Guttmacher’s Destiny Lopez testifies at US Senate on post-Dobbs abortion access
Our acting co-CEO Destiny Lopez offered powerful testimony before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on June 4, 2024, on the state of abortion access since the Dobbs decision.
Destiny Lopez (Co-President and CEO) reflects on how abortion storytelling shifted the movement, driving policy wins and cultural change by bringing abortion out of the shadows.
Destiny Lopez (Co-President and CEO) emphasizes that medication abortion now accounts for the majority of US abortions, urges envisioning a future where people can access abortion care in the way and place they choose and calls for bold thinking beyond fear and uncertainty.
Floriane Borel (Senior Global Policy Associate) reports on the UN Commission on the Status of Women’s adoption of a political declaration reaffirming Beijing commitments, noting missing language on sexual and reproductive health and rights and highlighting Guttmacher’s upcoming research linking SRHR to gender equality.
Isabel DoCampo (Senior Research Associate) highlights new data showing medication abortion accounted for most abortions in nearly all US states without total bans in 2023, underscores its safety and widespread use and warns of escalating legislative attacks on abortion pills.
Guttmacher explains why NIH leadership is critical for advancing reproductive health research, warning that anti-abortion efforts to restrict studies on stem cells and fetal tissue could stall medical progress amid a growing reproductive health care crisis.
Kelly Baden (Vice President for Public Policy) warns that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as HHS Secretary gives him broad power over agencies critical to reproductive health, raising concerns about potential restrictions on medication abortion despite decades of evidence proving its safety and effectiveness.
Susheela Singh (Scholar Emerita) urges Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to decriminalize abortion, citing evidence that restrictive laws lead to unsafe procedures, higher maternal deaths and costly complications, while legal access would save lives and reduce health care costs.
Guttmacher explains the CDC’s critical role in collecting reproductive health data that shapes policies and programs, warning that a director opposed to reproductive rights could misuse this power to restrict care and weaponize surveillance.
