Tell the Senate: #NoAbortionBan
In politicians’ latest attack on abortion access, the Senate is trying to ban abortion after 20 weeks. This is another attempt to restrict safe, necessary, and high-quality health care by not allowing medical professionals and pregnant people to make appropriate medical decisions about a pregnancy. Call your senator today at 202-224-3121 and demand #NoAbortionBan!
READ more about why this ban is bad medicine
One Year of Voices of Courage
Every single day since the President’s inauguration last year, we’ve shared a story from brave doctors and patients like you. These stories show the real-life harm caused by barriers to reproductive health care. As these attacks on our care continue, we can use your help more than ever. Will you share your story with us today?
READ our Voices of Courage and SHARE your story
Roe v. Wade at 45
For the past 45 years, the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision has helped to safeguard the health, autonomy, and dignity of patients across the United States. Our doctors recognized this anniversary by sharing their thoughts on the progress we’ve made #BecauseOfRoe and why we need to keep fighting to ensure that everyone has access to their legal right.
FOLLOW our #BecauseOfRoe campaign
In Memoriam: Dr. Fredrik Broekhuizen
Dr. Fredrik Broekhuizen, a recently retired board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health and a lifelong abortion provider, advocate, and teacher passed away on January 13. He will be remembered as a tireless crusader for women’s rights.
READ more about Dr. Broekhuizen’s life
Meet Our Advocates: Dr. Michelle Morse
For our ongoing Meet Our Advocates series, we interviewed Dr. Michelle Morse, an internist and global health equity advocate. She spoke about her experience in post-earthquake Haiti and how she helped establish an organization focused on supporting the next generation of Haitian health professionals.
Staff Spotlight: German Ospina
German received his bachelor’s degree in international affairs with a minor in legal studies and a master’s degree in international policy management from Kennesaw State University; he graduated with honors and earned the Outstanding Scholar award in May 2017.
German worked as an Office Manager/Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a DC-based NGO that focuses on U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. His responsibilities included managing day-to-day operations and conducting research on Colombia’s coca eradication program and Guatemala’s teen pregnancy rates. In addition, while completing his master’s, he conducted extensive and varied research projects working as a Graduate Research Assistant at Kennesaw State University.
As part of his thesis, German completed an internship with the California-based Nourafchan Foundation, an organization that focuses on philanthropy work in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At Nourafchan, he produced briefs on topics such as corruption, poverty, environmental issues, and rural to urban migration in Kibera.
In his spare time, German enjoys spending time and traveling with his wife, watching sports (Atlanta Falcons and the Colombian national soccer team), and trying/appreciating new cuisine.
Physicians in the News
The Trump administration announced plans to enforce laws that allow health care providers to refuse to provide medical care, such as abortion, due to their religious beliefs.
- In the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper stated that refusals will most harm “groups that often have trouble accessing care in general.”
- Ben Brown warned in an article on CNBC that refusing care could cause harm to patients by delaying urgently needed treatment.
In other news…
- In response to tennis star Serena Williams sharing her experiences with post-birth complications, Dr. Sanithia Williams examined in Tonic how racism in medicine has created extreme disparities in U.S. maternal health for black women and what doctors can do help change it.
- In the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Jessica Lee praised the recently enacted Maryland Contraceptive Equity Act, which is already helping her patients access the family planning methods they need.
READ more physicians in the news
What We Said
- Cecile Richards has been a tireless, fearless voice for women, families, and patients across America
- H.R. 4712 is unnecessary, inflammatory, and does a disservice to patients
- Nation’s Leading Reproductive Health Care Providers: “Health Care Should be Based on Medical Standards and Science, Not Religious Beliefs” [Joint Statement with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]
- In Memory of Janet Benshoof