Here at Rewire News Group, we’re committed to supporting you, our readers. You know you can always turn to us for a candid breakdown of the latest reproductive health and justice news. You can also count on us to uplift the positive moments. As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to highlight a few bright spots for you: 

Today we have two bright spots from Louisiana to share with you! This year, birth justice collective Birthmark in New Orleans created a Maternal Health Fund to financially support families’ reproductive health needs. While Birthmark supports people of all races and identities, it centers the experience of Black families and other families of color.

“In a post-Dobbs world, we’re not waiting for policy change,” Victoria Williams, Birthmark’s advocacy director, told Carrie Murphy for RNG. “We’re collectively reimagining how we can support each other. We want Black mothers and families to thrive, and we’re not waiting for permission to make that happen.”

Meanwhile, LSU student organization Feminists in Action educates students and provides them with reproductive and sexual health resources like free emergency contraception, as Katherine Frazer reported for our Campus Dispatch series.

In the Prairie State, Planned Parenthood of Illinois has partnered with telemedicine abortion provider Hey Jane to expand the state’s abortion access. Through the partnership, Planned Parenthood can now refer patients seeking medication abortions to Hey Jane, while Hey Jane can connect patients who need procedural abortions to Planned Parenthood. 

Over in Tennessee, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari recently introduced a bill to clarify that the state’s criminal abortion ban doesn’t include contraceptives and fertility treatments. She told news outlets that she hopes the bill will serve as a reproductive health safeguard. 

Finally, in North Carolina, breast cancer survivor Sheila Mikhail advocates for health insurers to cover additional breast screenings for patients with dense breast tissue. Mammograms are less effective for people with dense breast tissue, making it potentially life-saving for them to have equal access to supplemental screenings such as breast MRIs or breast ultrasounds.

We hope these wins give you a sense of promise for the year ahead. As our Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Jessica Mason Pieklo recently reminded us in her weekly newsletter, The Fallout: “The only way out is through.”

As we stare down the beast of uncertainty that is 2025, we invite you to join us as we look it straight in the eyes, daring it to stop us. We refuse to give up on the future of our reproductive freedom. Will you join us?

With gratitude, 

Imani Gandy
Editor-at-Large
Rewire News Group