(WHITE HOUSE – October 4, 2022) – Today, the President and Vice President will attend the second meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access and deliver remarks. Speakers include Jamila Perritt, M.D.
Dr. Perritt is a fellowship-trained, board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH), a physician-led organization that mobilizes the medical community, educating and organizing providers, using medicine and science to advance access to reproductive health care for all people.
She has a comprehensive background in family planning and has worked for more than 20 years in the reproductive health, rights, and justice spaces. She provides on-the-ground, community-based care focusing primarily on the intersection of sexual health, reproductive rights, and social justice.
BACKGROUND
Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris are convening the second meeting of the President’s Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access since the Dobbs decision.
In the 100 days since Dobbs, we’ve seen a wave of Republican officials taking radical steps at the national and state level that jeopardize women’s health and rights. As a result, millions of women cannot access critical health care and doctors and nurses are facing criminal penalties – including being thrown in jail – for providing health care.
These extreme abortion bans also have consequences that extend beyond abortion, including reports of women being denied prescriptions at pharmacies to treat miscarriage and conditions like arthritis and cancer, and threats to contraception, including for college students.
The Biden Administration is committed to doing everything in its power to protect women’s rights for no matter where they live. But the President has been clear: the only way to fully protect a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to act by codifying Roe v. Wade into law.
In today’s Task Force meeting, the President and Vice President will hear directly from healthcare providers in states that have banned abortion and states experiencing an influx of women seeking reproductive health care because of abortion bans in surrounding states.
Coinciding with the Task Force meeting, the Administration is taking a series of steps to affirm women’s rights and access to reproductive health care services, including:
The Department of Education is releasing a new resource to colleges and universities reminding them of their obligation under Title IX to protect students from discrimination based on pregnancy related conditions, including termination of pregnancy.
The Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $6 million in new Title X family planning grants to protect access to affordable, quality family planning services and other preventive health care, including contraception.