Bustle: “How To Expand Reproductive Rights In America In 2018”
In 2017 the Trump administration made it clear they intend to limit women’s reproductive rights — by attempting to roll back the ACA’s birth control mandate and trying to block access to abortion care. Despite their constant attacks on reproductive rights, 645 bills were introduced in Washington DC to protect reproductive health rights and 86 of those were signed into law. We must continue to fight for reproductive rights to be protected in 2018.
The NIRH says state legislators aren’t the only ones who can help advance reproductive rights, however. “I think everyone has a role to play,” Miller says. As a first step, she encourages everyone to get informed about their own state’s laws. “One of the things we’ve found … is that people actually don’t know much about the laws that are in effect in their state and when they find out that information it’s incredibly empowering,” she tells Bustle.
Then, Miller recommends, take a look at the organizations active in your community who are working on reproductive health issues and ask them what they need. Identify where you can get involved, at whatever level of advocacy makes sense for you.
There’s one other key action item Miller recommends for anyone seeking to expand reproductive rights: voting. “People need to vote and they need to vote at the state and local level,” Miller says. But while voting at the federal level is undoubtedly critical, Miller says it’s important to also vote in down-ballot races, as those elected at the state and local levels are the officials you’ll have the greatest access to.
