Readout of White House Meeting with State Legislators on Expanding Training for Reproductive Health Care
Today, Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council, and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, chaired a working meeting with state legislators from 11 states on actions to expand training opportunities for reproductive health care providers.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, extremist officials in more than a dozen states are enforcing laws that make it a crime for health care professionals to provide abortion care. Beyond the devastating impact on women, state abortion bans jeopardize the ability to train the next generation of medical providers on routine, evidence-based reproductive health care. Many new physicians may not be able to receive the training they need to provide essential and timely health care services, such as care for pregnancy loss.
In the meeting, state legislators shared steps they are taking to expand access to training for reproductive health care providers. California has enacted legislation and allocated $20 million to fund targeted provider recruitment, retention, and training. Maryland and New Jersey have also allocated funds to support clinical training, and states across the country are building on existing steps to support reproductive health care providers. Just this week, Illinois passed a comprehensive reproductive rights package including provisions to grant out-of-state practitioners a temporary license to practice in Illinois under certain circumstances.
White House Senior Officials thanked the state leaders for their work and ongoing partnership with the White House to protect access to reproductive health care. Their leadership stands in stark contrast to Republican elected officials focused on banning abortion and criminalizing providers.
State leaders included:
- California Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris
- Connecticut Representative Matt Blumenthal
- Delaware Senator Kyle Gay
- Illinois Representative Kelly Cassidy
- Maryland Delegate Ariana Kelly
- Massachusetts Representative Aaron Michlewitz
- Nevada Assemblymember Michelle Gorelow
- New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Cari Fais
- New Mexico Senator Linda Lopez
- New York Senator Liz Krueger
- Oregon Representative Andrea Valderrama
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