Our Year In Review: A Look Back On Some of 2019’s Hard-Won Victories for Reproductive Freedom
In 2019, reproductive freedom in this country was under attack like never before. 31 states pushed extreme bans on abortion, and the anti-choice movement and politicians have their sights set on gutting Roe v. Wade now that Donald Trump has appointed to the Supreme Court two justices hostile to reproductive freedom, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
Yet this moment galvanized those who understand that the ability to decide if, when, and how to raise a family is fundamental to our ability to determine our futures. Advocates for reproductive freedom and justice all over the country hunkered down, fought back, and defended our reproductive freedoms, making ground-breaking victories happen: proactive legislation to protect and expand reproductive rights passed in statehouses across the country, supporters mobilized in a historic day of action to #StopTheBans, CEOs took up the fight, and Democratic presidential candidates coalesced around support for access to abortion in new and critical ways.
What 2019 showed us is that the will of the 7 in 10 Americans who support the right to safe, legal abortion is more powerful than ever. We head into 2020 with the momentum of the majority behind us — and we’re ready to put it to work. But before we do, join us for a look back on some of the hard-won victories we saw this year.
We Organized and Mobilized to Secure Critical State Wins
Advocates organized and mobilized all year long, helping to usher in big wins in states across the country. They hosted action hours, attended rallies, contacted their legislators, and more in their efforts to help score major victories — and it paid off.
In May, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed into law the Trust Nevada Women Act — critical legislation removing antiqued restrictions on abortion from the books and bringing Nevada’s laws in line with the 8 in 10 people in the state who believe in the right to access legal abortion. NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada, its members, and our allies helped lead the push for the bill, standing alongside champions for reproductive freedom in the state legislature as they fought for women and families in the Silver State.
In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two groundbreaking NARAL-sponsored bills: the College Student Right to Access Act (SB 24), which made California the first state in the nation to expand abortion access to college campuses, and the Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act (SB 464), which will save lives by addressing bias in reproductive healthcare and reducing California’s high rates of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women.
Pro-Choice State Lawmakers Protected and Expanded Reproductive Freedom
Nevada and California weren’t the only states to advance reproductive freedom with proactive legislation in 2019 — pro-choice legislators across the country stepped up to protect our right to determine if, when, and how to raise a family. According to the Guttmacher Institute, “This year, 36 measures that protect abortion have been enacted, along with 46 policies intended to decrease maternal mortality, 13 that increase access to contraceptive coverage and 17 that improve sex education.”
That includes states like New York, Rhode Island, and Illinois, which locked in the protections of Roe v. Wade. In Vermont, state lawmakers affirmed the right to access abortion care. And states like Maine passed legislation to end coverage bans for reproductive healthcare.
#STOPTHEBANS
Galvanized by extreme attacks on reproductive freedom around the country, NARAL and over 80 other organizations sponsored a historic nationwide Day of Action to Stop the Bans. National, state, and local organizations held more than 500 events in all 50 states — as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico — sending a clear rebuke to the extreme, unconstitutional attacks on reproductive freedom and justice, and captivating national media attention to hold those anti-choice lawmakers pushing these bans accountable before the American public.
Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Coalition Released a Blueprint “For the Future We Want to Live In”
A coalition of more than 80 organizations released a proactive policy agenda in July detailing the steps a pro-choice Congress and administration could take to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice both domestically and internationally.
300 Advocates of Color Called on Elected Officials to Pass Pro-Choice Legislation
In September, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, In Our Own Voice, and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health brought 300 advocates of color to Congress for their Intersections of Our Lives Lobby Day. They called on their elected officials to pass the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act and the Health Equity & Access under the Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Women & Families Act of 2019
Reproductive Freedom Was a Winner in November’s Elections
Pro-choice Democrats in Virginia flipped control of both chambers of the state legislature this November, solidifying a Democratic trifecta that paves the way for meaningful progress on reproductive freedom. NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia together engaged tens of thousands of voters, knocking on 46,000 doors and making 10,000 phone calls.
And in Kentucky, we helped propel pro-choice Democrat Andy Beshear to victory, ousting anti-choice Republican Matt Bevin from the governor’s mansion. NARAL members canvassed, made calls, and volunteered for the Beshear campaign to help make it happen.
We Fought to #ReclaimGeorgia
NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates (PPSE) launched #ReclaimGeorgia in May to lay the groundwork to unseat out-of-touch, anti-choice state legislators that voted for Georgia’s extreme ban on abortion.
Litigators Helped Halt Bans on Abortion in Alabama, Mississippi, and Beyond
Litigators from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Reproductive Rights were on the front lines of halting dangerous restrictions on abortion access in the courts. Thanks in part to their work, none of this year’s extreme abortion bans have yet gone into effect.
NARAL Celebrated 50 Years in the Fight
It’s been 50 years since NARAL Pro-Choice America took up the fight to expand and protect reproductive freedom for all — and this September, we celebrated all we’ve achieved side-by-side with our allies and 2.5 million members.
Advocates Took to Capitol Hill to Defend Our Rights
Reproductive rights and justice advocates showed up for women and families by providing their testimony before members of Congress. In November, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda President and Founder Marcela Howell, National Women’s Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves, and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri Chief Medical Officer Dr. Colleen McNicholas were among those who spoke at a House Oversight hearing on state efforts to undermine access to reproductive health care.
We Brought Powerful Business Leaders Into the Fold
Leaders from more than 180 companies voiced their support for reproductive freedom in a historic full-page ad published this June in the New York Times. “Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers,” the ad said. “Simply put, it goes against our values and is bad for business.”
Donations Poured In for Abortion Funds in Response to Extreme Bans
When anti-choice lawmakers passed extreme bans on abortion this year, supporters of reproductive freedom stepped up with donations to abortion funds — which play a crucial role in combatting financial and logistical barriers to abortion access. Take for example Alabama. When Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed an extreme ban on abortion into law in May, the Yellowhammer Fund saw a huge influx of donations.
Reproductive Rights and Justice Advocates Kept Abortion Front and Center for 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates
Thanks to fearless advocates like Renee Bracey Sherman and All* Above All Action leading the charge, reproductive rights and justice advocates in 2019 kept the pressure on presidential debate moderators to #AskAboutAbortion. This year’s slew of Democratic debates saw a more robust conversation about reproductive freedom than ever before, and many candidates jumped at opportunities to show voters how they will protect and expand abortion access.
But the debates weren’t the only time 2020 presidential contenders engaged with these issues — NARAL held town halls with Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Julián Castro, along with former candidates Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Kamala Harris, Congressman Tim Ryan, and Governor Jay Inslee.
Storytellers Continued to Fight Stigma and Change the Way We Talk About Abortion
Abortion storytellers continued to play a vital role in the fight for reproductive freedom, with women (and partners) sharing their stories online, in the media, to their legislators, and adding their voices to #ShoutYourAbortion. Women showed just how dangerous bans on abortion like the one in Ohio are by sharing in Cosmopolitan what it’s really like to experience an ectopic pregnancy. Twelve men shared their stories of how abortion impacted their lives in a collaboration between Glamour and GQ. Kate Carson, a teacher and NARAL member from Boston, combated dangerous disinformation by sharing her experience with abortion later in pregnancy in a powerful op-ed for USA Today and on NPR’s 1A program.
Abortion stories were also front and center at many of the town halls NARAL held with Democratic presidential candidates.
“I believe — and I know firsthand — that it is of the utmost importance that we elect a candidate in 2020 who will make reproductive freedom a priority,” said Molly, a NARAL member who shared her personal story with Senator Warren at the town hall. “We can’t afford another four years of Trump — we need a leader who will go to bat for our basic rights as they are under constant attack.”
Lawmakers Shared Their Own Abortion Stories
State and federal lawmakers joined the chorus of women breaking down stigma and sharing their abortion stories. Rep. Pramila Jayapal wrote a powerful op-ed in The New York Times. California Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks told her abortion story on the Assembly floor — “I don’t regret it,” she said. And Rep. Jackie Speier shared her experience with abortion and denounced the wave of extreme bans on abortion.
