As SCOTUS Returns to Abortion Issues, New Report Card Shows U.S. Reproductive Health and Rights Sharply Declining

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, rePROs Fight Back, an initiative of the nonprofit Population Institute, released its 50 State Report Card on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, covering 2023. Nationally and in each state, it tracks multiple indicators of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning, sex education, abortion services, contraception, gender-affirming care, and Medicaid coverage for reproductive services.

The results of the latest report card are among the worst since these annual assessments began 12 years ago. The report card’s color-coded map of the 50 states shows islands of care access in a sea of exclusion. Twenty-five states and the country as a whole failed, 30 states received a “D” or lower, only five states got an “A.” Detailed results are posted here.

On March 26, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case about the abortion medication mifepristone, which could restrict or block one of the remaining ways millions of women still access abortion care. 

Rollbacks in sexual and reproductive health and rights aren’t limited to abortion, the report card finds. Attacks on comprehensive sex education and gender-affirming care escalated during 2023. To date 21 states have banned best-practice medication and surgical gender-affirming care for transgender youth (though in five of those bans were blocked by court orders). Two additional states have banned best-practice surgical care for transgender youth. Research shows preventing transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care can negatively impact their physical and mental health.

“When you add it all up, it amounts to a human rights crisis threatening Americans’ basic freedoms, health, and lives,” said Jennie Wetter, Director of rePROs Fight Back. “In the 16 states where abortion care is unavailable, people face untenable choices. If they need an abortion, do they travel to the states where they can still get one? What if they can’t afford the cost or the time off from work or caregiving? Do they take the legal risk of self-managing their abortion? Or do they carry an unwanted pregnancy to term? The US has high maternal mortality rate, especially for Black women, so that choice comes with its own risks. These problems are compounded by severe inequities, where some groups suffer much more than others. This situation undercuts fundamental principles of individual agency, bodily autonomy, and equity.”

www.reprosfightback.com 

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

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SOURCE rePROs Fight Back