We're Advocating For Reproductive Health, Rights, And Justice Now

Will You Join Us?

For Black women, Reproductive health (Repro) advocacy ensures complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease in all matters relating to the reproductive system. Reproductive rights center on maintaining or protecting the legal right to contraception, abortion, fertility treatment, and reproductive health. While also ensuring access to information about one's reproductive body. In general, reproductive rights secure people's agency - their right to decide their capacities to reproduce or not. 

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BWHI defines Reproductive Justice as an all-encompassing health movement to eliminate all barriers to self-agency.

Our work protects the right to self-govern one's body, sexuality, gender, sexual pleasure, and reproduction preferences. The main pillars of Reproductive Justice are:

  • The right to have a child.
  • The right to not have a child.
  • The right to raise and nurture our children in a safe and healthy environment.

In short, BWHI champions the whole woman, girl, femme, and gender non-confirming person through a preventative, affirming, and holistic approach.

Access to Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraception refers to contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy in the first few days after unprotected intercourse, sexual assault, or contraceptive failure. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first dedicated product for emergency contraception in 1998, numerous barriers to emergency contraception remain. Emergency contraception pills are different from abortion pills, and emergency contraception pills do not stop or harm your pregnancy if you are already pregnant.

Did you know?
Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.

How many types of Emergency contraception are there?

In the United States, there are two types of FDA-approved ECPs available for emergency contraception:

ella® (ulipristal acetate)

Plan B One-Step® (LNG-only) — Plan B One-Step® has several generic versions. Some common generic versions include AfterPill™, My Way®, Next Choice One Dose™, and Take Action™.

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What are my options for Abortion?

Medical/Medication Abortion

Medication abortion is the process of ending a pregnancy through medication."Abortion pill" is the common name for two types of medicines used to end a pregnancy. The two medicines are mifepristone and misoprostol. The mifepristone pill blocks your body's progesterone halting the pregnancy, while misoprostol empties the uterus. Patients have up to 48 hours to take the second pill.

Abortion pills are very effective, but timing matters: 

  • For people who are 8 weeks pregnant or less, it works about 94-98 out of 100 times.
  • For people who are 8-9 weeks pregnant, it works about 94-96 out of 100 times.
  • For people who are 9-10 weeks pregnant, it works about 91-93 out of 100 times. If you're given an extra dose of medicine, it works about 99 out of 100 times.
  • For people who are 10-11 weeks pregnant, it works about 87 out of 100 times. If you're given an extra dose of medicine, it works about 98 out of 100 times.

Surgical/Suction Abortion

Surgical abortion is a procedure that ends a pregnancy by removing the fetus and placenta from the uterus.

Statements and Releases

Black women denounce overturn of Roe, call on Congress to protect reproductive health and rights

Black Women's Health Imperative releases statement as attacks on Black women's body autonomy erupt during Women's History Month.

Black Women Denounce Overturn of Roe, Call on Congress to Protect Reproductive Health and Rights

Black Women's Health Imperative Releases Statement on Supreme Court's Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade

CEO Linda Goler Blount, MPH Op-Ed: Do Black women have a right to life? As published in the LA Times

Abortion restrictions put Black women in jeopardy

MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin spoke to Linda Goler Blount, President and CEO of the Black Women's Health Imperative, about how stripping away reproductive rights could have a disproportionate impact on the Black community. 

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What overturning Roe v. Wade could mean for Black women

“Black women have disproportionately the greatest number of percentage of abortions. But that is due to the economic oppression and frankly, the poor economic circumstances that we exist in now, but that are 400 years in the making,” 

Linda Goler Blount

States Where Abortions are Legal or Banned

Currently, 14 states have full abortion bans, 1 state has a 6 week ban and 3 states have 15, 18 or 20 week bans. 

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Black Women's Health Imperative's President and CEO Linda Goler Blount, MPH, Reacts to the Overturn of Roe.
Byllye Avery, Founder of the Black Women's Health Imperative, Reflects on Life Before Roe. v. Wade
President Biden Reacts to Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

Join the Movement

BWHI defines Reproductive Justice as an all encompassing health movement to eliminate all barriers to our right to control our bodies, our sexuality, our gender, our work, our sexual pleasure, and our reproduction. The main pillars of Reproductive Justice are the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to raise and nurture our children in a safe and healthy environment. BWHI’s focus in the Reproductive Justice movement champions the whole woman, girl, femme, and gender non-confirming person through a preventative, affirming, and holistic approach.