen at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. I was just at a briefing with her where she did this really great example of the obstacle course that women have to go through. So let's say you're in a state, that you're a Medicaid recipients who get your insurance through Medicaid, so you have to come up with your own funds to cover your abortion care and you're in a state where there's only one clinic and you have to go to the clinic and get mandatory counseling that scientifically and accurate. Then patronizingly they make you wait for a couple of days, then you get to come back and get your abortion. So all of this is, and then imagine someone's immigration status. If someone's undocumented, they are certainly frightened maybe to go to the doctor because ICE could show up there in direct disregard for, you know, regulations that say they cannot do that. Uh, it's really a patchwork and a web that makes it nearly impossible to access abortion care. And I, you know, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, everybody's favorite she-ro, uh, famously said, you know, there will never be a time in our country where rich white women cannot afford abortion care. I think that's really true. So that same set of circumstances, but for someone who either has it covered through their insurance or like me as a law student, sure it wasn't covered through my insurance, but if I needed to access that care, I had, you know, a community and resources that could help me. So I think it's really important to think about how all of these things build on each other that make Roe essentially not a promise for a wide swath of, of women in America.
Jennie: Yeah. Cause I mean if you think about abortion is not cheap. So a lot of times women are having to scrimp and save to be able to afford it. And you know, that might all of a sudden push the abortion into a second trimester or having to go through waiting until you can get time off. Or having a waiting period and then all of a sudden you need more money and it just makes it that much worse.
Kelsey: Yeah. At a certain point, um, in pregnancy, I mean the cost can double week to week. It's really is a time sensitive concern. Um, I also, this is a, a slight tangent, but want to reference this report from NASM, the National Academy of Sciences. I'm not gonna know what the M stands for, but um, I was just at this briefing, uh, where we were discussing this report that essentially says, look, abortion is an incredibly safe procedure and the only thing that makes it less safe are restrictions that make it harder to get in a timely manner.
Jennie: Yeah, when it's later and you know, all of a sudden are switching the type of abortion and it just all complicates it.
Kelsey: Yeah. And not to mention, you know, you're just going further and further along without being able to exercise a decision that theoretically you have a constitutional protection to.
Jennie: And it's really also just scary in talking about all of this in the shadow of what's going on with Kavanaugh, which by the time this podcast comes out, might be over, but, uh, right now we're in the middle of, um, they're going to vote in the Judiciary Committee today.
Kelsey: Yeah. It's really, um, quite, quite a scary time, uh, to see kind of the lack of regard for the autonomy that we deserve to decide when and how to start our families.
Jennie: And I think the really important thing to do is always bring it back to what does this mean for women.
Kelsey: Yeah, exactly. I mean, we can think, especially working in DC and in the beltway, we can get in some deep want conversations. And I think it's important to take this opportunity to really remind ourselves of the women who make these decisions on, on the daily. And, um, you know, we have the example of Rosie Jimenez who was the first woman we know of who lost her life because of the Hyde amendment. Um, she went to get an abortion shortly after the Hyde amendment passed and was unable to get the care she needed and had to seek an abortion, um, that was not provided in a safe manner and she died from septic shock. Um, so we know that this isn't actually just a policy discussion. This is about real women's wellbeing.
Jennie: I mean, I think it always goes back to the, you can make it illegal, but women are still going to keep having abortion, so you can just make it unsafe.
Kelsey: Yeah, you can make it unsafe. Exactly. And you know, women are resourceful and certainly abortion care doesn't look like it did back before Roe. And we have a lot of safe ways to end a pregnancy, but regardless, women should have the ability to make that decision however they want and they should be able to pay for it.
Jennie: Um, we touched on this a little bit, but it's who is the most impacted?
Kelsey: Yeah, so, um, well, something I kind of alluded to earlier is that the Hyde amendment affects many populations. So it also applies to federal employees, Peace Corps volunteers, women in the military. But we know that the impact falls heaviest on women and Medicaid. Um, one, they are one of the largest populations. So 7.2 million women live in of reproductive age are enrolled in Medicaid and live in states that do not cover abortion care with their own dollars. So on top of being kind of one of the largest populations, they also do not have, you know, the resources that potentially a federal worker might have to cover out of pocket. Um, and you know, we'd know that, again, like I said earlier, it falls most heavily on women of color, LGBTQ folks and young people who I think, um, historically Congress has felt perfectly fine marginalizing. And I hope that we're starting to see that tide turn a little bit.
Jennie: Um, so we talked to them about mostly about Medicaid because it's definitely the biggest program where you see the impacts, but there are other programs that are impacted. Do you want to maybe touch on that a little bit?
Kelsey: Yeah. So, um, as I mentioned, women in the federal government, um, Peace Corps volunteers, which I think it's worth noting there that only recently, um, were Peace Corps volunteers able to have their abortions covered in the case of rape life or incest.
Jennie: Helms still doesn't?
Kelsey: Correct. Um, it's pretty incredible. Um, women in Medicare, really anyone who for whom the federal government is their insurer or their provider. In our bill, the Each Woman Act really addresses all of those areas. Um, I also, and apologies if we're getting to this later, but think it's worth noting that Congress has certainly decided that the Hyde amendment in its current application is not enough. So we've seen renewed attacks this congress to restrict abortion coverage reaching so far into the private market. We saw it in every attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. We saw it in attempts to stabilize the ACA marketplaces really at any point when anti-choice legislators are trying to address health care reform in ways that we know are totally unhelpful. However, it gives them the opportunity to apply the Hyde amendment to new streams of money. So I think that just shows it's so important for us to be on the defense and also to continue to lay out our proactive vision, so we don't have to kind of guess about what kind of a future we want. We can say this is the future we want. We've laid it out for you and your proposals certainly do not line up with that.
Jennie: You know, you're right. That's really kind of worth digging into. There's always been this hostile atmosphere around abortion, uh, in recent memory. Um, and it's definitely faced an uptick in the last several years. But you've not seen opponents as emboldened as they have been in the last two years. Um, so I think that's really worth talking about for a minute is like what has been happening in Congress around this?
Kelsey: Relentless attacks is what has been happening and has kept us all very busy. And you know, I think the tide is changing. When we do our polling and we talk about this issue is one of, as I mentioned before, one of justice and fairness, the majority of the public comes along with us. And I especially think that the fight around the Supreme Court has ignited a renewed conversation around Roe v Wade, which I do think is important to nuance to say, look, as I said before for wide swaths of the country, Roe v Wade could not be law for all that you know, for all intent and purposes for a lot of women. But we, we have to start gaining background and I truly believe that that our base that cares about freedom and justice and you know, bodily autonomy, I believe that our base is getting louder and bigger because I think these are core values for a lot of Americans.
Jennie: I think people are starting to see it more like, I think before there was a little bit of like rich white women were like, it doesn't impact me. I don't see it. I don't know what's happening. And I feel like the stories are getting louder and people are starting to hear it and then starting, other people are starting to talk about it, which I think is good if only it had happened a little sooner, but like at least it's starting to change a little bit now.
Kelsey: Yeah. And I think, you know, it's time for white ladies to get out of the way a little bit and let women of color lead and continue to articulate the vision for a bold future that they, they have been articulating for generations.
Jennie: So we can ensure that they are getting what they need and speaking their voice.
Kelsey: Yep. Absolutely.
Jennie: I think another thing that is worth talking about is what this means for women when they are not able to access an abortion. And I know there has been at least one study that showed what happened when women were not able to get the abortion they wanted. Um, and I know a little bit about the takeaway study, but I'm sure you know it much better than I do. So I'll let you talk about it. Or turn away.
Kelsey: Yes, I was going to say it's the turn away study. Uh, and it really showed the impact on women's lives when they are denied the access they need. So we know that it is more likely that women may fall into poverty if they seek abortion care and are denied. And I think that is really compelling that there are very real statistical implications we can point to. Honestly for me when it comes down to is women know what's best for their lives. They know when they're ready to have a family in a safe and supportive environment with all the resources they need. And we should trust women to make those decisions at the right time without political interference in someone's doctor's office. It's just unbelievable to me that we stigmatize abortion in this way when it is just critical to someone's wellbeing in their future.
Jennie: I mean, it just seems so basic, right? Like trust women to know what they need in their lives.
Kelsey: Absolutely.
Jennie: So we started talking a little bit about this and it's exciting to hear about fighting back. There are things moving forward that are trying to um, fight back on the Hyde amendment and one of them is the Each Woman Act.
Kelsey: So, um, the Each Woman Act is our proactive bill. It sets out a vision and says the Hyde amendment is no more. Um, and we introduced it last congress in the 114th, uh, with Congresswoman Barbara Lee as our bold, inspiring champion. Um, you know, when we introduced the bill the first time we were like, okay, maybe we can get 40 cosponsors for the original intro. And we introduced with 70 and ended the Congress with I believe around 130.
Jennie: That's awesome.
Kelsey: And this congress, we're now up to 134 cosponsors. So I've, I think that we've really seen the tide start to turn in Congress. We have not introduced our bill in the Senate yet, but are working really closely with our Senate champions to do that. And, but also in the Senate, we've seen some very real fights around abortion access. Um, and I think we've seen our champions really hold the line in a way that I think we would have had different outcomes a couple of years ago.
Jennie: With the environment and all the attacks. I think it's really gotten our champions in the mood to fight and that is exciting to watch.
Kelsey: Yeah, I think there's this sense of like enough enough, you know, you have the other side has, you know, waged incremental attacks that are creating a world where we don't have access to our basic reproductive health care services. And I think a lot of of folks are fed up, I think people of color are fed up. I think, you know, women are fed up and are, are saying this is... You're done. This old guard has got to go. And we envision a different, a different future for ourselves and our families.
Jennie: Yeah. I mean you can really see the changes in the last couple of years. So Population Institute does a 50 state report card for the last, I think six years now. And the first year we did it, we had nine states that had failing grades, which is not good. But now we're up to I think 19, and that's just crazy. You just all of a sudden saw like a whole portion of the country turn red and it really shows the lack of access that people have to all, a vast swath of reproductive health services. But particularly abortion. I think we're up to, oh don't quote me now, but I think three or four states that only have one clinic in the entire state and that just provides huge gaps in women's ability to access services.
Kelsey: Yeah, it's pretty frightening. And I know this is, you know, such a theme right now, but it's important to be involved in your government on a local, state, federal level because local elected officials become state elected officials, become federal elected officials. And we need people who are speaking for, for all of us for and not just for those with, you know, the most access and the most privilege.
Jennie: And especially, you know, local and state. Like that's where we were seeing the restriction from, a lot of the restrictions was that state level. I mean not to say like there wasn't things happening at the federal level, but like a lot of the restrictions were at the state level that we're doing a lot of the damage. Um, since 2010.
Kelsey: Yeah, absolutely. Like we've talked about the, you know, the patchwork of restrictions on the state level. Um, and, and even the patchwork of restrictions around funding because not only do you have this ban on this federal ban on, on funding, but you have, you know, this patchwork of state bans, whether it's you can't sell insurance on the marketplace that covers abortion care or state employees can't have insurance that covers abortion care. It's, it really leads to a complicated web that is really challenging.
Jennie: That was something we added for the first time last year to our report card was looking at the state level restrictions on abortion related insurance like that.
Kelsey: Yeah, it's really challenging and hurts my brain when we have to do the work on the federal level to explain how, you know, bans on private insurance will interact with bans in this state. And it is, it's quite a complicated mess.
Jennie: Well, since we started to talk about states and like people needing to get involved, I think it's a good time to talk about, one of the last things I like to close with is this is all very depressing and people can feel overwhelmed. So I always like to focus on what can people do to take action and fight back?
Kelsey: My answer to this is always maybe a little bit boring, but you know, when the organizations that you follow and care about send you action words, take the action. Um, you know, I know that we really follow, um, cues from our champions in Congress when they say, look, our phone lines aren't blowing up about this and we need to hear from people. We aren't typically just making this up in a vacuum. It really is because Congress needs to hear from folks and that's on the federal level and on the state level. Like I've said, I think we can sometimes overlook what's happening on a state level because what's happening on the federal level is so sensationalized, but pay attention to what your state government is doing. Vote in all of your elections and see who, who's on the ballot that represents your values and, and call congress. It's, it's not scary. I've taken to recording videos of myself on Instagram doing it and you know, I do this for my job and I still fumble when I call and it doesn't matter. People are, you know, happy to hear from their, from their constituents and even if the person you're calling disagrees with your views, they represent you and it's vital for them to hear from you. I just really can't overstate that. It's not just a talking point. It's really a true story.
Jennie: You hear, uh, two things right? You hear my person is never going to support this or a my person is already on board so like why call? But they both need to hear from you. Like they need to hear thank you if they support it, they need to hear our voices and know that their constituents back them. And those that are against it need to know that they have constituents who are against it.
Kelsey: Absolutely. I mean, I think living and working in DC can be a super weird bubble sometimes. Whenever I travel home to California, I'm like, okay, so not everybody's reading politico all the time. Got it. Um, but I think it's important for our progressive members in Congress when they take action to, to support our values, they're certainly going to hear from the other side. Um, and so it's so important to them to hear from their base to say like, no, we agree with you, that was a good thing because the disagreement voices can be so loud sometimes.
Jennie: Oh, that just makes me laugh because I remember when I first moved to DC from Wisconsin and I would call home and be like, oh my goodness, have you heard about blah, blah, blah? And I would definitely get, I don't, I don't know what you're talking about. Like back home, it, maybe if we're lucky it was like a paragraph in the paper back home or if it all reported and I had that conversation a lot.
Kelsey: Yeah, it is. It is a strange world we live in here in the beltway. Um, but you know, I also think it is beholden on those of us who live and work here to to get that information out to our friends and family to say like, no, this is actually real. You know, I remember during one of the ACA repeals, I was in an office and the chief of staff walked out and was like, why aren't people sitting in, in our office? This is so serious. And I think we also get fatigue was so many bad things that are happening, but you know, for those of us who can hop on the phone, have the time to do it. Like it really takes such a small amount of time, um, and make, can really make such a big impact.
Jennie: Yes, and then pushing it back to like the states and like being aware of like what's happening. I just remember when we first started doing the report card, I went to some reception for something back home. I don't remember what it's about. Um, and had people talking to me about what I did and I was like, oh, we just released this report card and we look at like all these things including, you know, what are sex ed requirements in the state. And I just am always surprised by, um, how many people just don't know. And that's not to blame it on people at all. Like you just, it's not part of your life to think about like, oh, Wisconsin doesn't mandate sex ed anymore. I didn't know that. Like, why would you? Um, and so that was, you know, one of the reasons we started doing the report card is to have like an easy place to see ;ike, here are the things that are blocking people's access to these, to that. So, you know, it's on everybody. Like we need to help people know what's happening and then people need to also let their representatives know that they're upset by them. Okay. Well I think that hits everything I wanted to hit. So Kelsey, thank you so much for being here.
Kelsey: Any time. I should also put a plug in and say follow us on All Above All on our social media accounts. We're on Twitter, we're on Facebook, we're on Instagram. Um, you can sign up to be on our email list on our website and we'd love to have you join in with us.
Jennie: Absolutely. We'll make sure to have all the links in our show notes so that you can easily access, um, their social media and anything else that Kelsey wants to make sure you guys have access to. So thank you very much.
Kelsey: Thank you.
Jennie: For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at rePROs Fight Back. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.
Follow All* Above All on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find their action page here.
Use the hashtag #BeBoldEndHyde on social media!
When organizations that you care about and follow send you action alerts, get involved! Some examples of reproductive and sexual health organizations include Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL, and Center for Reproductive Rights.
Pay attention to your local politics! Cast your vote for a candidate whose values match yours.
Contact Congress and let them know the importance in repealing the Hyde Amendment! You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Learn more about the EACH Woman Act here, and find the legislation here.