Sexual and reproductive health equity means that all people have the access to high-quality health care and health-related social needs, legal rights, and power necessary to attain their highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing.
The National Health Law Program fights for a future marked by sexual and reproductive health equity for all through our Medicaid and nondiscrimination advocacy. We advocate for stronger implementation and enforcement of federal civil rights protections against sexual and reproductive health care discrimination. We push for solutions to Medicaid eligibility gaps that either target or affect underserved communities (e.g., the Medicaid expansion coverage gap and various immigrant coverage gaps). And we champion legal and policy reforms to strengthen underserved populations’ access to contraception, abortion, pregnancy care, assisted reproduction, sexual health care, and gender-affirming care for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, immigrants, and young people. This page features our related resources.
Discrimination in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
Protections Against Discrimination in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
- May 9, 2024
[Webinar] The Biden Administration’s Final Rule on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act: What You Need to Know
Read moreThe final Section 1557 regulation was recently released by the Office for Civil Rights. Implementing Section 1557 of the…
- May 9, 2024
Questions and Answers on the 2024 Final Rule Addressing Nondiscrimination Protections under the ACA’s Section 1557
Read moreThe Biden Administration finalized updates to the regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Section 1557 prohibits…
- May 2, 2024
HHS Addresses Post-Dobbs Barriers to Care for Chronic Health Conditions Through Section 1557 of the ACA
Read moreOn May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that the state-sanctioned forced sterilization of people with disabilities in public…
- December 12, 2023
Reproductive Health Care Pain Points: Raising The Standard of Care for Managing Pain From IUD Insertion and Removal
Read moreDeanna Hartog. NHeLP LegaI Intern, Summer 2023; J.D. Candidate, George Washington University Law SchoolSexism shapes the U.S. health care…
- November 15, 2023
Comments on Section 504 Proposed Rules: Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Health and Human Services
Jennifer Lav, Dania Douglas, Elizabeth Edwards, Charly Gilfoil, David Machledt, Madeline Morcelle, Carly Myers, Michelle Yiu, and Daniel Young CommentsRead moreNHeLP offered support and suggested critical ways to strengthen the first update to Section 504 regulations since 1977. The…
- October 3, 2022
NHeLP Comments on Section 1557 Proposed Rule
Mara Youdelman, Wayne Turner, Elizabeth Edwards, Madeline Morcelle, Abigail Coursolle, Charly Gilfoil, Jennifer Lav, Skyler Rosellini, Alicia Emanuel, Cat Duffy, Catherine McKee, Fabiola De Liban, David Machledt, Héctor Hernández-Delgado, Dania Douglas, and Carly Myers CommentsRead moreNHeLP submitted comments on the Department of Health and Human Services' Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement Section 1557…
- September 27, 2022
How Proposed Changes to Section 1557 Strengthen Protections Related to Pregnancy or Related Conditions, Including Abortion
Read moreSexism is deeply entrenched in every facet of our society, including the U.S. health care system. One of its…
- September 27, 2022
How the Proposed Section 1557 Rule Addresses Discrimination Based on Sex Stereotypes
Read moreSex stereotypes are stereotypical ideas about masculinity or femininity, such as expectations about how people should represent or communicate…
- August 6, 2020
Trump Administration’s Regulatory Rollback of Health Care Nondiscrimination Protections Incites Reproductive Health Injustice
Read moreSex discrimination is deeply entrenched in our health care system. In recent years, it has manifested as obstetric violence,…
- June 19, 2020
HHS Eliminates or Weakens Regulatory Protections Against Discrimination in Health Care
Read moreAs part of its ongoing attacks on health care and civil rights, the Trump administration recently finalized drastic changes…
- June 4, 2019
Q&A: Proposed Rollback of Nondiscrimination Protections Under the ACA’s Section 1557
Read moreIn courts and through regulatory action, the administration is vigorously working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On…
- January 9, 2015
Letter to HHS Office of Civil Rights on pending HIV discrimination complaint
Read moreThe National Health Law Program and The AIDS Institute (TAI) sent the attached letter to the HHS Office of…
Refusals of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
- January 29, 2024
HHS’s 2024 Final Rule on Health Care Refusals: What Health Advocates Need to Know
Read moreFederal health care refusal laws, such as the Weldon Amendment and the Church Amendments, govern when and how covered…
- January 12, 2024
HHS Office for Civil Rights Finalizes 2024 Health Care Refusal Regulations
Read moreThis week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a final rule,…
- March 7, 2023
National Health Law Program Comments on HHS’s Proposed Changes to Health Care Refusal Regulations
Read moreThe National Health Law Program submitted comments on the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) Notice of Proposed…
- December 20, 2022
NHeLP Recognizes that Health Care Refusals Harm Transgender and Gender Diverse People
Read moreTwo Courts of Appeal recently held that, in spite of Section 1557’s important protections against discrimination, including discrimination on…
- February 18, 2020
Comments on HHS Proposed Rule on Religiously-Affiliated Providers
Read moreHHS is attempting to roll back important protections for individuals seeking services from religiously-affiliated providers in a rulemaking it…
- July 19, 2019
Webinar: Final Conscience Regulation – Does the New HHS Rule Promote Injustice?
Read moreOn May 2, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the final version of its conscience…
- January 2, 2019
The Ethical & Religious Directives: What the 2018 Update Means for Catholic Hospital Mergers
Read moreThe Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) are directives promulgated by the United States Conference…
- November 29, 2018
National Health Law Program Analysis of California’s Conditional Merger of Catholic Hospitals
Read moreSenior Attorney Amy Chen provides analysis of the California Department of Justice's recent conditioned approval of Catholic health care…
- September 27, 2018
Health and Civil Rights Groups’ Comments on Calif. Proposed Merger of Catholic Health Systems
Read moreThe National Health Law Program along with more than 20 health, civil and human rights groups, filed comments with…
- March 27, 2018
National Health Law Program Urges HHS to Withdraw Conscience Rights Rule
Read moreIn comments to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the National Health Law Program urges it…
- March 26, 2018
NHeLP Comments to HHS on Proposal for Religious Groups and Health Services
Read moreIn comments to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), National Health Law Program urges it to…
- December 6, 2017
NHeLP Comments: HHS Rule on Religious Exemption from ACA Birth Control Provision
Read moreThe Trump administration's effort to weaken, if not destroy, the Affordable Care Act's landmark birth control provision, also includes…
- December 6, 2017
NHeLP Comments: HHS Rule on Moral Exemptions from ACA Birth Control Provision
Read moreThe Trump administration's "Interim Final Rule for Moral Exemptions and Accommodations" for the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s contraceptions provision…
- August 18, 2016
Letters to Walgreens & SSM Health Medical Group
Read moreIn letters to Walgreens and Catholic-sponsored SSM Health Medical Group, NHeLP and the ACLU of Illinois, ACLU of Missouri…
- July 23, 2013
Health Care Refusals: Undermining Quality Care for Women
Read moreFor full publication text, download document.The executive summary to this report can be found here.
- July 23, 2013
Reproductive Health Services and Expansion of Religious Health Entities: Bill I
Read moreThis paper discusses a California bill aimed at ensuring access to reproductive health services despite the expansion of religious…
- July 23, 2013
Catholic Health Systems Getting Bigger
Read moreCatholic Health Systems Getting Bigger April 1999 Catholic Institutions alone control 600 hospitals, 140,000 hospital beds,…
Population Health Equity
Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity for People of Color
- September 23, 2024
Reproductive Justice Values for Universal Health Care Reform
Read moreThe Medicaid and Reproductive Justice (RJ) Collaborative is comprised of Advocates for Youth, In Our Own Voice: National Black…
- September 23, 2024
Reproductive Justice Principles for Universal Health Care Reform
Read moreThe Medicaid and Reproductive Justice (RJ) Collaborative is comprised of Advocates for Youth, In Our Own Voice: National Black…
- August 21, 2023
Addressing the Lack of Proper Maternal Mental Health Care for Black Pregnant and Birthing People
Kendajah Cummings and Amy Chen Intern BlogsRead more* Kendajah Cummings was a communications intern at NHeLP in the summer of 2023.The United States has long struggled…
- June 2, 2023
[Webinar] Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights and Justice
Read moreThis session provides an overview of Medicaid and private insurance coverage of the full range of reproductive health services,…
- April 11, 2022
Fostering Maternal Health Equity Through Budget Reconciliation
Read moreThree Critical Opportunities for The Next PackageThe United States has the worst maternal mortality ratio among high-income countries. For…
- November 3, 2021
Support for the Historic Momnibus & Postpartum Medicaid Investments in the Build Back Better Act
Read moreThe National Health Law Program joined dozens of organizations calling on Congress to include strong maternal health provisions in…
- June 28, 2021
Closing The Medicaid Coverage Gap: Preventing a Separate and Unequal Result
Read moreExpanding Medicaid is an urgent moral, anti-racist, health equity, reproductive justice, and economic imperative. Yet today, policymakers in twelve…
- May 6, 2021
State Momnibus Bills Take Aim at the Black Maternal Mortality Epidemic
Helen Mun* and Madeline Morcelle california, Health Equity, Homepage, SRH Health EquityRead moreOur country is in the throes of a Black maternal mortality epidemic. Black birthing people are three to four…
- April 14, 2021
It’s Black Maternal Health Week. We Need Bold Federal Legislative Solutions to Save Black Lives
Madeline Morcelle and Helen Mun* california, Health Equity, Homepage, SRH Health EquityRead moreThe people closest to the problems are closest to the solutionsIt’s Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW)—a time for awareness,…
- March 12, 2021
American Rescue Plan Act Takes Landmark Step Toward Ending Our Black and Indigenous Maternal Mortality Epidemic
Read moreWith the stroke of a pen on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of…
- August 10, 2018
Fact Sheet: Medicaid & Reproductive Justice
Read moreReproductive justice is a social movement rooted in the belief that all individuals and communities should have the resources…
Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity for People with Disabilities
- May 2, 2024
The Disability Community Deserves Inclusive and Accessible Doula Care
Read moreOn May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that the state-sanctioned forced sterilization of people with disabilities in public…
- May 2, 2024
Contraceptive Access: A Disability Equity Issue
Read moreOn May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that the state-sanctioned forced sterilization of people with disabilities in public…
- May 2, 2024
HHS Addresses Post-Dobbs Barriers to Care for Chronic Health Conditions Through Section 1557 of the ACA
Read moreOn May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that the state-sanctioned forced sterilization of people with disabilities in public…
- May 2, 2024
Why Medicaid Abortion Coverage is a Disability Equity Imperative
Read moreOn May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that the state-sanctioned forced sterilization of people with disabilities in public…
- November 15, 2023
Comments on Section 504 Proposed Rules: Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Health and Human Services
Jennifer Lav, Dania Douglas, Elizabeth Edwards, Charly Gilfoil, David Machledt, Madeline Morcelle, Carly Myers, Michelle Yiu, and Daniel Young CommentsRead moreNHeLP offered support and suggested critical ways to strengthen the first update to Section 504 regulations since 1977. The…
- November 13, 2023
Sign-On Comments on Section 504 NPRM from Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice and Gender Justice Organizations
Read moreThe National Health Law Program, National Partnership for Women and Families, and National Women's Law Center co-authored sign-on comments…
- July 23, 2013
Fact Sheet: Women with Disabilities and Legal Issues Concerning Reproductive Health
External Source and Andy DiAntonio Issue BriefRead moreThis fact sheet describes significant reproductive health-related legal issues that women with disabilities may face. Women with disabilities are…
Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity for Immigrants
- June 3, 2024
Addressing Language Access for Reproductive Telehealth Care
RHITES, COLOR Latina, Frontera Fund, and National Health Law Program (NHeLP) Fact SheetRead moreRHITES latest factsheet created in partnership with COLOR Latina, Frontera Fund and the National Health Law Program dives deeper…
- July 27, 2023
How the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act Could Foster Reproductive Health Equity and Justice
Read moreThe United States (U.S.) has a long history of regulating and restricting immigrants’ self-determination over their health, bodies, reproduction,…
- May 10, 2021
Webinar: Public Charge and Reproductive Justice Administrative Advocacy
Read moreThis webinar from the Medicaid and Reproductive Justice Collaborative addressed administrative advocacy and how reproductive justice advocates can engage…
- March 4, 2021
NHeLP attorney Madeline Morcelle publishes op-ed with Rewire News Group
Read moreNHeLP attorney Madeline Morcelle published an op-ed with Rewire News Group on how the Trump-era public charge rule harms…
- January 11, 2021
Im/migrant Detention is Reproductive Injustice
Read moreFor the past four years, the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security has committed a litany of human…
- October 19, 2020
What Public Charge Means for Reproductive Justice
Read moreUpdate: As of March 9, 2021, the Trump-era public charge regulations are no longer in effect. The Biden administration published…
- July 23, 2013
APHA Adopts Policies on Reproductive Health, Immigrant Health
Read more�This brief describes NHeLP contributions to two key policies related to reproductive health and immigrant health adopted by the…
Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity for LGBTQI+ People
- June 27, 2024
California TGI Inclusive Care Act Working Group Recommends Training Curriculum and Quality Standards
Rory Peters and Skyler Rosellini california, Intern BlogsRead moreLast year the TGI Inclusive Care Act went into effect. Senate Bill 923 aims to protect the right of…
- March 15, 2024
NHeLP, Whitman-Walker Institute, and Fenway Institute Comment on NCQA’s Changes to Cross-Cutting Quality Measures in 2025
Read moreNHeLP and partners Whitman-Walker Institute and Fenway Institute commented in support of the proposed gender-inclusive adjustment to NCQA's chlamydia…
- May 9, 2023
The LGBTQ+ Community Deserves Access to Inclusive and Affirming Doula Care
Read moreThe unique strengths of doula care can benefit the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Plus (LGBTQ+) community through…
- May 2, 2023
Protect Medicaid Funding Issue #12: LGBTQI+ People
Read moreAs part of our Protect Medicaid Funding series, NHeLP provides succinct analysis of the policy proposals that if enacted…
- April 3, 2023
National Health Law Program Comments on the DEA’s Proposed Rule on Telemedicine Prescribing of Controlled Medications
Read moreThe National Health Law Program (NHeLP) submitted comments on the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, "Telemedicine…
- December 20, 2022
NHeLP Recognizes that Health Care Refusals Harm Transgender and Gender Diverse People
Read moreTwo Courts of Appeal recently held that, in spite of Section 1557’s important protections against discrimination, including discrimination on…
- September 15, 2022
How Changes to Section 1557 will Improve Health Care for LGBTQI+ People
Read moreLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and plus people have historically faced discrimination in health care settings. Their health…
- June 13, 2022
Health Care Refusals & How They Undermine Standards of Care Part II: The Impact of Health Care Refusals, Discrimination, and Mistreatment on LGBTQ Patients and Families
Read more*Co-authored with Hayley Penan*This is Part II of the National Health Law Program’s two part blog series on the…
- January 31, 2022
Gender-Affirming Care for Youth is Still Good Health Care
Read moreLast year we wrote that “Laws should not serve as a weapon to criminalize and discriminate against our transgender…
- November 29, 2021
Increasing Access to Testosterone to improve the lives of Transmasculine People
Read moreTransgender and gender-expansive people in the U.S. face a variety of barriers to accessing the health care they need.…
- June 21, 2019
Medicaid as an LGBTQ Reproductive Justice Issue: A Primer
Read moreThe reproductive justice framework is rooted in the belief that all individuals and communities should have the resources and…
- April 8, 2019
How Medicaid Work Requirements Harm Women, LGBTQ People
Read moreHealth care advocates celebrated when a federal judge recently blocked Medicaid waiver projects in Kentucky and Arkansas that condition…
Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity for Young People
- January 8, 2024
Accessing Contraceptives in Florida: A Toolkit for Young Adults
Christina Piecora, Liz McCaman Taylor, Madeline Morcelle, Kally Xu, Andrea Schmidt, Logan Foster, and Charlotte Cassel ToolkitRead moreThis Toolkit was created in partnership with the Florida Health Justice Project (FHJP) with the goal of equipping young…
- August 29, 2023
Resources for California Foster Youth: Sexual, Reproductive, and Mental Health Medi-Cal Services
Read moreCurrent and former foster youth in the Medi-Cal program have access to a broad array of reproductive, sexual, and…
- January 31, 2022
Gender-Affirming Care for Youth is Still Good Health Care
Read moreLast year we wrote that “Laws should not serve as a weapon to criminalize and discriminate against our transgender…
- September 10, 2018
Health Care Coverage for Pregnant and Parenting Teens in California
Read moreIntroductionTeens who become pregnant face a different set of challenges when accessing and receiving health care services as compared…
- July 20, 2015
State Recommendations to Include Sexuality Education in Health Care Delivery
Jamille Fields Issue BriefRead moreThis brief outlines recommendations that advocates can use to encourage their states to include sexuality education in health care…
- October 14, 2014
Health Advocate: EPSDT Screening: Including Sexuality Education in Health Education
Read moreUnder Medicaid and some Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), youth are eligible to receive the Early and Periodic Screening,…
- July 2, 2014
Sexuality Education in Health Care Delivery for Medicaid and CHIP-Eligible Youth
Jamille Fields Issue BriefRead moreThis issue brief discusses the health education component of the EPSDT medical screens required for Medicaid and some CHIP-eligible…
- July 23, 2013
Adolescent Medicaid Enrollees Seeking Reproductive Health Care More Likely to b
Read moreAdolescent Medicaid Enrollees Seeking Reproductive Health Services Have Increased Risk of Abuse and Criminal ActivityPosted by: Jamie D. BrooksThe…