The weather has not been the only thing heating up this month! LOTS has been going on with the advocacy work of AllPaths Family Building, so I am pleased to share this update.
We are thrilled that the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed the Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA). I am proud to be the Co-Chair of the MPA Coalition, which has been working on this crucial legislation for 7 years! Massachusetts statutes related to parentage – the legal parent-child relationship – have not been updated in over 40 years, so the law does not reflect the rich diversity of families in the Commonwealth, including LGBTQ+ families and those built through assisted reproduction or surrogacy. This leaves children and loving parents vulnerable.
The Massachusetts House also recently passed a comprehensive and significant maternal health bill. We are grateful that among the many vital provisions approved in the legislation is language related to paid pregnancy loss leave and efforts to increase pregnancy loss awareness.
AllPaths is working closely with our many incredible legislative and advocacy partners to advance these measures in the Massachusetts Senate, so that they will pass before the session ends on July 31.
This month, I also was honored to be present in the gallery of the United States Senate when an omnibus bill called the Right to IVF Act was under consideration. The legislation would protect access to IVF nationally and expand coverage for fertility treatment.
Unfortunately, the bill did not reach the threshold of votes needed to pass, but it was still a historic day – having fertility legislation of that magnitude debated at the federal level. I felt impelled to represent AllPaths and to join advocates from all across the country there in person because we need to literally SHOW UP. If we don’t, lawmakers can ignore fertility and family building, or worse, they can approve policies that harm our community. This is why our stories matter, our voices matter, and why we will keep sharing them and raising them.
I actually learned about the United States Supreme Court’s decision on mifepristone when Senators started mentioning it on the floor during the IVF debate. The Court unanimously ruled that the group of anti-abortion physicians does not have standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s actions related to the approval of mifepristone. While we are relieved that this decision means that patients will continue to have access to this safe, effective medication without new restrictions, we must and will stay vigilant. Unfortunately, we know that reproductive rights are still at enormous risk in our country.
Advocacy takes considerable time and effort, and we cannot do it without the financial support of our community. I ask that you give what you can today to support AllPaths and help ensure that we can keep being a voice for all who are struggling to build their families. Every single donation makes a difference.
All of this work feels more important than ever in the extremely concerning national context of attacks on reproductive care and autonomy. Just yesterday marked two years since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We remain deeply committed to doing our part to make sure reproductive rights are protected.
We do not and cannot do any of this work alone, so thank you for standing with us, now and always.
Gratefully,
