- In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 51, critical legislation that would grant statehood to the District of Columbia and protect the health and rights of the more than 700,000 D.C. residents. Currently, residents of Washington, D.C. still have no voice in the U.S. Senate, and no vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, despite living and working in the United States, paying federal taxes, and serving in the armed forces. D.C.’s lack of statehood means a lack of local autonomy, which results in restrictive policies imposed by Congress, creating barriers to health care, including sexual and reproductive care.
- Also in April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released proposed regulations to end the Title X gag rule. Under the previous administration, this rule forced Title X grantees, like the Planned Parenthood health centers who provided care to 40% of all Title X patients, to choose between obtaining vital federal funds or providing their patients with unbiased, comprehensive information about their options, specifically about abortion. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.
- PPMW also joined the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, which advocates for dedicated funding for DC's LGBTQ+ community through DC's budget process. This group was founded in 2020 to raise awareness and address the community's unmet needs. DC has the highest percentage of residents who identify as LGBTQ of any state, yet discrimination and a lack of equal access to education, housing, healthcare, and work opportunities persist. In 2021, the Coalition requested approximately $4 million to support the LGBTQ community, including funding for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Housing, producing a report on the health of DC's LGBTQ+ community, and expanding housing and job program opportunities for trans and gender non-conforming residents. PPMW met with the DC Council to uplift the Coalition's requests and continued to support this work by testifying before the DC Council in support of the budget requests and sharing opportunities to testify with our supporters.
- In July, in a historic step for reproductive rights and District of Columbia autonomy, the U.S. House passed a FY2022 spending bill without the harmful, long-standing DC Medicaid abortion ban which prohibited the District of Columbia from using locally-raised tax dollars to cover abortions for people enrolled in DC Medicaid. The vote represents a hopeful step forward in the fight for equitable access to health care and self-determination.
- President Biden has also appointed many reproductive health champions to key roles in his administration including Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and numerous Federal Circuit and District Court judges.
- Expanding Student Access to Period Products bill (focus on 2021 beginnings)