Avow

NIRH has worked with Avow (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice Texas) for more than a decade to help build the support system for abortion advocacy and care in Texas.

At the state level, Avow has led the charge on the ground to fight for abortion access and reproductive justice. In 2015, Avow led a grassroots movement against the Texas law that shuttered abortion clinics and led to the Supreme Court case Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt — which struck down Texas’s unjustified anti-abortion law. With the passage of Texas’s six-week abortion ban, Avow has again been a leader in advocacy in support of abortion care. NIRH has been proud to provide Avow with media and communications support as it has emerged as a state and national leader in abortion advocacy. On the local level, Avow has been part of the network of groups fighting to make gains at the local level in cities across Texas.

In 2019, NIRH worked with this network to secure $150,000 in funding for practical support for abortion care from the Austin City Council. This win built on NIRH’s 2017 partnership with Avow, Lilith Fund, Texas Equal Access (TEA) Fund, and the West Fund to implement a cohesive, multi-city strategy to advance abortion access and build grassroots power on the local level. Their #ReproPowerTX campaign puts forth local proactive policy agendas for reproductive freedom grounded in research and community input. This partnership has resulted in campaigns such as #ReproPowerHouston.

Avow is also part of a cohort of organizations in Texas on a long-term proactive abortion policy and culture shift project to develop and advance an abortion rights vision, engage a new and broad base of supporters, and reduce shame and stigma by publicly promoting the affirmative value of abortion.