US Fails Annual Report Card on Reproductive Health and Rights as Attacks on Abortion and Family Planning Continue

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Feb 16, 2023, 12:15 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, rePROs Fight Back, an initiative of the nonprofit Population Institute, released its annual 50 State Report Card on Reproductive Health and Rights covering 2022. Twenty-six states and the US as a whole received a failing grade.

The report card was originally created by the Population Institute over a decade ago and gets updated annually.

In 2022, US reproductive rights were decimated as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which protected abortion rights, and left it up to individual states to decide abortion laws. 14 states banned or severely restricted access to abortion. A total of 24 states are expected to ban abortion in the near future. People who live in states where abortion is or will be illegal must either travel to access abortion care, expose themselves to legal risk by self-managing, or be forced to carry the pregnancy to term. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 18 million women of reproductive age, plus more transgender and non-binary people, are unable to access abortion in the state where they live. Meanwhile, a Trump appointed federal judge in Texas could rule any day on a suit that could revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, potentially blocking access nationwide to a key drug used in medication abortions.

"The report card's dismally low grades reflect a human rights crisis unfolding in this country," said Jennie Wetter, Director of rePROs Fight Back. "People in large regions of the county are prevented from accessing abortion care. Many must either travel great distances to get it, or if they aren't able to travel, they may be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies. And there is no indication that anti-rights advocates will stop at abortion. We have already seen clear signs that they intend to attack trans peoples' access to healthcare and other LGBTQ+ rights, medication abortion, contraception, and much more."

The report card's methodology ranks each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia on three broad indicators relating to reproductive health and rights: prevention, affordability, and access. Criteria include sex education, minors' access to birth control, access to emergency contraception in the emergency room, Medicaid expansion including family planning expansion, abortion policy, and more.

You can view each individual state's report card here.

Contact: Stephen Kent, [email protected], 914-589-5988

SOURCE rePROs Fight Back