THE ADVOCATE

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

FALL 2023

THE PUSH FOR SEX AND RELATIONSHIP

EDUCATION THAT YOUTH DESERVE

For more than 20 years, Planned Parenthood League

of Massachusetts (PPLM) has been advocating

for updated sex education standards so that any

curriculum taught in Massachusetts public schools

Comprehensive sex education also delays the

initiation of sex; reduces unintended pregnancies

and sexually transmitted infections; and increases

condence in communicating boundaries and needs

in relationships.

Because of the lack of comprehensive sex education

standards, Massachusetts lags behind other

progressive states. According to PPLM’s recent

national analysis of state sex education policies,

Massachusetts had a neutral score, putting us in the

But we’re seeing progress! On May 30, PPLM led

the Healthy Youth Act Lobby Day, where over one

hundred advocates lobbied at the Massachusetts

State House, earning new co-sponsors for legislation

that would bring sex education in Massachusetts

into the 21st century and meet comprehensive

standards. Just a few weeks later, the Healey-

Driscoll Administration and the Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

introduced an updated Comprehensive Health and

gender. I know young people don’t want to

hurt each other, but they need the knowledge

this framework provides to understand the

impact of their words. It will also help health

educators teach students what they need to

know at every grade level.”

The updated framework is an important step in the

right direction but those guidelines are not binding.

According to Jennifer Hart, PPLM’s Vice President

of Education, Learning, and Engagement, “PPLM

is still committed to passing the Healthy Youth Act

because it has legislative power. It would require

data collection on which school districts provide sex

education, for the framework to be updated every few

Healey at the new health and physical education guideline

announcement press conference.

LEADERSHIP CORNER

Dear friends,

This is an exciting time at Planned Parenthood League of Massachuetts (PPLM) as we welcome our new President

and CEO, Dominique Lee, who you will hear from in the next edition of The Advocate. Reecting on the year so

far, I must express my gratitude to Ellen Frank, whose leadership as interim President and CEO allowed us to

move forward important initiatives, while the Board was diligently searching for our next leader.

As national attacks on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and health care continue to threaten patients and

against these unrelenting attacks and keep pushing forward — no matter what. Thank you for standing with PPLM.

Sincerely,

People under 18 already faced steeper hurdles to access abortion before Roe v. Wade was

overturned, with 36 states requiring minors to notify or obtain permission from a parent or a judge.

Parental involvement laws and the judicial consent process delay time-sensitive care. They can be

intimidating and traumatic for the minor seeking care, and disproportionately impact young people of

color. Now, with abortion bans in effect in 21 states, minors — who are already less likely to have the ability

and nancial means to travel to access care — will be severely impacted.

Director of Social Science Research Dr. Elizabeth Janiak. QuEAST, which was recently awarded funding

from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will measure the nancial, logistical, and psychological

burdens of interstate travel for abortion, particularly for marginalized youth.

In 2020, PPLM’s research was instrumental in convincing Massachusetts lawmakers to reduce the age for parental

consent for abortion to under 16. With these ongoing studies, we hope to provide lawmakers and advocates —

in Massachusetts and beyond — with data and policy recommendations to further improve abortion access for

young people.

communication, Planned Parenthood League of

Massachusetts’s (PPLM) patient navigators help

patients understand their options and coordinate

appropriate services, supporting hundreds of

patients inside and outside of Massachusetts access

abortion care.

Souci Rollins has been with at PPLM for over 30 years

and has been a patient navigator since 2013.

Q: What does a patient navigator do?

SR: This program was started in 2003 to help anyone

Q: Walk us through what a patient navigator does

to help patients from outside Massachusetts. What

does that support look like?

SR: Recently I worked with a woman who called from

Louisiana, where abortion is completely banned. She

wanted a medication abortion, but after talking about

it, we decided that it would be quickest and safest for

her to come to Massachusetts and have an in-clinic

abortion, given the severe restrictions in her home

state. Through the Patient Navigation program, we

to stay in touch with patients from start to nish via

phone calls and texts to make sure everything goes

smoothly and troubleshoot if necessary.

especially now?

SR: The support and empowerment that we’re able to

provide to patients, who are sometimes feeling shame

about seeking an abortion — just to be able to help

them realize that they have a right to that health care

and can be in control of their lives. And we might be

the only person they’ve talked to about this. So, that

feeling of helping a human being feel good about

themselves and their life. I think Planned Parenthood

has a reputation for being a kind and compassionate

place for people to go, and it’s wonderful to be a part

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

FACES + PLACES