Today was my first time testifying on behalf of proactive reproductive health bills in front of the VA Senate Education & Health Committee. First I read the story of a rape survivor who needed an abortion, and then watched the Republican-controlled committee vote along party lines against allowing people in her position to receive assistance from Medicaid without first filing a police report. Then I read testimony from a Virginian OB/GYN reiterating the opinion of the US Supreme Court and emphasizing that imposing hospital level regulations on abortion clinics is both unconstitutional and does nothing to improve the health or safety of people seeking care there. I watched the majority of the room get up to testify about many other bills that would not only improve the lives of but also recognize the humanity of Virginians. But republicans struck down bill after bill, dismissing them as “social issues”. So for now in Virginia, in addition to the unnecessary barriers to abortion access that are still in place, DACA recipients still don’t have the right to in-state tuition, despite living here most of their lives, and conversion therapy FOR CHILDREN is still legal. The 2017 elections were a great start, but there’s still a lot of work to do here in the Commonwealth. Keep voting, keep showing up. (at Virginia General Assembly)