Essential Access Health

This week, we celebrate a significant milestone for reproductive health access: the one-year anniversary of the FDA’s approval of #Opill, the first over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill in the US. OTC birth control pills break down access barriers and have the potential to ensure that more people can get contraception in their local communities. While we celebrate this anniversary, we must continue our work to ensure Opill is equitably accessible and affordable - for ALL. #FreeThePill

Embracing Disability Pride Month means recognizing that disability justice and reproductive justice are interconnected. We will continue to advocate for equitable access to inclusive and patient-centered health care and resources for ALL – during #DisabilityPrideMonth and beyond. 

We have a new member of the Essential Access team! Mika Bukowski (she/her) has joined us as our new Communications Specialist. In this role, Mika will lead our strategic communications efforts including media and marketing, and provide communications support to colleagues across the organization. Prior to joining Essential Access, Mika was the Lead Communications Specialist at a non-profit focused on senior justice in Durham, NC. She has also supported fund development activities at Mission Dolores Academy in San Francisco, and was a Health Educator with Health Initiatives for Youth. Mika is a current volunteer at Equity Before Birth. Welcome, Mika! ❤

This Fourth of July, let's remember: true independence requires reproductive freedom and full autonomy over our bodies, lives, and futures. Essential Access is committed to shaping a future where everyone everywhere can get the essential health care they want and need in their local communities – with dignity and respect. #BansOffOurBodies.

Thank you #CAleg and Governor Newsom for reinvesting AIDS Drug Assistance Program rebates to strengthen and expand critical services and prevention strategies. We were proud to partner with the End the Epidemics Coalition to help secure these investments in public health, equity and safety. https://lnkd.in/e3MTgSKp

Want to learn about adoption through a Reproductive Justice lens?   Join Essential Access’ Learning Exchange for a FREE webinar on Tuesday, July 9 at 12 PM!   Presenters Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist, and Angie Swanson-Kyriaco, a birth parent, will discuss current adoption statistics, the adoption process from the perspective of the pregnant person, and the role of adoption agencies.   Register now! https://lnkd.in/egutW27N

Members of our Essential Access Health team gathered with this brilliant and fierce group of #repro health rights and justice baddies for the first in-person meeting of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom @ccrf since the COVID public health emergency. We are so lucky to have such a diverse and robust group of colleagues to work and make good trouble with 💫🙌

Great news - #SB954 cleared Assembly Health with bipartisan support, 13-2! We’re thankful to work with Caroline Menjivar and partners BWWAction, sbh4ca, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity California, student leaders at Voters of Tomorrow California, and GENupUS to champion this measure. Next stop: we’re headed to Assembly Appropriations! 🙌🎉

#BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Idaho Hospitals Must Provide Life-Saving Abortion Care, But Declines to Rule on Merits of #EMTALA Case The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a nearly four-decade-federal law guaranteeing all patients the right to access life-saving emergency medical care, including an abortion. While EMTALA protections remain in place for now, the ruling keeps the door open for patients to be denied emergency services in the future. We must ensure that medical professionals can provide emergency and life-saving care nationwide, and that pregnant people can access it - when and where they need it. #BansOffOurBodies

NEW: HHS-Labor Approps subcommittee released an irresponsible proposal to eliminate the Title X program. Title X serves as a lifeline for affordable STI care + birth control for millions of people with low-incomes nationwide. In a post-Dobbs landscape, we must protect and ensure access to birth control and family planning. We call on Congress to preserve access to essential health care so that everyone, regardless of their zip code or economic status, can get equitable, affordable, and patient-centered sexual and reproductive health services. #SaveTitleX