Reproductive Health

Twenty-five years ago, Roe v. Wade established that a woman's right to reproductive choice includes not just the right to use contraceptive services, but also the right to decide to terminate a pregnancy. Nevertheless, we continue to face unprecedented attacks on access to reproductive health care services. It is not just abortion rights that are under attack -- affordable and accessible family planning services are also threatened.

Since our founding, the National Partnership has actively supported women's freedom of choice in the broadest sense, and has worked diligently to increase access to comprehensive, affordable reproductive health care services.

In recent years, the National Partnership, in conjunction with other national women's organizations, has fought many battles to defend women's reproductive rights and access to services:

• We worked to preserve funding for abortion services in the Medicaid program and other programs funded by the federal government.

• We fought to allow women serving overseas in the United States military to have access to privately paid abortion services in United States military health care facilities.

• We helped preserve federal funding for family planning programs, and defeated proposals that would have prevented teens from obtaining family planning services from federally funded clinics without parental consent.

• We worked to keep Congress from imposing the so-called "Mexico City" policy. This policy would prevent U. S. international family planning funds from going to international organizations that provide abortion services with non-U.S. funds. We have also worked to keep Congress from imposing a new, more dangerous policy that would prevent funds from going to international organizations that lobby their own governments about abortion policy.

• We supported research on new reproductive technologies. We testified before the FDA Advisory Committee on Reproductive Health Drugs for approval of mifepristone (RU486). We also advocated for packaging on oral contraceptives to describe their use as post-coital, emergency contraceptives.

• We tried to keep Congress from nullifying private accreditation standards that require medical professionals to receive training in abortion services.

• We worked to enact the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits anti-choice extremists from using force or threats of force to impede access to reproductive health services. We have also joined numerous "friends-of-the-court" briefs on crucial reproductive rights cases in the federal courts involving constitutional challenges to FACE and court injunctions designed to protect access to clinics.

• During the recent debates over so-called "partial-birth" abortion, we have been a vital resource for both policymakers and advocates on the constitutionality of efforts to ban particular abortion procedures.

Most recently, the National Partnership has been working to ensure that women's specific health care concerns, including their reproductive health needs, are not overlooked in our rapidly changing health care system. Managed care is changing the way millions of Americans receive health care, and women are facing a set of new challenges affecting access to comprehensive reproductive health services.

For example, one issue of critical importance to many women in their reproductive years is direct access to obgyn services. The National Partnership is working hard, along with other national women's organizations, to ensure that women do not need to jump through hoops to see the health care professional who will best meet their health care needs. And because contraception is such an integral part of reproductive choice, the National Partnership has joined national efforts to bring equity to prescription contraceptive coverage -- requiring plans that cover prescription drugs to provide the same coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs and devices.

The National Partnership is a leader in the efforts to achieve quality health care, especially for women. We will continue to advocate for the full range of reproductive health services so that women's health needs are adequately addressed in this rapidly changing health care system.

Read about our efforts with Contraceptive Coverage