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Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights

Judy Waxman

Judy Waxman is the Vice President of Health and Reproductive Rights at the National Women's Law Center. She pioneers advocacy, policy and educational strategies to promote the quality and availability of health care, including reproductive choice, for American women. Prior to joining the National Women's Law Center, Ms. Waxman served as Deputy Executive Director at Families USA for over a decade. In that capacity, she worked to achieve high quality, affordable health and long-term care for all Americans and was a leader on grassroots and activities on Medicaid, Medicare and other health care access legislative issues. She previously served as a Professional Staff Member with the Pepper Commission (the United States Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care). Ms. Waxman was also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, an attorney for the Department of Health and Human Services and served as President of the Board of Directors of the Women's Medical Center, a nonprofit health clinic. She served on advisory committees for publications of the Alan Guttmacher Institute and the Older Women's League (OWL), and was the Chair of the Health Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and of the Leadership Conference of Aging Organizations. She holds a law degree from American University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami, in Florida.

My Take

Spread the Word: Contact President Obama on Birth Control Access

Posted by Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights | Posted on: December 06, 2011 at 02:28 pm

Not long ago we told you about how President Obama is under pressure to take away some women's ability to get birth control without a co-pay.

Over 10,000 of our supporters have already sent President Obama a message telling him that all women need affordable birth control. Help us keep the pressure on and get to 15,000 letters — tell President Obama that all women, regardless of where they work, should have access to contraception without co-pays.

If you've already taken action on this, please send this message to your friends, family, and others in your life who support women's access to reproductive health care, so they too can stand up for the nearly 1.5 million women who could lose access to birth control without a co-pay.

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Tell President Obama All Women Need Affordable Birth Control

Posted by Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights | Posted on: November 21, 2011 at 11:44 am

They're at it again. Opponents of birth control are trying to put women's health at risk.

Over the summer, we secured a big victory when we helped get all forms of FDA-approved contraceptives covered and without a co-pay. However, we were dismayed that the administration allowed some employers to deny this coverage to their employees. Now, some opponents of contraception are pressuring President Obama to deny this critical benefit to more than a million more women.

Tell them NO! When we make progress in women's health, ALL women deserve to be part of that success. Tell the President that all women should have coverage of contraception without co-pays.

The reality is that nearly all of sexually active women in the U.S., regardless of their religious beliefs, use contraception at some point in their lives, and it is a preventive health service that should be covered regardless of where they work.

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Did Your Representative Vote for #HR358? Tell Them What They Did Was Wrong

Posted by Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights | Posted on: October 14, 2011 at 04:41 pm

Yesterday, Speaker Boehner and his allies in the House of Representatives acted shamefully: they passed H.R. 358, a dangerous bill that would undermine women's health and even put women's lives at risk. As we told you earlier this week, H.R. 358 is so extreme that some women facing pregnancy complications could die as a result.

The bill is not expected to pass the Senate, and President Obama has promised to veto it even if it does, but this vote was more than symbolic — these provisions are likely to surface again, either as standalone legislation or as amendments to other bills.

Put your Member of Congress on notice. Find out how she or he voted, and let's express our thanks to those champions who stood up for women's health and make clear our disappointment with the others.

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#HR358: Speaker Boehner is After Abortion Again

Posted by Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights | Posted on: October 12, 2011 at 02:24 pm

New jobs? Not yet. Improved economy? Debatable. Attacks on women's health? Non-stop.

Attacking women's ability to obtain reproductive health care services remains one of Speaker Boehner's top priorities. Tomorrow, Boehner and the House leadership will bring to a vote a dangerous bill that will undermine women's health and even put women's lives at risk.

Tell your Representative to protect women's health by voting NO on this harmful piece of legislation TODAY.

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Help Us Make Sure ALL Women Can Get Birth Control without a Co-pay

Posted by Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights | Posted on: August 11, 2011 at 02:02 pm

When we make progress in women's health, ALL women deserve to be part of that success, don't they? But you'd be surprised by what some opponents to birth control think.

Last week we told you about a momentous step forward for women's health: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expanded the list of preventive health services required to be offered by health insurers without a co-pay to include the full range of FDA-approved contraceptives. Unfortunately, HHS intends to exempt some religious employers from providing contraceptive services and is asking for comments on this decision.

We need your help to protect this important step for women’s health and ensure that all women have access to affordable contraceptiontell HHS that all women, regardless of who they work for, should have access to contraception without co-pays.

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