Advocates for Youth applauds the introduction of the Health Equity and Access under the Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Women and Families Act. The bill would remove the 5 year waiting period that all federally authorized immigrants must currently endure to gain access to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The HEAL for Immigrant Women and Families Act would also allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented immigrants to buy plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces with access to financial assistance.  

Youth Testify member shares their abortion story.

These photos embody the ways I am gentle with myself and attune to my own healing and growth after my abortion. I have found ways to reclaim my power, my agency, and I feel inspired to help others do the same.

This high school graduation photograph reminds me how young I was when I arranged for and survived a ‘back-alley,’ illegal abortion three years before the Roe v. Wade ruling. Holding this photograph now, nearly 50 years later, I think about the other women who weren’t so lucky back then and the people now who continue to be denied access to abortion services in some areas of our country.

Youth Testify member shares their abortion story.

“Cuando tuve mi primer aborto yo tenía 22 años y mi hija Amahia tenía 1 año. Ella tiene Osteogénesis Imperfecta y en aquel momento sólo pensaba en lo incierto que era brindarle todos los cuidados necesarios, siendo madre primeriza con una niña con una condición genética, conocida como “huesos de cristal”.