We at Whole Woman’s Health are vocal. We’re vocal about abortion care. We’re vocal about stigma. We’re vocal about terrible anti-choice legislation and their sometimes-but-not-always equally terrible legislatures. And, we’re vocal about keeping quality reproductive health care available in our communities. We’re so vocal in fact, our CEO started a new non-profit so we can continue to be vocal while also educating others about the space where abortion provision and abortion stigma meet.
This post is not about that though, it’s about the ten moments this legislative session where our Whole Woman’s Health posse vocalized our expertise and spoke out. We testified for and against bills, on behalf of our company and on behalf of fabulous coalition partners, in front of a human rights panels and at health conferences. See? Vocal.
Below are our ten favorite Whole Woman’s Health quotes from these past few months, in no particular order (and with gifs)..
“The current Woman’s Right to Know Act includes a mandate that forces medical providers to give their patients medically and scientifically inaccurate information, notwithstanding the doctor’s medical judgment or ethical obligations to his or her patient. This interference directly contradicts the physicians’ Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and allows lawmakers and special interest groups with no medical expertise to dictate to doctors how to practice medicine.”
Andrea Ferrigno, Corporate Vice President of Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against TX HB 708 on behalf of the Trust. Respect. Access. coalition. April 22, 2015
“Particularly because of the safety of abortion care, requiring abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges is neither medically necessary nor reasonable.”
Amy Hagstrom Miller, President and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against NM SB 437. March 3, 2015.
“While HB 1648 may have the intention to bring the very serious matter of coercion to the surface, this bill not only perpetuates the widely debunked and dangerous myths about abortion, it also makes inaccurate assumptions about the decision making process women undergo when facing an unplanned pregnancy as well as the professional guidelines providers adhere to when offering this medical care.”
Fatimah Gifford, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against TX HB 1648 on behalf of the Trust. Respect. Access. coalition.
“Speak up and out, do not let anti-abortion rhetoric go unchallenged. Do not allow our opposition to hijack the moral high ground. I’d like a world where no person comes into my clinics thinking they are the only person they know who has had an abortion. Thinking they are the only Christian that has had an abortion. Thinking they are the only good parent who has had an abortion.”
Amy Hagstrom Miller, President and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Abortion Care Network.
“Studies that contain inaccurate data should not inform the practice of medicine, nor should they be the basis of legislation.”
Fatimah Gifford, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against TX HB 1648 on behalf of the Trust. Respect. Access. coalition. April 29, 2015.
“I share their frustration and pain on a personal level, because it is impossible to ignore this injustice. We have to remember that even though 11 months ago HB2 shuttered our doors; it did nothing to take the need away. Texan women still sought abortion care yesterday- as they will continue to do today, tomorrow, and in the future as it is needed, no matter what community you are located in.”
Andrea Ferrigno, Corporate Vice President of Whole Woman’s Health, speaking a the Nuestro Texas Women’s Human Rights Hearing. March 9, 2015.
“Misinformation does not promote women’s health or safety.”
Fatimah Gifford, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against TX HB 1648 on behalf of the Trust. Respect. Access. coalition. April 29, 201 8.
“It is clear to me that some law makers in this country and in this state do not value health care in the same way as I do, as a fundamental human right.”
Jane Laine, former Clinic Administrator of Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, testifying against MN HF 607 and 787. March 4, 2015.
“The record in that case reveals that many hospitals require an applicant for admitting privileges to meet a minimum admission requirement, which our physicians in Texas could not meet because the incidence of patient complications is so rare at Whole Woman’s Health clinics. This “Catch 22” makes it abundantly clear that these types of requirements have nothing to do with women’s health and safety—they are simply a disingenuous effort to cut off access for safe, legal, critical health care for women who have made the decision to end a pregnancy.”
Amy Hagstrom Miller, President and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against NM SB 437. March 3, 2015.
“Texas women and men deserve accurate information in all areas of their healthcare, as dictated by the medical profession and sound science.”
Andrea Ferrigno, Corporate Vice President of Whole Woman’s Health, testifying against TX HB 708 on behalf of the Trust. Respect. Access. coalition. April 22, 2015