NIRH Slams Trump’s March For Life Remarks: “His Ignorance Is Stunning”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2019
Contact: Liza Dee, [email protected], 860-304-2294

NEW YORK – In response to the extreme, inflammatory and outright dishonest remarks delivered by President Trump at the March for Life in Washington today, Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), released the following statement:

“Trump is once again peddling blatant lies about abortion care in order to score political points with anti-abortion extremists who will stop at nothing to take away a person’s ability to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives and futures,” said Andrea Miller, president of NIRH. “His ignorance is stunning, and his willingness to spread inflammatory misinformation is just more evidence that he is unfit to speak for anyone, let alone women.

“Already, voters have gone to the ballot box to send Trump a clear message: they believe in protecting and expanding access to abortion care. From Kentucky to Virginia, Trump’s campaigns to boost anti-choice candidates have backfired. And in 2019, we saw unprecedented momentum to expand abortion access through proactive legislation at the state and local level. This momentum will only continue in 2020, as we press forward in even more states, responding to the widespread demand from voters that we pass laws to protect our right to abortion and expand access. NIRH remains tireless in our commitment to working with our partners to ensure a person’s ability to make the health care decisions that are right for them.”

In 2019, a record nine states enacted legislation to protect and expand abortion rights and access, according to the National Institute for Reproductive Health’s Gaining Ground Report. Among these wins, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont all enacted laws that codify a fundamental right to abortion. Maine guaranteed Medicaid coverage for abortion, and Nevada repealed a criminal ban on self-managed abortion.

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health builds power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.

Using a partnership model, NIRH provides state and local advocates with strategic guidance, hands-on support, and funding to create national change from the ground up. We form strategic partnerships with a wide range of organizations to directly impact the reproductive health and lives of women across the country. Each year, NIRH works in about half the states and more than a dozen localities; to date, NIRH has partnered with 175 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 64 localities across the country.