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Washington’s Football Team Must Change Its Toxic Culture—Not Just Its

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Post’s extensive reporting on years of sexual harassment and verbal abuse directed at female employees, and ignored or condoned by top executives within Washington’s football organization is shocking, but not surprising.  The culture of contempt for women, violence against women, and disregard for women’s safety has long been a blight on the NFL. 

Team owner Daniel Snyder has done the easy part by issuing a statement designed to deal with today’s headlines, but we’re watching to see what his team—and the NFL do moving forward.  We’ve seen these empty words and promises before. Too often, sports teams and leagues have proven that profit is their sole priority. They see this as a PR problem they think they can fix by shuffling their staff, hiring lawyers, and making vague promises to do better in the future. 

NOW has long spoken out against the NFL’s culture that treats women—whether they’re cheerleaders, team staff, or intimate partners of players—as sex objects, playthings, or targets of abuse.  But the league persists with half-measures, empty gestures and circling the wagons–as Daniel Snyder is doing by hiring the same lawyer Brett Kavanaugh retained to defend him against charges of sexual assault to conduct a review of the team’s culture, policies and allegations of workplace misconduct.   

Washington’s football team thinks it can erase decades of racism by changing its name, and decades of sexism by firing a few executives.  But women—who are pro football’s fastest growing fan demographic—won’t settle for window dressing.  The toxic culture has to change—today.  Enough is enough.  

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

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National Coalition of Progressive Groups Push DNC To Adopt Bold, Inclusive Vision for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice in 2020

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a joint statement this week, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Ultraviolet Action, National Organization for Women (NOW), National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Population Connection Action Fund, and All* Above All Action Fund called on the Democratic Party to deepen its advocacy for reproductive freedom. Together, the organizations wish to see the DNC reaffirm priorities from the 2016 platform and build upon them throughout the platform-writing process.  

“We the undersigned groups unite to ask that the Democratic Party reaffirm key proposals included in the 2016 platform — including ending the Hyde Amendment — and use this year’s platform drafting process as an opportunity to build upon those policies. We ask that the party outline a bold and inclusive vision for the future of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice in this country. Access to reproductive health care services, including abortion, is central to justice and economic advancement and should not be contingent on a person’s income, insurance coverage, citizenship, or where they live. Further, sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice intersect with other issues that the party is invested in, including gender equity, racial justice, and economic justice, making our mission-critical and urgent. We seek to not only undo the harm caused by the previous administration but strive for a more just future for all.” 

For more details about the policy proposals and principles that these leading organizations wish to see implemented, visit the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice.  

“Given the Trump Administration’s attacks on coverage and the Hyde amendment remaining in the FY21 Appropriations bills, the 2020 platform must make a commitment to ending all coverage bans, including the Hyde Amendment. Additionally, the pandemic highlights the need for accessible telemedicine, including abortion care. We hope to see a commitment to expanding medication abortion care in the platform. And, as the nation rises up against police violence and white supremacy, this year’s platform must center Black, Indigenous, and people of color as the most impacted by restrictions on abortion access, the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, state violence, and racism in health care. We are reimagining the post-pandemic world where each of us can get the care we need, including abortion care; make a living wage; and live free from violence.” – Destiny Lopez, co-director of the All* Above All Action Fund 

“Reproductive freedom is fundamental — and yet our rights to make our own personal decisions about what is best for our lives and our futures continue to face unprecedented attacks from anti-choice extremists at the behest of the Radical Right. It’s clear that those hostile to our freedom will do whatever it takes to advance their agenda of power and control, no matter the cost, including exploiting a pandemic to ban abortion. That’s why Democrats must be unequivocal in standing up for reproductive freedom by fighting to expand access to abortion including through telemedicine, securing nondiscrimination policies in health care, and ending anti-choice policies like the Helms Amendment and the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which perpetuate barriers that communities of color and those with low incomes disproportionately face in accessing time-sensitive and needed care. Reproductive freedom is for every body, full stop, and the Democratic platform must reflect this critical truth and do all it can to make it a reality.”  – Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America  

“The 2020 Democratic Party platform must commit to comprehensive improvements that provide access to a full range of reproductive health care. This includes expansion of telemedicine for abortion care, medication abortion, contraceptive coverage, and expansion of critical services such as prenatal care. They must commit to explicitly opposing all kinds of coverage bans (including the Hyde Amendment), ending forced sterilization, and prioritizing maternal health in the Black community. As our coalition partners have articulated, the party platform must address the need for racial equity and make a significant effort to center the lives of Black and Indigenous women and LGBTQIA+ populations, who are most impacted by political attempts to restrict abortion and reproductive care. Moving forward, the Democratic Party must make a commitment to proactively seek justice for these communities, whose support has been taken for granted for far too long.” – Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW)    

“For almost four long years, the Trump administration has mounted an offensive against our bodily autonomy and freedom, and against the fundamental right of women and girls to live, learn, and work with safety, dignity, and equality. Our country is at a tipping point, reckoning with generations-old systems of oppression that have created the moment we are in today: battling racial injustice at every level of society, and clearing the rubble from a devastating global pandemic. If the Democratic Party wants to lead the American people from relief to recovery to prosperity – to truly create a brighter future for this country – its platform must center the right to abortion, access to equitable health care, and the needs of people of color and LGBTQ+ communities. Now is the time to create a more just world that ensures people have access to the reproductive health care they need when they need it, and without discrimination, barriers, or stigma.” – Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund 

“Since day one, the Trump administration has undermined access to sexual and reproductive health and undercut our health safety net, with a devastating impact on Black and brown people, women, immigrants, and families with low incomes. The Democratic Party has an opportunity to present a better, bolder, and more inclusive vision to the American people when it comes to health care access and reproductive justice, and recommit ourselves to the values that guide us. Planned Parenthood Action Fund and our partners stand together in the belief that health care is a right, not a privilege, and the Democratic Party must fight for equitable access to affordable, quality sexual and reproductive health care — for every individual’s control over their economic futures, and bodily autonomy.”- Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund 

“As the Trump administration continues to display its utter contempt for the lives and well-being of people around the world, it’s more vital than ever for the Democratic Party to stand up for the rights of women and families. For too long, harmful restrictions on reproductive health care like the global gag rule and the Helms Amendment have denied people around the world full access to the services they need. The Democratic Party should stand proudly for health, empowerment, and rights for people everywhere and call for repeal of these dangerous restrictions.” – Brian Dixon, senior vice president, Population Connection Action Fund 

 “Women, especially Black and brown women, are the bedrock of the Democratic Party. The needs of our communities need to be central to the party’s platform and vision. And that includes the full spectrum of basic health care needs. Access to abortion, including medication abortion and abortion later in pregnancy, needs to be protected and expanded. Birth control and gender-affirming procedures need to be available to all who need it. Restrictions and coverage bans, like the Hyde Amendment, must be repealed. The Trump administration has wreaked havoc on our basic right to bodily sovereignty and respect, pushing its extremist anti-woman white supremacist agenda. The brunt of these attacks, by intention, falls on the backs of Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income people. That is unacceptable. There is a fierce urgency now as our communities weather a devastating pandemic, horrific state violence, maternal mortality, and fight against the weight of centuries of economic and political oppression. Now is the time for the Democratic Party to walk alongside our communities in advancing reproductive health for all.” – Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director, UltraViolet Action 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

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SCOTUS Ruling on Birth Control Endangers Reproductive Health of Millions

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WASHINGTON ,D.C. – Religion is no excuse for bigotry—but the Supreme Court has carved out a new exemption for employers who want to impose their personal beliefs over the health and rights of their workers. 

By allowing virtually any employer or university to opt-out of the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that contraception be covered by insurance plans without out-of-pocket costs, the Court is leaving millions of women out in the cold—and endangering their health.   

More than 61 million women currently have ACA coverage of birth control, many of them low-wage workers, people of color, LGBTQIA+ workers, and others who cannot afford to absorb higher costs.  Access to birth control is integral to the health and livelihood of many, and its coverage is especially critical as we navigate the ongoing economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unintended pregnancy can be deadly—it’s closely correlated with infant mortality, maternal mortality, and increased risk of domestic violence homicide.  By giving the green light to the Trump Administration’s expansion of the so-called “conscience” exemptions to the ACA, the Court’s decision is creating a health-care disaster, putting the reproductive health of millions at risk. 

This decision reaffirms the commitment of NOW activists to take back the Senate and elect more feminists to office. We will be watching this case as it goes back to lower courts, and will be reminding voters this November that the makeup of the Supreme Court has everything to do with their reproductive rights.  Today’s decision is by no means the end of this story. 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

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Florida NOW’s purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls.

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