Reproductive Justice

LWV of Missouri filed an amicus brief to support plaintiffs’ efforts to rewrite a misleading and inaccurate summary of a ballot initiative protecting abortion rights

The League of Women Voters of the United States joined public comments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on its proposed enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace. Specifically, the comments support the EEOC's inclusion of protection against harassment on the basis of "pregnancy, childbirth or relation medical conditions," including an employee's reproductive health care decisions. 

The League of Women Voters of the United States joined a sign-on letter urging Congress to reject any appropriations bills that contained riders restricting access to essential health care including abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care.

The Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funding for most abortions. As a result, most people enrolled in public health programs cannot use their health care coverage to pay for abortion services. This poses a particularly devastating barrier to people living with low incomes, including the more than 16 million women of reproductive age enrolled in Medicaid. 

There is only one way we can ensure that the promise of democracy is kept: by fervently participating in our nation’s political processes, ensuring our voices are heard. 

LWVUS joined more than 250 other groups on a letter to House and Senate agriculture committee leadership urging them to protect and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and invest in rural childcare access and maternal health care in the Farm Bill for gender justice.

This article was originally published by Reuters.

"This is much larger than one issue; it's much larger than one party or one election," said Jen Miller, the executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. "This is about a freedom that Ohioans have had for more than a century."

In June 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion. This ruling eliminated a fundamental right that women and people who may become pregnant held for nearly fifty years and left the right to abortion up to federal and state legislation. 

One year after Dobbs, 20 states are enforcing more limited abortion bans than before the ruling, including 14 states that have banned abortion at conception. Additionally, many have implemented other restrictions that make abortion less accessible.

This article was originally published in Ohio Capital-Journal.

What Ohio voters decide on Aug. 8 is likely to shape whether similar efforts to restrict ballot measures are brought in other states.

Last year’s SCOTUS decision repealing the right to abortion continues to affect millions of people nationwide. Yet while most of us are familiar with its impact on family planning, I wonder if we all understand the full repercussions on every aspect of our lives?