Urban Initiative On The Ground

Since 2008, the Urban Initiative for Reproductive Health has supported efforts to advance urban reproductive health and foster collaboration between local leaders and advocates in 30 cities across the country.

Recent events include:

    Abortion Access Roundtable – Chicago
    • In November 2012, the University of Chicago Section on Family Planning held an informative, academic roundtable event supported by the UI, Examining Access to Abortion in Chicago: A Roundtable to Identify Barriers & Opportunities for Change. Approximately 50 people from the Chicago area attended to focus on the gaps in policy, provider support, and research that lead to barriers to abortion access in Chicago. Organizers are utilizing the discussions and lessons learned at the event to create a report identifying clear priorities for city advocates to improve abortion access.
    Abortion Access Roundtable – Madison
    • In November 2012, the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health hosted a Reproductive Justice Roundtable in Madison, Wisconsin, supported by NIRH’s Urban Initiative. The Roundtable brought together state reproductive health advocates, state and local elected officials, and reproductive health care providers to discuss national and state policy trends on access to abortion and other reproductive health care and identify opportunities for collaboration in the future. Almost 30 key stakeholders attended the day-long meeting and left having committed to advancing key priorities in the city and county to improve abortion access.
    Abortion Access Roundtable – Miami
    • In September 2012, MI LOLA gathered more than 50 activists, academics, students, and health care providers for "A Community Conversation on Women's Reproductive Health" in Miami, FL. This event featured speakers from Catholics for Choice, Ibis Reproductive Health, and the Urban Initiative, along with a local abortion provider.
    Reproductive Justice Roundtable Series – Memphis
    • Memphis Teen Vision hosted a series of two roundtables on teen pregnancy prevention and access to prenatal care in 2011. At the first roundtable, 20 health care providers, advocates, and public health officials met to discuss adolescent reproductive health care provision. This gathering was the first of its kind in Memphis. Providers’ input was used in a report that offered recommendations on expanding care and access to care for teens. Their second roundtable focused on the creation of a resource on youth-friendly reproductive health services providers. Communications professionals in the community provided input on how to best distribute this information.
    Reproductive Justice Roundtable Series – Oakland
    • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children held a two-part roundtable series entitled “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies: Realignment” in Oakland in 2011. Approximately 40 people representing social service, community, legal and public health organizations attended the first roundtable, which focused on the treatment of incarcerated pregnant women for substance abuse, implementation of anti-shackling laws and alternatives to detention for pregnant youth and women in San Francisco Bay Area jails and juvenile detention centers. At the second roundtable, more than 30 people gathered to understand more about realignment in California and to determine next steps to create better reproductive health practices for incarcerated women in three counties.

    The Urban Initiative supported a range of events on urban reproductive health across the country in 2011.

    Learn more about our grantees' work here.

© 2012 National Institute for Reproductive Health