July 2021 was the first time in more than four decades that the House of Representatives passed a package of spending bills without draconian provisions banning federal funding for most abortions in the U.S. and aboad.
Groundswell Action Fund grantee All* Above All Action Fund (A*AA AF) played an instrumental role in this historic moment.
Image courtesy of All* Above All Action Fund
Founded in 2014, A*AA AF is the first reproductive justice organization dedicated to building the political power necessary to lift all bans that deny abortion coverage, and expand public funding for abortion coverage. Since the passage of the Hyde Amendment in 1976, the federal government has withheld abortion coverage from pregnant people insured through the Medicaid program.
All* Above All Action Fund is the first and only coalition led by women of color that is mobilizing to repeal the Hyde Amendment. The organization advances a vision of self-determination, dignity, and personal decision-making for all women, regardless of race, geography, or income level.
Image courtesy of All* Above All Action Fund
In 2019, All* Above All launched their Road Trip, which stopped in key locations including debate sites and other Presidential campaign stops. They also hosted reproductive justice (RJ) round table conversations with national RJ leaders and presidential campaign staff in Houston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
What’s more, to mark the 44th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, the Action Fund broadcast a Facebook live event with Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Barbara Lee that had over 7,000 views and calls to repeal the Hyde Amendment. The Action Fund also testified before the Democratic Platform Committee to ensure that repeal of Hyde and a larger vision of RJ was central to its platform.
Their work paid off.
These intimate conversations centered communities of color and brought the dialogue on abortion to the national stage, which resulted in the first federal spending bill since 1976 that did not include the Hyde Amendment.
The work for A*AA AF continues. Boldly. Core strategies that A*AA AF will employ now and in future years, include:
“For 45 years, women of color have been fighting to end the Hyde Amendment, which undermines our ability to make decisions about our families and our lives. Today we made history. The injustice of abortion coverage bans has no place in our future.”
- Destiny Lopez, co-president, All* Above All