ACCESS Supporter,
Today, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that they are stripping California of $200 million in Medicaid dollars each quarter because of the state’s requirement that health insurance plans cover safe, legal abortion. Anti-abortion politicians regularly use this amendment, known as the Weldon Amendment, to threaten the federal funding of health care providers that provide, pay for, cover, or refer for abortion care. This move to punish California lawmakers for protecting abortion access is part of an atrocious agenda to push abortion care out of reach for our community.
ACCESS REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE deplores this action and is prepared to fight tooth and nail, as we always have, for our callers and our community.
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage our community, Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, and those working hard to maintain their family and community livelihoods, this Administration continues to push healthcare out of reach for those who need it most, US. The same communities who are bearing the heaviest load of this pandemic — people who are already failed by our health care system, including women of color, young people, transgender and non-binary people, and immigrants — are also the most harmed by abortion coverage bans. Politicizing a public health crisis and punishing California, a state who provides insurance coverage for the full range of reproductive health care needs, including abortion, is unconscionable.
ACCESS sees everyday that even in a state that supports access to abortion, like California, our communities struggle to thrive. We will not be punished and we will continue to fight for Reproductive Justice for all– fair wages, paid sick and family leave, healthcare that works for everyone, ending state-sanctioned violence, immigrant justice, and all that allows us to live full, autonomous lives. Join us as we continue to support our callers in accessing the full range of care they desire and deserve.
In Solidarity,
Jessica Pinckney
Executive Director
ACCESS REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE