Washington, D.C. - The Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal rights for all Americans, regardless of sex, is a powerful tool needed to address the current healthcare crisis. The ERA would help protect and restore access to reproductive healthcare.
Equal rights provisions in state constitutions have been used routinely as a basis to defeat abortion restrictions, including this year in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Utah.
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, together with restrictions and outright bans on abortion care subsequently enacted in numerous states, have had a devastating impact on patients’ ability to access all forms of reproductive healthcare. From the creation
of healthcare deserts as a result of clinics closing or medical professionals leaving states with restrictions, to delayed care that has resulted in severe pregnancy complications or even death.
With clinicians potentially facing civil and criminal penalties, the practice of medicine has been upended. These effects extend beyond reproductive healthcare, impacting all medical fields, including Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Oncology, and
Emergency Medicine.
Since January 2020, the Equal Rights Amendment has satisfied all requirements for constitutional amendments, but it has yet to be published in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment.
The undersigned organizations of the Reproductive Health Coalition urge President Biden to immediately direct the U.S. Archivists to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to address the current healthcare crisis, guarantee
equality and bodily autonomy, and stop the further rollback of fundamental rights, which is certain to ensue without the Equal Rights Amendment.
American Medical Women’s Association
Doctors For America
10000 Women Louisiana
Abortion Action Missouri
AccessMatters
American Association of University Women
Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants
Exhale Pro-Voice
GA Physician Branch of the American Medical Women's Association
Georgia Health Professionals for Reproductive Justice
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
Iowa Abortion Access Fund
Jewish Women International
Lawyers for Good Government
Lift Louisiana
Massachusetts Medical Society
Medical Students for Choice - Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine Chapter
MomsRising
National Consumers League
National Council of Jewish Women
New River Abortion Access Fund
Nurses for America
Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health
PA Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice
Patient Care Heroes
Planned Parenthood Keystone
Pro-Choice North Carolina
Proud Haven
Queen City Women’s Health
Reproductive Justice Maryland
RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
Rouge Pills
Shattering Glass
State Abortion Access Network
The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
Those Nerdy Girls
Wild West Access Fund of Nevada
Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual
Assault Women in Medicine, Inc.
Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts
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About the Reproductive Health Coalition
The Reproductive Health Coalition (RHC) is a wide range of health professional associations and allied organizations who advocate with a unified voice to protect access to essential reproductive care. The tenets of this work include: a patient’s right to dignity, autonomy, privacy, and the expectation of a trusted relationship with their clinician; protection of the clinician’s ethical obligation to provide care, including their access to comprehensive training; and a commitment to an evidence-based approach to policy and practice. Over 120 organizations participate in the RHC, collectively representing more than 150 million members. Click here for more information.
View a PDF version of this testimony here.
