It's 2020, and women's reproductive health care remains under attack. During the 2020 Republican National Convention (RNC), anti-choice activists proclaimed that President Donald Trump is the "most pro-life president we've ever had," and the president himself has previously suggested that Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that gives women the right to choose to have an abortion, could be overturned during his presidency. Most recently, President Trump released a short list of conservatives that he promises to nominate to the Supreme Court should he win reelection in November—a further attempt to control women's bodies.
That's why groups like Power to Decide, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to "ensure that all people—no matter who they are, where they live, or what their economic status might be—have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child," are stepping in to provide women with the information they need. Today, with the help of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the National Abortion Federation (NAF), and Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Power to Decide launched a digital abortion finder tool that will enable women to safely and easily locate abortion service providers in their area.
"This is a critical tool for a critical moment that we're in to make sure that people, no matter who they are, where they live, and what their economic circumstance is, have access to reproductive health services," Gillian Sealy, CEO of Power to Decide, tells Marie Claire. "Our commitment is to make sure that [the abortion finder tool] is constantly updated and that we are providing the information that is needed so that people can access abortion services. Abortion is part of health care and should be treated as such."
Power to Decide's abortion finder tool, which can be accessed on AbortionFinder.org, features more than 750 verified abortion service clinics across the country and includes a list of state laws that might limit a person's access to abortion care. It can also be found on Bedsider.org, a project of Power to Decide, which aims to keep people informed about their reproductive health. Power to Decide hopes the tool will provide more accessible information to everyone—especially Black and brown people who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and continuously face barriers to accessing the reproductive health care they need.
"Under the guise of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, there were many pushes by states to use the pandemic as an excuse to ban abortion by deeming it a non-essential procedure," explains Sealy, referring to states like Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and Arkansas. "Abortion care is time-sensitive. We want to make sure that people are able to see their health care provider."
The Trump administration recently filed an emergency petition asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a restriction requiring patients seeking an early abortion pill to make a trip to their clinician's office—rather than receiving it by mail—and risk viral exposure. Once again, this affects people of color the most. As the fight for reproductive rights continues, Sealy advises people to pay close attention to their state's laws, and remember that no matter what misinformation is being spread, abortion remains legal in the United States.
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