NIRH Launches New Partnerships to Advance Fight for Reproductive Freedom in States and Cities Across the U.S. Through 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2020
Contact: Marisa Rodriguez, [email protected]

NIRH and NIRH Action Fund Invest More Than $800,000 in Advocacy and Political Activities in 25 States, Including 19 Cities and Counties

New York – With the Supreme Court poised to further undermine abortion rights, and many state lawmakers moving to ban abortion altogether, the National Institute for Reproductive Health and the NIRH Action Fund today announced an investment of $815,000 to support advocacy and electoral activities in 25 states, with much of this funding allocated to 36 organizations on the frontlines of the fight for reproductive freedom in cities and states across the country. As the groups best equipped to build national change from the ground up, NIRH will work hand-in-hand with them to expand abortion access in every state where it is possible, use the power of cities to protect access to reproductive health care, break down barriers to contraceptive access, and invest in young people so they can be healthy and empowered leaders of tomorrow.  The NIRH Action Fund will work in tandem to elect the legislators necessary to reshape state legislatures and make a vision for reproductive freedom a reality in state after state.

“With abortion access firmly in the Supreme Court’s crosshairs and anti-abortion lawmakers continuing their heinous attacks, we know that creating change at the state and local levels is the best way to safeguard and advance reproductive freedom,” said Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health and NIRH Action Fund. “Last year, we worked closely with advocates across the country to lead a powerful movement to pass more protections for reproductive health, rights, and justice – including abortion access – than ever before. In 2020, NIRH is eager to build off this momentum to go even further, pushing forward with our partners to pass proactive legislation, create innovative solutions in cities, and elect candidates who will champion reproductive freedom in state legislatures.”

Through its tried-and-tested partnership model, NIRH provides state and local advocates with strategic guidance, hands-on support, and funding, ensuring that partners can learn from each other and have access to the latest research-based tools and messages to advance reproductive freedom in their communities. NIRH also works closely with other national partners, coordinating with All* Above All, CityMatCH, and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) on many of its 2020 partnerships.

Some highlights of the work that NIRH will accomplish with its state and local partners include: working to pass proactive abortion access legislation in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia; expanding municipal funding for abortion care, modeled on NIRH’s campaign to secure city-level funding for abortion in New York City last year; and breaking down barriers to long-acting reversible contraception while centering patient autonomy and choice. NIRH will also continue to work in its home city and state of New York to implement bold protections for reproductive health care.

The full list of 2020 NIRH partnership streams and partner organizations include:  

Improving Abortion Access and Reproductive Health through Affirmative Policies

Protecting and Advancing Abortion Access in Cities

Cultivating Youth Leadership through Advocacy for Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice

Supporting Healthy Families with Community-Led Solutions

Increasing Access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC)

Well-Women, Well Communities: Partnership with CityMatCH

Because policy change requires supportive state legislatures, the NIRH Action Fund will work in tandem to elect state legislators who will champion reproductive freedom. Focusing the bulk of its efforts on three states where change is necessary and possible – Arizona, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania – the NIRH Action Fund will invest in integrated political programs, commission new public opinion research, and work with campaigns to confidently set the stage for future legislative victories in these states and beyond.

“With the 2020 presidential election looming, the NIRH Action Fund is focusing our efforts on flipping state legislative chambers across the country – because as the last year has shown, states have the power to both serve as a bulwark against attacks on the federal level and advance reproductive freedom for their residents by passing proactive legislation,” Miller said.

For 40 years, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country, providing direct grants and hands-on support to 181 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 71 localities. NIRH and the NIRH Action Fund were integral to the successful passage of New York’s Reproductive Health Act, which led eight additional states to enact legislation to protect and expand abortion rights and access in 2019.

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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 181 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 71 localities across the country.