Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel

Leila Abolfazli is Counsel in the Health and Reproductive Rights Program at NWLC. She works on a range of issues involving the protection and expansion of reproductive rights at the federal level. Prior to joining the NWLC, Ms. Abolfazli was a Senior Associate at WilmerHale in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of Emory University and Georgetown University Law Center.

Expert in: Abortion, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Health Care & Reproductive Rights
  • Printer-friendly version
  • Send by email

My Take

Breaking News - Abortion Ban Struck Down!

Posted by Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel | Posted on: May 21, 2013 at 04:10 pm

Good news! The Ninth Circuit has struck down Arizona's law [PDF] that would ban abortions after 20 weeks gestation. The court said what we have been saying all along: this law is unconstitutional. "Because [the law] deprives the women to whom it applies of the ultimate decision to terminate their pregnancies prior to fetal viability, it is unconstitutional under a long line of invariant Supreme Court precedents." (Emphasis my own.) 

This decision overturned a lower court's decision upholding Arizona's law. In doing so, the court rejected Arizona's argument that the law did not actually prohibit abortion because it allowed abortions in cases of medical emergencies. Seeing through this argument, the Court had this pointed response: "Allowing a physician to decide if abortion is medically necessary is not the same as allowing a woman to decide whether to carry her own pregnancy to term." Enough said. 

While we take a moment to sigh relief that a court has stopped this type of unconstitutional legislation pushed by extreme politicians seeking to interfere with women's decisionmaking, the fight isn't over yet.

Read more...
Tags: Abortion, Arizona, Abortion, Reproductive Health & Rights, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

What Mother’s Day Has To Do With Good Health

Posted by Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel | Posted on: May 13, 2013 at 04:59 pm

I love my baby.  He is so sweet and his laughter makes any bad mood float away.  But not only is my baby oh so sweet, he also made me aware of a breast lump. I noticed it once I started nursing him, because, really, I never really paid much attention to the issue of breast lumps and never did any self exams. 

I know, I know, health groups like American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists advocate women to have “breast self awareness,” and to report any changes to your breasts to your health care providers. But, since I don’t have any risk factors, I just never thought I would be in trouble. Well, after finding that not-so-small lump, I felt guilty. I realized even though I’m a huge advocate of preventive health, I wasn’t doing the one simple step of taking care of myself by getting preventive health screenings. And I realize, this is what preventive health is about, it’s about taking those steps to get ahead of health concerns before the health concerns get ahead of you.

Read more...
Tags: Health Care, Health Insurance, Preventive Health Care & Services, Health Care Reform, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

On Today’s 40th Roe Anniversary, Make Your Voice Be Heard

Posted by Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel | Posted on: January 22, 2013 at 02:26 pm

The recent report that a majority of Americans under 30 don’t know what Roe v. Wade was about is not really shocking. But it is telling.

Today, the fight to protect Roe v. Wade isn’t about Roe. The fight isn’t even about winning society’s opinion on whether Roe should be overturned, because, as polls have consistently shown over the years, the majority of America thinks it should not be. 

No, instead, the fight has turned into a battle of which side is the most successful in capturing state governments. Unfortunately, the voice of those wanting to ban abortion has been quite successful in getting states to make it impossible to get an abortion even if Roe theoretically remains intact. This is the voice that is driving abortion facilities out of existence, forcing women to undergo unbelievably long waiting periods, make unnecessary, burdensome visits to “crisis pregnancy centers,” and receive medically unnecessary ultrasounds. This is the voice that wants to interfere with the physician-patient relationship and force doctors to lie to their patients. The voice that wants to shame, scare, or physically prevent women from getting abortions. This is the voice of a small minority who wants to impose its religious and moral beliefs on women’s lives they know nothing about. It’s the voice that hurts women and their families.

But things are changing. The voice of the majority is starting to be heard again.

Read more...
Tags: Abortion, Abortion, Reproductive Health & Rights, Roe v. Wade, This Is Personal, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | 2 comments

Breast Pumps Aren’t a Fashion Accessory

Posted by Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel | Posted on: January 08, 2013 at 04:28 pm

This weekend, the Washington Post published an article describing how the breast pump industry is faring now that the health care law requires health insurance coverage of such pumps. The article quoted our very own Judy Waxman and yours truly. As expected, there were many comments from readers vehemently disagreeing with the premise of covering breast pumps. The gist of the complaint is: “why should I pay for other peoples’ breast pumps. Why do women get these things for free?”

My initial response to these complaints is – as I have explained time and again – women are not getting their birth control or pumps for “free.” They are paying for it when they pay for health insurance, either by working for it and having it included as part of the employee’s benefit package (and likely still paying part of the premium) or by paying for it directly on the individual market. So this stuff isn’t “free,” the woman IS paying for it. Do you call the preventive care visits that now don’t have a no co-pay as “free?” No, it is not free. You pay premiums to your health insurance company so that they cover these medical care costs when you need such care.

Read more...
Tags: Affordable Care Act (ACA), Breastfeeding, Health Insurance, Health Insurance, Maternity Care & Leave, Health Care Reform, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | 2 comments

Breaking News! New study shows 2+2=4

Posted by Leila Abolfazli, Senior Counsel | Posted on: October 17, 2012 at 05:04 pm

If you are wondering why they would need a study to show 2+2=4, that’s exactly how I felt when I saw the two headlines:

“Free birth control cuts abortion rate dramatically, study finds”

“HPV vaccine not tied to increased promiscuity for girls”

The results of the first study followed an experiment “when more than 9,000 women ages 14 to 45 in the St. Louis area were given no-cost contraception for three years.” And the results? “Among teen girls ages 15 to 19 who participated in the study, the annual birth rate was 6.3 per 1,000 girls, far below the U.S. rate of 34.3 per 1,000 for girls the same age.” And “abortion rates dropped from two-thirds to three-quarters lower than the national rate.” So providing women access to no-cost contraception means dramatically lowered unintended pregnancy and abortion rates. All right. Sounds good.

Read more...
Tags: Abortion, Birth Control, Abortion, Family Planning, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | 3 comments