Barriers to Reproductive Care

Women continue to face restrictions when they try to access the reproductive health care they need. We're working to defend access to reproductive care and to oppose challenges such as pharmacy refusals and religious restrictions by those imposing their beliefs on women.

Highlights

Fact Sheet | 2013 State Level Abortion Restrictions at Mid-Year: An Extreme Overreach into Women’s Reproductive Health Care

September 17, 2013

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Yet, anti-abortion state politicians continue to relentlessly attack this right, in the hopes of overturning Roe and preventing women from obtaining abortions. In the first 6 months of 2013, state lawmakers enacted 43 restrictions on abortion, including outright bans.   This is the second highest number of enacted restrictions at the mid-year mark, and equal to the total number of restrictions enacted in 2012.  These state restrictions are a dangerous overreach into women’s personal medical decisions.

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Fact Sheet | State Politicians Want Bosses to Make Women’s Health Care Decisions

June 14, 2013

State politicians are introducing bills that would allow a boss to trump women's health and women's access to the health care they need by refusing to comply with the birth control benefit of the health care law. These bill sare not about protecting religion. They are unconstitutional attempts to take away women's decision making, threatening women's health and equality.

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Fact Sheet | Requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to Disclose Limits on Care Is Part of a Long Tradition of Protecting Women’s Decision-making and Access to Reproductive Health Care

April 9, 2013

Women face many obstacles to receiving comprehensive, affordable, quality health care, including when individuals and institutions refuse to provide health care services.   Some even go so far as to refuse to inform women about their health care options or even to notify women that there are certain services or information that they will not provide.  This prevents women from participating fully in their own medical decision-making.  Not only are their rights compromised, their health may be harmed.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | NWLC Amicus Briefs Supporting the Contraceptive Coverage Benefit

August 12, 2013

The Center is filing friend of the court briefs in lawsuits challenging the federal contraceptive coverage benefit, brought by employers who want to deny their employees this important benefit.  These cases involve suits brought under the First Amendment to the US Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  These cases will decide whether a boss’s religious beliefs trump women’s health and women’s access to the health care they need.

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More Resources

Legal Briefs & Testimony | Written Testimony to the Nevada Board of Pharmacy Regarding Proposed Refusal Amendment to Chapter 639 of the Nevada Administrative Code

December 02, 2005
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Legal Briefs & Testimony | Written Testimony to the Wyoming Board of Pharmacy Regarding Proposed Amendment to Chapter 4, Section 2 of the Wyoming Pharmacy Regulations

October 15, 2005
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Reports & Toolkits | Ask! Will Your Health Care Providers Follow Your End-of-Life Wishes?

June 09, 2005

What if you create an advance directive specifying your end-of-life wishes, only to have a health care institution or provider refuse to honor it? Unfortunately, more and more often, the religious and ethical beliefs of certain health care providers are limiting the public’s desired end-of-life care. In some states, these refusals are even protected by law. But you are not without rights. Arming yourself with information will help ensure that you get the end-of-life care you want.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | NWLC's Comment on "Duty of Division I Pharmacy to Dispense Contraceptives"

June 03, 2005
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Fact Sheet | The Federal Refusal Clause Amendment: An Attack on Hard-Won Federal and State Protections Preserving a Woman's Right to Choose

August 15, 2004
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