by anti-abortion groups and lawmakers have made it so many people aren"t able to access their right to bodily autonomy. Through medically unnecessary restrictions people of color, rural communities, young people, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, and those struggling to make ends meet have been most affected. 

In 2021, Generation Progress partnered with We Testify to launch the below Instagram series that outlines some of the root causes of reproductive oppression. The experiences show how five women navigated these barriers while accessing abortion care. 

The right to abortion isn"t real if only some people can access it. If you agree, join us by demanding lawmakers pass a proactive abortion agenda. 

Related Articles: 

• Abortion Rights Are on the Line–Here"s What You Need to Know
• Reclaiming Our Rights: Reproductive Justice
• Conservatives Feel Entitled to Your Ballot and Your Body
• Four Things You Need to Know About the Texas Abortion Ban

 

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The post Five Abortion Stories That Show We Need to Increase Access appeared first on Generation Progress.

 they"ve made accessing care harder for everyone

In Mississippi, abortion may soon be outlawed after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This law is the basis of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that the Supreme Court heard on December 1, 2021. If a majority of justices rule in favor of the law, the precedent set by Roe would be overturned–and our constitutional right to abortion would be decimated. In Mississippi, all abortion clinics but Jackson Women’s Health Organization have closed, making it nearly impossible for people to access safe, legal abortion care in the state. 

Sadly, Mississippi isn"t the only state where abortion access is a problem. Depending on where you live, there may be a 24- or 48-hour waiting period between a consultation appointment and when you can get your abortion. You may be forced to undergo a medically unnecessary ultrasound before you can terminate. Your nearest clinic may be miles away and/or backlogged. Lack of insurance coverage may result in unaffordable costs. Laws may dictate your timing of, if, and when you can get an abortion. You may also be given false information from anti-abortion volunteers posing as health care workers at crisis pregnancy centers. Anti-abortion laws and policies may supersede your decision-making and autonomy. 

Our abortion rights have been in danger for a long time, but this year it"s only gotten worse. In 2021, more states have passed abortion restrictions that can cause significant challenges to receiving care than any other year. This is the erosion of reproductive rights and justice in America.

Earlier this year, Texas enacted S.B.8–a law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and authorizes ordinary people to sue anyone who helps someone get an abortion past that point. Six weeks of pregnancy is only two weeks after a missed period, a time when most people don"t yet know they"re pregnant. Regardless of this fact, the Supreme Court refused to block the law in September, forcing hundreds of people to travel out-of-state to get care and others to continue with a pregnancy they do not want. If Roe is overturned, this situation could be the new reality for birthing people across the country.

We have to protect our constitutional right to abortion and push legislators to go above and beyond it. If Roe is overturned, abortion would immediately be banned in 24 states as a result of insidious trigger laws that are designed to take effect the moment the abortion is no longer protected. These people would have to drive an average of 4.5 hours to get an abortion, and the impact would fall hardest on people of color, rural people,  young people, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, and those struggling to make ends meet. Abortion access is an issue of racial equity and economic justice. It"s a simple, essential, health care service that allows individuals to have control over their future. While it could be months before the Court releases its decision on Dobbs, we won"t give up this fight.

The Women’s Health Protection Act would protect abortion rights by establishing a statutory right for health care professionals to provide abortion care and patients to receive it. It also eliminates some key barriers to abortion access, including mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling, two-trip requirements, and mandatory ultrasounds. The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but it still has to get through the Senate to become law. 

We have to transform how abortion is treated in this country, especially for those whose abortion rights have been most obstructed."¯Tell your elected officials to protect abortion access and ask your senators to pass the Women"s Health Protection Act. This is how we can save Roe and go even further.

The post Abortion Rights Are on the Line–Here’s What You Need to Know appeared first on Generation Progress.

Please join the Center for American Progress, Generation Progress, young LGBTQI elected officials, and a cross-movement panel of advocates, policy experts, and researchers to discuss why Gen Z LGBTQI individuals are experiencing such significant disparities and what policymakers can do to address this crisis.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Noon to 1:15 pm E.T.

Introductory remarks:
Sharita Gruberg, Vice President of the LGBTQ and Communications Project, Center for American Progress

Keynote remarks:
State Rep. Ryan M. Fecteau (D-ME), Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives

Panelists:
Jordan Budd, Executive Director, COLAGE
Olivia Julianna, Advocate and Digital Content Creator, Gen Z for Change
Lindsay Mahowald, Research Assistant with the LGBTQ Research and Communications Project, Center for American Progress
Preston Mitchum, Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs, The Trevor Project

Moderator:
Edwith Theogene, Director of Advocacy, Generation Progress

Closing remarks:
Matthew Taylor, Member-at-Large, Sunnyside Unified Governing Board in Arizona

The post EVENT: Making Progress for LGBTQI+ Gen Z appeared first on Generation Progress.

The world is a better place for young people when reproductive justice is achieved.

The post Reclaiming Our Rights: Reproductive Justice appeared first on Generation Progress.

In May 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a piece of legislation that effectively bans abortion care after six weeks. Activists and advocates managed to prevent the law from taking effect initially, but now that the Supreme Court has refused to grant an emergency request to block the ban, it has proceeded to be implemented. Here"s what you need to know as the law takes effect in Texas.

How does the Texas abortion ban work?

Like many abortion bans, this law prohibits abortion care as soon as early cardiac activity can be detected, around the sixth week of pregnancy. While six weeks may sound like a long time, the clock begins on the date of a person"s last menstrual period–so for many people, the sixth week of pregnancy may be just two weeks after a missed period. For this reason, most abortions don"t take place until after this window closes. In Texas, at least 85 percent of abortions take place after the sixth week of pregnancy.

What makes this law uniquely egregious is how it is enforced. Unlike similar laws, the Texas abortion ban doesn"t rely on state officials. Instead, the law authorizes private citizens to sue anyone who helps a person obtain abortion care after six weeks. Anyone can be sued, from doctors to rideshare drivers to friends and family. In addition, the law offers a $10,000 reward to those who win their lawsuits. The result is a bounty system that incentivizes anti-abortion vigilantes to interfere with abortion care.

How does the Texas abortion ban impact young people?

Young people are especially impacted by the Texas abortion ban. Already, young people are more likely to need abortion care and less likely to be able to access it for logistical and financial reasons. Even before this ban, Texas already had a myriad of abortion restrictions in place such as parental consent and notification requirements, biased counseling to discourage and shame those seeking an abortion, mandatory and medically unnecessary ultrasound requirements, limited coverage of abortions under private and public insurance, and a 24 hour waiting period. The Texas abortion ban adds to the burden young people face by making it so that nearly anyone seeking abortion care after the sixth week of pregnancy must travel out of state, imposing a huge cost in terms of money and time that many young people are unable to afford. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that because of S.B. 8, the average one-way driving distance to an abortion clinic would increase from 17 miles to 247 miles, more than 14 times the distance for care. Young people from Black, Latinx, rural, undocumented, and low-income communities are even less likely to be able to make the journey.

What"s next?

While the Supreme Court"s decision not to block the Texas abortion ban is a major blow for reproductive rights, the battle isn"t over yet. In early September, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas over the new abortion ban. The Department of Justice is seeking a judgment declaring the Texas abortion ban invalid, as well as a “preliminary and permanent injunction against the State of Texas–including all of its officers, employees, and agents, including private parties” involved in enforcing the abortion ban.

Texas offers us a lesson: fighting for abortion rights on the state level is necessary, but isn"t enough. If we want to protect abortion rights in America, we need action at all levels of government, especially at the federal level. Join us in calling for lawmakers to adopt a proactive abortion agenda and secure the right of every American to safe abortion care.

The post Four Things You Need to Know About the Texas Abortion Ban appeared first on Generation Progress.

This week, which includes the final days of March and the first days of April, marks both the last week of Women"s History Month and the start of

. In recognition of these intersecting moments, Generation Progress is taking the time to reflect on the disproportionate impact of collateral consequences of our justice and legal system on the lives of young women. Since the 1980s, there"s been a

To dig deeper on what is  happening to justice-involved young women, we are highlighting 4 key facts about women in the U.S. criminal legal justice system.

1.  There are 1.2 million women under the supervision of the criminal justice system.

As of 2019, 1.2. million women were under supervision of the criminal justice system–either in jail or prison or on probation or parole. BIPOC women are overrepresented in the justice system: Black women are 1.7 times more likely to be imprisoned than white women and Hispanic women are imprisoned at 1.3 times the rate of white women. There is a lack of significant data on the incarceration rate of Indigenous women, but, overall, the local jail incarceration rate of Indigenous Americans is nearly double that of white people.  Although in recent years, we have begun to see a decrease in imprisonment across the country, this decrease has mainly impacted men. 

2.  Women in the justice system are impacted by multiple histories of abuse.

The criminal legal system disproportionately impacts women who have already been impacted by  societal issues such as mental health challenges, poverty, and abuse. According to the ACLU, nearly 60 percent of people in women state prisons across the country, and as many as 94 percent of some women"s prison populations, have a history of physical or sexual abuse before being incarcerated. In addition, women are more likely to enter the jail and prison system with a drug dependency or history of abusing drugs than men. Incarcerated women are also more likely than incarcerated men to have experienced serious psychological distress or mental health issues. When it comes to poverty, the Prison Policy initiative found that, prior to their incarceration, incarcerated women had a median income of $13,890 in 2014. This was 42 percent less than non-incarcerated women between the ages of 27 to 42, and 66 percent less than non-incarcerated men. Taking the gender wage gap, racial wage gaps, and LGBTQ+ wage gaps into account,it is not surprising that more than 60% of women are held in jail because they cannot afford bail. The path to and through the legal system for many women is complicated by a multitude societal issues, which  the criminal legal system is not fit to address–ultimately leading to even deeper problems for these individuals and communities. 

3. The criminal justice system is a HUGE barrier to reproductive justice. 

There are a multitude of ways that the criminal legal system prevents the achievement of reproductive justice, which can be defined as every person"s right to have a child, not have a child, and if you choose to have a child, raise that child in a safe and healthy environment

Although incarcerated people are entitled to health care, including reproductive health services such as contraception, abortion and pre-natal care, the prison system presents nuanced barriers both for those seeking to end a pregnancy or to carry a wanted pregnancy to term. Incarcerated women struggle to access reproductive healthcare because of problematic policies and requirements dictated by the prison system that exacerbate existing barriers. For example, access to abortion services varies from state to state due to hundreds of restrictive state laws such as medically unnecessary waiting periods, two trip requirements, bans that prohibit abortions as early as 13 weeks in pregnancy, and targeted regulation of abortion providers that can shutdown or limit the frequency of services. These barriers are magnified by arrest and incarceration, because people can no longer independently decide what is best for their family planning needs. 

Those who wish to proceed with their pregnancies face other problems within the prison system. Pregnant women who are incarcerated are still often shackled during labor and other health care visits, creating health risks for both parent and child and depriving pregnant people of their dignity. In a survey of perinatal nurses who have provided care for incarcerated pregnant people, over 80 percent reported that patients were shackled either sometimes or all the time. 

Beyond pregnancy, women who have children continue to struggle disproportionately within the criminal legal system as parents. In federal prisons, about 48 percent of women under the age of 24 are mothers, and 55 percent of women under the age of 24 in state prisons are mothers. The children of incarcerated mothers tend to experience more instability and disruption than those of incarcerated fathers because women are more likely to be primary caregivers in their families.

Regardless of whether people carry to term, end their pregnancy, or experience a miscarriage, too many justice-involved women are denied essential reproductive healthcare, compromising their self determination and reproductive autonomy.

4. A criminal history impacts women"s economic security and stability.

A criminal history can deny justice-impacted women access to housing, education, employment and more. Most women enter the system already experiencing multiple challenges that become further complicated by collateral consequences. While "reentry," the process of returning to communities from incarceration, has become a priority among many policymakers and community-based organizations, most reentry resources available do not address the unique challenges that women face. For instance, while all justice-invovled people have to navigate discrimination from employers who are unwilling to hire people with records, women have the added burden of facing significant employment and occupational licensing restrictions in many of the industries that are concentrated with women and women of color like childcare, nursing, and home health care. In addition, some  justice involved women, the majority of whom are parents or primary caretakers of families, can be denied access to public services and benefits. These collateral consequences make women, especially BIPOC women, even more vulnerable and limit their success. 

Conclusion

Young people are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system and women are uniquely harmed.  We must work to end mass criminalization and mass incarceration, but, in the meantime, there are ways we can mitigate the harms of this system to ensure that women are not uniquely vulnerable to collateral consequences. 

To take action and demand support for policies that will benefit women and all justice-involved people, use this tool to email your legislators today. 

The post Four Key Facts About Women in the Criminal Legal System appeared first on Generation Progress.

This Women"s History Month marks one year since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the lives of people across the globe. The impacts that climate change, COVID-19, and the economy have on women and girls are interconnected, and to ignore these connections would be a disservice to some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Women and girls are already in a precarious place in society–globally, women often earn and are able to save significantly less than their male counterparts, lack access to adequate healthcare, and are frequently the victims of gender-based violence. Nearly 3 million women left the workforce over the course of the past year, many as a result of increased caregiving responsibilities at home due to the pandemic. Understanding that there exists a spectrum of gender identities beyond the binary, a recent report found that "most LGBT adults say that they or a household member lost a job or income due to the pandemic (56 percent), which compares to 44 percent of non-LGBT adults." The problem is significantly worse for many women of color–in December 2020, Black, Asian, and Hispanic women accounted for all of women"s job losses, and 154,000 Black women dropped out of the labor force entirely. Among young Millennials and Generation Z, the economic impacts of the pandemic are also being felt to a higher degree–19.5 percent have "reported they or their spouse or partner experienced layoffs since the pandemic began." Finally, when considering the impacts of climate change, women account for 80 percent of those displaced as a result of this issue. 

As the Biden administration works to rebuild our economy, it is imperative that these recovery efforts center women and girls. The pandemic has worsened women"s overall social and economic security, which means women"s equity must be at the forefront of any legislation intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing this, on International Women"s Day, President Biden issued an executive order establishing the White House Gender Policy Council. This council will oversee the administration"s all-of-government approach to gender equity and equality–a significant step in the right direction. 

Despite the fact that climate change impacts people of all genders, its effects are felt much differently by men and women. Due to the same vulnerabilities outlined above, women are less well equipped to handle the devastating effects of climate change. The linkages that exist between women"s overall outcomes and a changing climate cannot be ignored, especially when creating policies to address the climate crisis. For example: after natural disasters strike, women are less able to access critical healthcare, particularly reproductive care, and are at increased risk of experiencing gender-based violence and sexual assault. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have about 30 years to transition to a carbon-neutral society to avoid climate catastrophe, and as the climate crisis worsens, we need gender equity to be at the core of any policies designed to address this crisis to ensure that women and girls don"t bear the brunt of its negative impacts. 

One way the administration and Congress can prioritize women while building a robust, inclusive, and climate-resilient economy is through a green recovery. Creating high-quality, well-paid, unionized jobs in the clean energy sector, particularly in frontline communities, would go a long way towards addressing the economic, gender equality, and climate crises facing today"s generations. Tribal, low-income, and communities of color have long borne the brunt of the climate crisis, facing toxic pollution, unsustainable development, and systemic disinvestment. Prioritizing these communities in a green jobs recovery would not only help to reduce the harms of past racism and racist policies, but can also create a jobs boon that will put these communities, and the women that are a part of them, on the path to a more just, sustainable future.

A just transition to a 100% clean energy future that rebuilds our economy and uplifts the status of women and girls is not only possible, but necessary. COVID-19 has laid bare and exacerbated the systemic inequalities that women faced even before the pandemic, and demonstrated that solving one crisis can be the path to solving others simultaneously. Now is the time for a bold, green economic recovery strategy that centers women, especially as they have faced significant losses over the past year.

The post The Administration Should Prioritize Women and Other Frontline Communities in a Green Jobs Recovery appeared first on Generation Progress.

Warning: the following column contains facts that may induce rage-fueled forehead-smacking and/or keyboard smashing. Happy Women"s History Month!

The gender wage gap and the student debt crisis are inextricably linked: undervaluing women"s work forces women to bear a bigger share of the student debt crisis. Addressing the student loan crisis through debt-free college and broad-based student loan cancellation would help alleviate some of the economic burden that women, particularly women of color, face in our society. 

FACT: Women must work far into the next year to match what men earn the previous year alone. This gap is disproportionately and historically felt by women of color. 

Let"s break it down. In 1996, the National Committee launched the first Equal Pay Day to raise awareness about the gender pay gap. Originally, it only captured the wage gap for women overall, but, over the years, the advocates behind the effort recognized the need to highlight racial disparities. The conversation now increasingly includes the much larger wage gaps for many women of color. Based on the latest available data, the largest gender wage gap is experienced by Latina women. Women, altogether, earn just $0.82 to every one dollar earned by men. 

Now, we have multiple Equal Pay Days each year to recognize the racial disparities within gender pay gaps. First up this year was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women"s equal pay day on March 9, since AAPI women are paid $0.85 for every one dollar earned by a white man, on average. However, this number hides the reality that the wage gap is much wider for many women belonging to different AAPI communities. The earnings ratios range from Taiwanese, Indian, and Malaysian women earning $1.21 compared to the white man"s $1.00 to Burmese women earning just $0.52, with dozens of other communities in between.

Black women won"t reach pay parity with the 2020 earnings of white men until August 3, 2021 because Black women earn $0.63 to the white man"s dollar. 

Native women"s Equal Pay Day won"t come until September 8 of this year, due to their earning approximately $0.60 on the white man"s dollar. 

Finally, Latina women typically earn a measly $0.55 on the white man"s dollar, and have to work until October 21, 2021 to reach pay parity with white men"s 2020 earnings. This means that Latinas "must work nearly 23 months to earn what white men earn in 12 months."

The pandemic has made economic stability even harder for women

This Equal Pay Day, the coronavirus pandemic brings additional challenges to the table. Not only are women–particularly women of color–on the frontlines as the majority of essential workers, but women have continued to bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities during this extremely trying time. COVID-19 has also led to a massive economic fallout in the last year, with women losing nearly 1 million more jobs than men between February and December 2020. This fallout has disproportionately impacted women of color, particularly Black women and Latinas, who continue to experience some of the highest unemployment rates. 

In December 2020, Black, Asian, and Hispanic women accounted for all of women"s job losses, and 154,000 Black women dropped out of the labor force entirely. Both major job losses combined with the pull of increased caregiving at home has created a recession in which more women have been affected. In addition, members of the LGBTQ community also face significant wage disparities, very likely exacerbated by the current pandemic. Members of the transgender community are four times more likely to have an income of less than $10,000 per year. These outcomes are the result of systemic inequities rooted at the intersection of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and transphobia. 

These disparities didn"t appear out of thin air. The same systems of oppression that brought about gender wage gaps and job loss also manifest the conditions that created the current student debt crisis, which also harms women of color. 

How student debt disproportionately impacts women 

Forty-five million Americans have $1.6 trillion in student debt, two-thirds of it held by women. 

A major racial equity concern regarding the student loan crisis is the disproportionate effect of student loans on Black women. Black borrowers take on more student loan debt, have a harder time repaying their loans, and are four times more likely to end up in default than their white counterparts. Layering on top of that pay disparities for women, including a motherhood penalty, the student debt crisis worsens the economic situation for Black women and Latina borrowers, who face larger wage gaps than white women, making loan repayment even more difficult. In 2017, approximately 34 percent of all women and 57 percent of African American women who were repaying student loans reported that they had been unable to meet essential expenses within the past year. 

In summary, these systemic inequities result in women–particularly women of color–being more likely to be underpaid, under-employed, and carry student debt.

Addressing the student loan crisis through debt-free college and broad-based student debt cancellation would be good for women, helping to:

1. Close the racial wealth gap: When a system exists in which Black students are more likely to need a loan to pay for college, need to borrow more than white students, and will take longer to pay off those loans, cancelling those loans and building a system that does not require debt to begin with is necessary. The former can lift Black and Latina borrowers, who have much less wealth than their white counterparts, out of debt. The latter can importantly prevent future generations from amassing new debt.

2. Close the gender wealth gap: Already, women take out more student debt than men. And it takes them longer to pay off those loans (*cough,* wage gap). Cancel the debt!

3. Facilitate an equitable economic recovery: This doesn"t just mean the stock market"s performance. This means building a system that addresses the needs of working women and people of color–not policies that benefit those who are already well-off. Student debt is preventing generations of borrowers from making the financial decisions they would like to, including starting their own businesses, buying homes, purchasing cars, and more. With women more likely to borrow and borrow more, a debt-free college system would mean women could put their earnings into the economy for future generations to come. And cancelling existing student debt today would stimulate the economy by allowing women to spend their monthly loan payment on things they wouldn"t have otherwise purchased.

4. Improve the lives of young women: One in three young people have student debt, two-thirds of all student debt is held by women, and student debt may shape young women"s decisions to have children, particularly among those with high debt levels. This means that cancelling student debt and making college debt-free is reproductive justice. Free college and debt cancellation must go hand in hand to create options around major life decisions and grant women more freedom to live with dignity and choice. Addressing the student loan crisis could impact women"s ability to choose a job, travel, have independence, decide if or when to start a family, and take care of family without worrying about the financial implications. It could fundamentally change how women shape their lives.

Let"s take the next chapter of our history into our own hands. Take action to cancel student debt to get us all one step closer to gender and racial equity. 

This is one massive step in the right direction, but we also have to abolish the barriers that led to these oppressive and discriminatory systems in the first place. Stay tuned for more action items from Generation Progress on debt-free college.

The post Four Ways Debt-Free College and Canceling Student Debt Would Be Good for Women appeared first on Generation Progress.

When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg–or as she was known fondly to many young people, the Notorious RBG–passed away in September, a vacancy opened up on our country"s highest court. A feminist icon and trailblazer for equality, Justice Ginsburg worked throughout her career to  ensure fairness and equity under the law. Given that Supreme Court nominees are appointed for life, the person chosen to fill Justice Ginsburg"s seat will have an outsized impact on young Americans, who will live with the consequences of the new Justice"s decisions for decades. 

Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama"s last Supreme Court nominee a vote for most of a year under the pretense that it was too close to an election. But the same Republicans are now rushing to confirm Donald Trump"s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, who has voiced firm opposition to the Affordable Care Act, abortion rights, and contraceptive access, in less than a month. Just yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance her nomination–and on Monday, the full Senate will have the chance to vote for or against her confirmation. With so much at stake and the presidential election already underway, it is critical that the American people get the opportunity to make their voices heard and have their votes respected before the Senate votes on a nominee.

The Supreme Court decides cases on many different topics that are relevant to young Americans–from immigration to environmental protection to gun violence–however, there is  perhaps no more urgent issue at stake than health care. Exactly one week after the election, the Court will take up President Trump"s lawsuit to end the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Trump is determined to do in order to lower taxes for his wealthiest donors. If the Senate allows another Trump-appointed Justice to join the Court, more than 20 million Americans could lose their health coverage in the middle of a pandemic that has killed 200,000 Americans, infected over 7 million, and caused over 30 million to seek unemployment assistance.

Put simply: the loss of the ACA would be an abject disaster for young people. Before the groundbreaking legislation was passed, young people had the highest uninsured rate of any other age group, with young people of color disproportionately likely to be uninsured. Insurance plans–especially student health plans–could decide not to cover people with pre-existing conditions or make the cost so prohibitive for those with pre-existing conditions that young people would not be able to afford care. Women could be charged more for the same coverage as men. Young people–including me–were often kicked off their parents plans while still in college or working early career jobs that didn"t offer health benefits. 

After the passage of the ACA, the uninsured rate for young people was cut in half. Insurance companies could no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, including those who require mental health care, which young people disproportionately rely on. Young people can stay on their parents" plans until they are 26 years old, when many have finished school and are trying to begin their careers. The ACA also guarantees access to no-cost birth control for most people, making it easier and more affordable for young people to make decisions about their health, their bodies, and their futures. If this protection was repealed in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis, it would be a catastrophe.

Even aside from the threats to the ACA, future decisions made by the Supreme Court will affect young people"s access to health care for years to come. Reproductive health care–access to abortion care, birth control, and maternity care–are all essential elements of health care for young people. But the reproductive rights of young people are in grave danger if Trump is able to install another justice on the Supreme Court. Although the promise of Roe v. Wade has yet to be fully realized in this country–particularly for low-income people, people living in rural areas, and people of color–losing the precedent it sets or allowing abortion rights to continue to be eroded would put countless lives and livelihoods at risk. Barrett has actively called for just that.

To protect our futures, our health, and our families, it is imperative that Justice Ginsburg"s seat remain open until after the inauguration of the next president. Before she died, Justice Ginsburg dictated a final statement to her granddaughter, Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." Young Americans, who have long been inspired by Justice Ginsburg"s courageous spirit of dissent, will fight to make her final wish come true–and in so doing, protect her legacy and our own futures.

The post Our Health Is on the Line–Young People and the Supreme Court Vacancy appeared first on Generation Progress.

The voices of young advocates working in the immigrants" rights movement inspire us and demonstrate the diversity of ways in which young people are leading it.

Check out our ongoing Immigration Activist Profile Series as we highlight these young advocates, their unique stories supporting immigrant communities, and their thoughts on how we can all get involved and show solidarity.

Give each a read and be sure to share!

Sandra Avalos

Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Sandra Esther Avalos Ortega came to the U.S. in 1996 at a young age. Even before she received protections through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Sandra dedicated herself to empowering disadvantaged youth in her home city of Dallas, Texas.

Read more of her Q&A here!

Fernanda Herrera

Meet Fernanda–an Alabama native, activist, DACA recipient, and Loyola University of Chicago law student–who has been a source of inspiration for many young immigrants. She is taking command of her own destiny: helping her family and community ensure the protection of their rights and safety.

Read more of her Q&A here!

Dr. Johana Oviedo

Through her work as an OB-GYN, Johana fights for basic rights and freedoms such as access to health care, the ability to parent with dignity, and the right to be safe and free. She ensures immigrant patients are properly accommodated when they come to her office so they don"t experience the same economic and social barriers to accessing health services that she saw growing up.

Read more of her Q&A here!

Lauryn Faungen

Lauryn Fanguen was born in Fez, Morocco to parents of Moroccan and Cameroonian ancestry. She and her family came to the Washington D.C. area when she was only three years old. Now a grown woman and immigrant "Dreamer"* who has lived around the nation"s capitol nearly her entire life, Lauryn"s experiences have informed her advocacy around the issues affecting the diverse American immigrant community.

Read more of her Q&A here!

Sarah Souza

Sarah and her family came to the U.S. from Brazil when she was a teenager, and she spent the remainder of her childhood undocumented in California. Now a Dreamer, Sarah has become a fierce leader at the forefront of social justice issues both at the local level in San Francisco and at the state level, where she fights for systemic changes on issues including housing, immigration, economic justice, and public education.

Read more of her Q&A here!

The post Immigration Activist Profile Series appeared first on Generation Progress.