NIRH Applauds Virginia House of Delegates for Passing Proactive Legislation Expanding Reproductive Freedom and Access to Abortion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2020
Contact: Marisa Rodriguez, [email protected]

Statement from Andrea Miller, president, National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH)

NEW YORK – Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), released the following statement today after the Virginia House of Delegates passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act, which would remove political interference between a patient and their doctor and eliminate medically unnecessary restrictions for a patient seeking access to abortion. A House committee took another monumental step forward by voting to send the Reproductive Health Equity Act to a workgroup for study; the legislation would establish comprehensive insurance coverage for the full spectrum of reproductive health services. As access to abortion care remains under attack from a hostile Supreme Court, several state legislatures, and Trump, these legislative successes underscore the power of state and local action to protect and expand access to reproductive health care.    

“Virginia is part of a growing number of states that are leading the way in protecting abortion access at a time when our constitutional rights are under attack,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “The fact that legislation to protect and expand access to abortion is rapidly moving through the legislature in Virginia – a state that was the epicenter of vicious and deceptive attacks on abortion access just last year – is a testament to the power of advocates in the state, the courage of elected officials who are rising to the occasion, and the demands of Virginia voters, who want their state to protect abortion access and be a true point of access for people seeking abortion care across the South. Virginia is demonstrating in real time that voters can flip legislatures and legislatures can in turn protect reproductive freedom. Virginia was proof of this in 2019 and is continuing to show voters across the country that state elections matter.”

For more than a decade, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country. NIRH partners with state organizations and elected officials to pass laws protecting abortion rights and expanding abortion access. NIRH and its Action Fund have partnered with advocates in Virginia over the past five years to elect champions for reproductive freedom and push forward proactive policy on abortion access, while building a positive narrative for reproductive freedom. In 2020, NIRH is also working with partners in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey to continue expanding access to abortion, creating as many oases for abortion access as possible.

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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.