GWC Toolkits Bans Off Our Bodies

Call Your Senator on Abortion Rights

Call Your Senators

Please call or write you Senators and let them know how you feel about their vote on the Women's Health Reproductive Act. red or blue or purple or gold.

FORMAT

TO CALL YOUR SENATORS: https://5calls.org/

TO WRITE YOUR SENATORS: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

SAMPLE Short PHONE CALL script / SAMPLE SHORT LETTER

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I'm a US voter from [CITY, ZIP].

Dear Senator [NAME]:

SELF INTRO    I am a US voter from [CITY, ZIP], calling/writing about [SENATOR’s NAME] recent vote on the Women's Health Protection Act (S. 1975), which would protect access to abortion.

WHY             I am writing about your recent vote in support of / opposition to  the WHPA 

                     I am writing about your absence / assentation to the vote on the WFPA

YOUR POSITION

IF THEY VOTED AGAINST 

I am appalled by / I find it incomprehensible that you may attempt to limit Women’s access to medical services, esp in the case of rape, incest, and medical dangers to the mothers which are issues all of us care about

Refute the GOP TALKING POINTS – see below

IF THEY VOTED FOR

Thank you for supporting the bill that would protect access to abortion.

Add some ADDITIONAL INFO 

the recent bans and limitations on abortion show the GOP will stop at nothing to control women’s bodies. Since 2011, nearly 500 laws restricting and banning abortion have passed across the country, causing significant challenges to those seeking care. We need a federal safeguard to protect everyone's right to access abortion, no matter where they live.

What we need next is ….

Add something you care about

FINAL HOOK/ FOLLOWUP 

Voters will remember that you voted  FOR / AGAINST women’s right’s / women’s healthcare on election day in 2022 / 2024 …

Sincerely / Thank you.

YOUR NAME

ADDRESS

IF LEAVING A  MESSAGE: Please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.

RE: Three main GOP talking points

Focus on these - using similar language to debunk their premises. This is just to get you started

You can still be polite direct and strong. Key terms highlighted:

Republican talking point #1

  •   “Be the compassionate, consensus-builder on abortion policy. ... While people have many different views on abortion policy, Americans are compassionate people who want to welcome every new baby into the world,” it says. =>

Republican talking point #2

  •   "Joe Biden and the Democrats have extreme and radical views on abortion that are outside of the mainstream of most Americans."

Republican talking point #3

  •   "Forcefully refute Democrat lies regarding GOP positions on abortion and women's health care," it adds, saying Republicans do not want to take away contraception, mammograms, and female health care or throw doctors and women in jail.

POSSIBLE WAYS TO ADDRESS THESE:

  • While it is true that Americans hold different views, few Americans are absolutist.
  • I understand the complexity of the decision to have children or not ... add info about incest, mother's health.
  • 2/3 of American believe women should have abortion access.
  • In reality less than 10% actually believe it should be illegal in almost all cases.
  • 27 cities in the US are already “abortion deserts"
  • 27 states have cities that qualify as “abortion deserts”— people have to travel 100 miles or more to reach an abortion clinic. There are “abortion deserts” in every region of the country except the Northeast. Six states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia) have only one abortion facility.
  • More counties are now without full access to birth control than 10 years ago
  • 19 million women already live in contraceptive deserts
  • There is precedent for GOP attempting to limit access to birth control:
    • In March 2012, the Senate narrowly defeated a proposal, known as the Blunt Amendment, intended to allow all U.S. employers to deny contraception coverage to employees as part of the businesses’ health plans.
    • “Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) ... refused to rule out the possibility that his state would ban certain forms of contraception, sidestepping questions about what would happen next if Roe v. Wade is overturned.”
    • The GOP is starting to  “blur the lines between birth control and abortion in the hopes of making it harder for American women to get both birth control and abortions. And nowhere is this clearer than in the Missouri statehouse.”