At Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, advocacy is about education and movement building—showing up in legislative chambers, at coalition tables, in classrooms, and in our communities, while nurturing the partnerships that make lasting change possible. Our advocacy work spans grassroots organizing, media engagement, provider training, and collaboration with local and national partners to advance reproductive health, rights, and access.
Our advocacy team engages and grows a nationwide network of supporters through local and state-based community events, digital outreach, and storytelling that elevates the voices of patients and providers. Through consistent media presence and public education, we help shape the conversation around abortion care and work to ensure that accurate information about abortion reaches broad audiences.
Our advocacy also includes advancing key legislative priorities, particularly in Virginia and Minnesota. In recent years, our advocacy team has worked to support efforts such as a constitutional amendment for reproductive freedom, contraceptive equity, shield law protections, expanded insurance coverage for contraception and abortion care, and the Equal Rights Amendment. Across all of this work, we remain focused on building a strong, informed, and connected movement capable of driving lasting change.
Signature projects of our advocacy program over the last few years have included the following initiatives.
In Minnesota, we gathered with elected officials, reporters, and advocates at our Minneapolis clinic in July 2024 for a media event that brought 14 local news outlets to learn about abortion and celebrate our work—shining a well-deserved spotlight on our independent clinic, the last one left in the Twin Cities. We were joined at that event by Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse, and so many other champions who stood shoulder to shoulder with us. Our clinic’s story was carried across the state and the region, lifting up our work and the legacy of independent abortion providers in Minnesota.
In Virginia, our clinics have become critical access points for patients across the South. In the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade, the challenge of finding doctors to provide care was immense—so we looked differently at what was possible. Working with the University of Virginia’s OB/GYN department, and with a new generation of doctors advocating from within, in 2024 we launched a program in which UVA medical faculty rotate through Whole Woman’s Health of Charlottesville every week and bring residents and medical students along with them to train with experienced abortion providers.
To learn more about our advocacy work, contact info@shiftstigma.org.
