Building Our Power: Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Advocacy Convening
On Tuesday, December 13, Lift Louisiana joined 90 organizations and more than 270 leaders in Washington. D.C. to lay out shared commitments in protecting and expanding access to reproductive health care at the inaugural “Building Our Power: Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Advocacy Convening”. The convening was organized by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“Since launching in February, Lift Louisiana has been engaging advocates across the state to speak out for health policies that will improve the lives of all women in our state,” said Michelle Erenberg, Executive Director of Lift Louisiana. “We are proud to be doing this work with our state and national partners and couldn’t have been more excited to be invited to participate in this important event.”
The first ever convening discussed policy positions the groups plan to protect and expand, as well as how to partner together and across movements for a more equitable future for all people accessing reproductive health care.
Lift was represented by our Legal Advisory Board Chair, Ellie Schilling, and Research Associate, Torrie Thibodeaux.
The joint statement lays out the below commitments:
Ninety organizations came together on December 13, 2016 in Washington, D.C. to declare our unity and dedicate our collective power to protecting and advancing sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice in the United States and around the world. Every person has the basic human right to quality health care, and no individual or community should be left behind. Each of us should have the chance to live safe, healthy lives and be free to determine our own path, including if, when, and how to create a family. We will resist every attempt to roll back those rights or undermine those opportunities.
WE BELIEVE IN:
protecting and expanding access to sexual and reproductive health education, care, and services;
safeguarding and advancing abortion rights and access;
promoting health, safety and wellness for all communities; and
fostering fairness and equity in sexual and reproductive health.
WE DEMAND THAT:
the policies of our government recognize and respond to the needs and priorities of the diverse range of individuals, families, and communities we represent, especially those who face disproportionate, burdensome, and unfair barriers to accessing quality health care, including women and girls in the Global South and low-income women, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, indigenous peoples, young people, and women of color in the United States; and
appointees, nominees, and elected officials uphold our nation’s laws and the U.S. Constitution, affirm protections and safety for individuals, especially those most marginalized, and work to ensure health equity in the United States and around the world.
WE COMMIT TO:
mobilizing to defeat actions that threaten to undermine sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice in any community in the United States and across the globe;
exercising the collective power of our movement to create a world where all people have the rights and resources they need to thrive;standing together with our progressive allies to advocate for policies that advance sexual and reproductive health and rights and that ensure all communities have the resources to exercise those rights; and
working across movements to advance immigrant rights, youth rights, disability rights, LGBTQ equality, economic justice and racial justice and to ensure the safety of our communities.
We won’t allow roll-backs on hard-won rights. We will hold firm to ensuring that all people are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect and can achieve full reproductive freedom.
Together, we will work for a world where equitable access to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice is realized for all.
Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Leaders & Organizations Join In Solidarity