For Immediate Release: January 24, 2025
Contact:
Lasamee Kettavong, media@napawf.org
Aurea Bolaños Perea, media@latinainstitute.org
Kindeya Chiaro, inourownvoice@berlinrosen.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today marks a pivotal moment in the fight for equity and dignity as Intersections of Our Lives (Intersections)–a collaborative of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda (In Our Own Voice), and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute)–celebrates the creation of the Reproductive Justice Task Force (RJ Task Force).
Formed under the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus, the RJ Task Force will work to protect and expand rights that secure healthy lives, families, and communities for women and gender expansive individuals. Intersections applauds this bold step toward building a society where all people can thrive without fear, discrimination, or barriers to accessing essential healthcare.
Leading the RJ Task Force as Chair is Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (OH-13) a steadfast advocate for economic justice, community safety, and accessible healthcare, including reproductive healthcare.
“Rep. Sykes has been a fierce advocate in the fight to protect access to reproductive health care, and we are thrilled that she will be chairing the RJ Task Force,” said Regina Davis Moss, President and CEO of In Our Own Voice. “Black communities continue to be disproportionately impacted by the onslaught of attacks from anti-choice leaders that threaten to undo decades of hard-fought progress. We look forward to partnering with Rep. Sykes and the RJ Task Force on advancing policies that will allow Black women, girls and gender expansive people to make healthy decisions about their families and their lives.”
“We look forward to working with Rep. Sykes and the RJ Task Force to advance critical efforts that will allow all of us to decide for ourselves if and when to have children and to be able to parent those children in safe and sustainable communities,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, executive director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “Communities of color, including Latinas/xs, are the most affected by abortion bans and systemic barriers to healthcare, and im/migrants are devastated by the constant attacks on our freedom to make our own decisions about our bodies and lives. We must keep fighting for a country with reproductive justice for all.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Chair Sykes and the RJ Task Force to advance a vision where every person has the agency and power to make decisions about their bodies, health, and families with dignity and safety,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of NAPAWF. “Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities–and all communities of color–are disproportionately impacted by barriers to healthcare. Through our work as a collaborative and with the task force, we are committed to dismantling these barriers and ensuring access to comprehensive health services free from stigma and discrimination.”
Since 2016, Intersections has united as a collaborative to advance civil rights, justice, and reproductive health, under a human rights framework that asserts every person’s right to control their body, sexuality, gender, labor, and reproduction. Earlier this year, Intersections released its Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda 2025, a roadmap to addressing the urgent realities facing our communities. This agenda outlines concrete steps toward a future where everyone can make decisions about their bodies and families free from fear, restriction, or injustice.
As we celebrate this milestone, Intersections recommits to its mission of advocacy and policy advancement to ensure the voices of women of color and gender-expansive individuals are heard, centered, and amplified in every decision that impacts their lives.
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Intersections of Our Lives is a collaboration of In Our Own Voice: National Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda (In Our Own Voice), the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute), three women of color-led national Reproductive Justice organizations with both a federal and statewide presence. For more information about Intersections of Our Lives visit: IntersectionsofOurLives.org.
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