National Advocacy Orgs Lead STOP THE BANS Day of Action; Remarks from Andrea Miller, President, NIRH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2019
Contact: Liza Dee, [email protected]

Remarks from Andrea Miller, President, The National Institute for Reproductive Health

NEW YORK – Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), today made the following remarks at a rally in Foley Square in New York City. She joined national, state and local organizations to hold a National Day of Action to Stop the Bans following Alabama’s passage of a total ban on abortion this week, and as a wave of other extreme laws stripping reproductive freedom sweeps the country — from Georgia to Ohio to Missouri to Texas.

“These past few weeks have been nothing short of horrifying for so many of us here in New York City, for women, and people all across this country. I know that’s why we’re standing here together today.

From Georgia to Ohio – and from Alabama to Missouri – we’re seeing anti-abortion extremists tell women we cannot be trusted to make our own decisions about our reproductive health and lives.

They don’t believe those who can get pregnant should have the right and ability to control our bodies, our families, and our futures.

They have made their agenda clear: they want to make abortion illegal and make it impossible for women to access it.

Well, we’re here to tell them: We won’t stand for that! And we have an agenda, too – it’s the agenda of the vast majority of people all across this country. That decisions about whether, when, and with whom to have a child belong to us, not politicians.

I am so grateful to the elected officials here today, who worked with us to make sure New York would lead by example by passing the Reproductive Health Act, enshrining reproductive rights into New York State law and ensuring access to abortion here.

We did that because we knew – and our Governor and Lt. Governor and legislators KNEW – what was coming, and acted swiftly.

I am so proud of that landmark victory – and I am so proud to be working with partners and allies across the country, who continue to stand up and fight to protect abortion rights and access in their states – and we’re seeing action and wins right now – in California and Connecticut, Illinois and Maine, New Jersey and Vermont and more.

And our work is not done here in New York – because we know that we need the right to make our own reproductive decisions is meaningless if reproductive health care is not accessible – and to be accessible, it has to be AFFORDABLE.

That’s why we have joined with organizations across the city to launch the Fund Abortion NYC campaign – to make New York City a true leader again, the first city in the nation to directly fund abortion care.

We are calling on the City to provide at least $250,000 in funding to the New York Abortion Access Fund – a critical organization that helps pay for abortion care for those who face significant economic barriers to access.

I encourage all of you to call on the City Council to support Fund Abortion NYC and make sure this important funding is included in the upcoming budget in June.

Because we know that not all New Yorkers can access affordable abortions. And we know that women from other states look to our city as the safe haven.

We know that extremists will always try to push us backward.

And we will always keep moving forward. Because we know that women’s health, lives, and futures depend on it!”

For more than a decade, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country. Recently, they were integral to the successful effort to repeal an outdated criminal abortion ban in Massachusetts, and they led the fight to pass New York’s landmark Reproductive Health Act. Earlier this year, NIRH published a report tracking the passage of more than 100 bills to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

###

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 at least 20 states and more than a dozen localities; to date, NIRH has partnered with more than 170 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 64 localities across the country.