We're in This Fight: Access to Safe, Legal Abortion

By The ETR Team | May 5, 2022 (Updated June 24, 2022)

Access to safe, legal abortion is at critical risk. In the next few months, 26 states could vote to ban abortion, putting in place insurmountable barriers to abortion services for over 36 million women and people who can become pregnant, which can have a profound lasting impact.

Millions of people around the country lost fundamental rights to bodily autonomy as of June 2022. We know from our history that this will not stop abortion; it will make abortions unsafe and drive essential health care underground. Studies have shown that while receiving an abortion does not harm the health and wellbeing of women, being denied an abortion results in worse financial, health, and family outcomes. There will be devastating consequences, horrifying inequities will be exacerbated, and people will die. And a dramatic precedent is set to start overturning other rights.

Here is how you can get involved:

• Call your elected officials to protect the right to safe, legal abortion.

• Attend a Bans Off Our Bodies rally in your community or visit their site to learn more about what is legal in your state and how you can get involved.

• Consider supporting or donating to your local abortion fund. Abortion funds can cover procedures, transportation, lodging, childcare, and other expenses voiced as needs from people seeking abortions.

We know that access to safe, legal abortion is also tied to many other injustices in this country. ETR is committed to being a changemaker in these spaces.  

As the nation with the highest rate of Black maternal mortality, ETR is committed to supporting research and direct service programs that benefit Black maternal health and Black family wellness. 

As a nation with high teenage birth rates, and significant racial discrepancies among these rates, ETR is committed to providing evidence-based, inclusive, shame-free reproductive health education curriculum and training to schools, health centers, and community organizations across the country.  

As a nation facing a maternal mental health crisis, ETR is committed to researching and implementing trauma-informed programs and services that support adolescents, young adults, and families.  

As a nation without a standardized paid family leave policy, ETR is committed to providing paid family leave, flexible schedules, and other supports for our working parents and caregivers.  

ETR is deeply invested in reducing disparities and improving access to sexual and reproductive health services. We’re in this fight and are prepared to be an active, engaged partner in creating a culture that mirrors our mission, vision, and values. We need to be deeply engaged in this fight for health equity. Indeed, we are even more committed now.

—The ETR Team