Rally + Rise: Spring Forward with the Reproductive Health Act

It's been 47 years since New York updated its abortion law—take 47 seconds a day to change that. From March 21 to April 28, join our friends at Rally+Rise's call campaign and reach out to one legislator a day urging them to support the New York Reproductive Health Act.

They've made it really easy with daily target changes, so check back on the reg (or download the calendar for an IRL reminder).

Some facts:

• Reproductive rights have never been more threatened (at least, not in the past 50 years), with both the GOP-led Congress and the Trump administration targeting them. We fear that it’s only a matter of time before the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, meaning that the ability for a woman to access a safe and legal abortion is then left up to individual states.
• New York hasn’t updated its abortion law since 1970! (Quick history check: Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, so NY’s law actually predates the seminal court case.) And the law is exactly what you’d expect from something that is 47 years old: It criminalizes abortion, has no exception for the health of the woman or if the fetus is not viable, and only allows doctors (rather than advanced practice clinicians, like nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants) to perform abortions.
• It is—not only for New Yorkers, but for women across the country who rely on our state as a reproductive rights haven. In 2014, 12.9% of all abortions in America were performed in New York; as more and more states pass ultra-restrictive laws, that number could go up. And once Roe v. Wade is overturned? New York could be one of the few states that hasn’t outright banned abortion. That’s why we need to update our law—for New Yorkers, yes, but also for all Americans.

More on the importance of passing the RHA here