I AM A LOOKING TO GO

Reproductive Justice Includes Healthcare & Food Security

AMSA Reproductive Health Project eNews #58 – November 8, 2025

Greetings from the AMSA Reproductive Health Project!

When you think about Reproductive Justice, what comes to your mind? Affordable and accessible family planning, including abortion care? Certainly. An emphasis on the universal human right to bodily autonomy? Most definitely! An urgent call to address the maternal mortality crisis? Absolutely yes! But what about SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits? What about healthcare coverage? What about voting rights? A resounding yes, yes, and yes! These too are essential components for Reproductive Justice.

This year, crossing the threshold into November hasn’t only meant that we are just that much deeper into Autumn, and just that much closer to the end of the year. 

For over 40 million people in the US, the beginning of November this year
brought with it the nightmare scenario of no deposits into their monthly
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit funds. 

This unprecedented reality is due to the record-breaking shutdown of the US Federal Government and the Trump administration’s failure to comply with court orders to fund SNAP benefits despite the government shutdown. Without these (meager) safety net funds, tens of millions of people, including 16 million children under 18, will be pushed closer to the brink of food insecurity, or pushed deeper into a systemic crisis of a persistent lack of access to nutritious food. 

At the same time, individuals and families who purchase their health insurance through the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace are seeing insurance policy rate increases on a scale that will push health insurance affordability beyond the reach of millions, due to the Republican Party’s refusal, thus far, to renew the ACA premium subsidies which are set to expire at the end of this year. 

“Unless Congress acts, nearly 22 million people will see their health care costs
dramatically rise or will lose their health coverage altogether.” (CBPP

When nutritious food is not accessible, when healthcare is unaffordable, people cannot sustain themselves or their families (let alone thrive and flourish), and this is a reproductive injustice! The fourth principle of the Reproductive Justice Movement declares that people have the universal human right to having families and raising children in safe, supportive, and sustainable communities. Feminists have long pointed out that the personal is political and the political is personal. The outcomes of this week’s elections show that collectively, the people have the power to push back against and even put a stop to unjust, harmful, and cruel policies. 

Food. Water. Housing. Clothing, Education. Healthcare.
These are fundamental, universal human rights which no one should be denied

The election outcomes this week across the country are a step in the right direction. But we, the people, have much more work to do. So, let’s do it! Together!

###

See Who Benefits from SNAP in YOUR State, Learn More About ACA Premium Tax Credits,
Find Resources to Advance Health & Reproductive Justice below

Average Monthly SNAP Benefits Per Person

Click Map to See SNAP Benefit Amount for YOUR State
Source: KFF State Health Policy Data

SNAP State Fact Sheets

Click Map to See Who Benefits from SNAP in YOUR  State

Source: State-by-State Fact Sheets, CBPP

Households Most Affected by SNAP Pause

Click Map to See How Many People are Affected in YOUR County

Source: Map: See the number of SNAP participants by county as benefit lapse looms, The Hill

ACA Premium Increases if Tax Credits Expire by Congressional District

 

Click Map to See Potential Premium Payment Increases in YOUR Congressional District

Source: Congressional District Interactive Map: How Much Will ACA Premium Payments Rise if Enhanced Subsidies Expire? – KFF

Additional Resources:

  • The Importance of Premium Tax Credits: Affording Health Insurance Coast to Coast – National and State Fact Sheets, Families USA – Link 
  • 4 Tips for Navigating Higher ACA Health Care Premiums, PBS News Hour – Link
  • ACA Premium Tax Credit Calculator, KFF – Link
  • Window Shopping Tools for State-Based Market Places, CBPP – Link
  • ACA Open Enrollment Nov 1 – Jan 15 – 2026 GuideLink
  • Find Local HelpHealthcare.gov

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Spotlight from AMSA Summer Abortion Care & Reproductive Justice Institutes


Action Tools & Resources


AMSA
Repro Justice Summer Institutes 

4 Opportunities
Full Scholarships

Apply Today!

AMSA HEART-IM & Repro Justice Retreat

Santa Cruz Mountains
March 29 – April 25, 2026

Apply by Dec 15

Clinical Skills Workshops

Virtual & In-person

Advocacy Training 

Virtual & In-person

AMSA Repro eNewsletter

Special Delivery
Right to
Your In-box

Sign-up Today!

Explore Past Issues

 

Research, Recordings, Opportunities


  • Nov 9 LAST CALL for Fall 2025 AMSA Reproductive Health Mentorship Sprint – Sign-up by Sunday Nov 9 – Link
  • Nov 12 Online @ 1-2pmE – What Are Crisis Pregnancy Centers? Ask Us Anything Town Hall, Center for Reproductive Rights – Link
  • Nov 18-19 Online @12-5pmE – COMS Project SummitLink
    • FLASH SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS available to AMSA members through the AMSA Repro Project
      DEADLINE: Monday, Nov 10 Noon ET to be included with our group registration – email bmartin@amsa.org
  • Clinic Adaptations and Changes in Abortion Use After Dobbs in Illinois, July 2021–June 2023, AJPH – Link
  • Mandating Parental Notice for Abortion Causes Harm to Young People, If/When/How & Human Rights Watch – Link
  • Stillbirths in the United States,  JAMA – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Checklists for management of pregnancies complicated by stillbirth, Pregnancy – Link
  • Whose Abortion Is It? If/When/How – Link
  • Conscientious Objection in the U.S. Amidst Diminishing Abortion Rights and Access Across the Country, Global Justice Center – Link
  • Reproductive Justice Denied: The Structural Violence of Recent Federal Health Care Cuts, University of Minnesota School of Public Health – Link
    • Deeper Dives:
    • Reproductive Justice Principles for Universal Health Care Reform, National Health Law Program – Link
    • Reproductive Justice Values for Federal Universal Health Care Reform – Link

Abortion Care & Reproductive Health in the News


  • What Tuesday’s Elections Mean for the Future of Abortion Rights, The Guardian – Link
  • Losing SNAP could mean more pregnancy complications as food insecurity grows, News From The States – Link
  • Abortion Bans Can Hinder Life-Saving Care for Pregnant Patients with Lung Disease or Medical Crises—Study, Rewire News Group – Link
    • Deeper Dive: US Physicians’ Perceived Impacts of Abortion Bans in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, CHEST Journal – Link
  • ‘Love brings you home’: A 100-year-old family secret and the librarian refusing to bury it: When Erin Moulton learned what really happened to her great-aunt, she couldn’t ignore the echoes of today’s fights over reproductive rights. The 19th – Link
  • NY judge dismisses legal challenge from Texas in early test of abortion shield law – ABC News – Link
  • Cecile Richards launched a reproductive rights group before she died. Now its new legal practice promises to ‘hold someone accountable’ for harm caused by abortion bans, Fortune – Link
  • Threats to Contraception, Stanford Law Review – Link
  • FDA Is Investigating the Abortion Pill Mifepristone despite Decades of Studies Showing It’s Safe, Scientific American – Link
  • ‘Mife No Matter What’: Community Abortion Providers Pledge to Continue Sharing Free Abortion Pills, Even if FDA Imposes Restrictions, Ms. Magazine – Link
  • Ohio experts trust decades of medical evidence on abortion drug safety as federal review requested, Ohio Capital Journal – Link
  • Court hears argument on Pa. law restricting Medicaid funds for abortions, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Link
  • Telemedicine abortion requests doubled after Dobbs, UW study says, Seattle Times – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Distance to Care and Telehealth Abortion Demand After Dobbs, JAMA – Link
  • [AR] UAMS Receives $4 Million to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Ashley and Union Counties, UAMS News – Link
  • [AZ] Arizona doctors fight abortion restrictions in court, AXIOS Phoenix – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Doctors challenge Arizona abortion laws as unconstitutional burden on patients: Reproductive rights groups argue laws violate the fundamental right to abortion that voters created in last year’s election, AZ Mirror – Link
  • [FL] ‘Unborn child’ wrongful death bill reignites abortion rights debate in Florida, Tallahassee Democrat – Link
  • [GA] Mom of Georgia woman who died seeking abortion care is turning pain into purpose, The Georgia mom said she won’t stop speaking out, after a maternal mortality review board found her daughter’s death preventable. 11 Alive – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Fact Sheet Georgia Medicaid Coverage of Sexual and Reproductive Health, National Health Law Program – Link
  • [IA] Rural health care providers tell Sand about residency needs, abortion ban impacts, Iowa Capital Dispatch – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Iowa doesn’t have enough OB-GYNs. Is the state’s abortion ban part of the problem? NPR – Link
  • [ID] While some states fight to restore Title X family planning funding, Idaho chooses to forfeit it, News From The States – Link
  • Illinois Abortion Clinics See 35% Surge in Procedures Post-Dobbs, Hoodline – Link
  • [NE] Pillen signs executive order barring abortion providers from participating in Medicaid, Nebraska Public Media – Link
  • [NJ] People seeking abortions later in pregnancy could soon get them in NJ, New Jersey Monitor – Link
  • [NY] Abortion resources shared with city residents during Queens Borough Cabinet meeting, QNS – Link
  • [KY] Kentuckians face barriers to vaginal birth after C-section, study finds, Kentucky Lantern – Link
  • Michigan House oversight hearing sets stage for bills targeting adolescent gender-affirming care, Michigan Advance – Link
  • Missouri legalized abortion 1 year ago. Here’s what’s happened since the landmark vote, Missouri Independent – Link
  • [OH] Doctors, groups opposed to abortion testify in support of ‘Baby Olivia Act’, NBC4 WCMH-TV – Link
    • Deeper Dive: Ohio anti-abortion advocates support Baby Olivia Act; lawmakers question showing it to third graders, Ohio Capital Journal – Link
  • [VA] Democrats hold on to Virginia House, a win for the future of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights: Measures on abortion rights, marriage equality, redistricting and more hung on the balance as voters decided on control of the state’s lower chamber. – Link
  • [VA] How soon could abortion, redistricting amendments reach Va. voters after Tuesday’s election? WTOP News – Link
  • Wisconsin GOP lawmakers consider legal definition of abortion, separate from miscarriage care: GOP authors say it will clarify how providers should discuss procedures that are used both for abortions and for safely managing pregnancy loss or complications, Wisconsin Public Radio – Link
  • [WI] Wisconsin AG challenges tax-exempt status for religious nonprofits, Independent abortion clinics see activity spike – WPR – Link