Project 50 May 2025 Political Newsletter
Each day, as we’re confronted with horrific headlines and stories about attacks on abortion access and their real-life consequences, we’re reminded just how urgent this fight is. Project 50 is laser focused on protecting reproductive rights in all 50 states by building political power at local levels.
In this month’s political newsletter, we’re thrilled to spotlight Access MO, the organization that spearheaded the Missouri Abortion Ballot Initiative and continues to advocate for Missourians’ reproductive rights. Earlier this month, Dana Sandweiss, President of the Access MO Board, joined us in Chicago for a powerful panel discussion, highlighting some of the persisting attacks on the ballot initiative process and 2024 election results. We hope you'll read more below!
Bryan Howard, Executive Director
Marlou Svenson, Political Director
Access MO Spotlight
Missouri voters said YES to abortion rights—and anti-choice politicians are trying to take them away.
This past November, Missourians turned out in force to pass Amendment 3 and enshrine the right to reproductive healthcare in our Constitution. We were the first state to overturn a total abortion ban.
But extremist lawmakers are doing everything they can to overturn the will of the voters. Last week, anti-reproductive healthcare Legislators passed House Joint Resolution 73 (HJR 73)—a resolution that will put a deceptive measure on the ballot to reinstate an abortion ban under the guise of “exceptions.”
But Missourians want and deserve reproductive freedom, and we will not allow these elected officials to continue to strip away our rights.
That’s why Access MO is doubling down on our work to replace these legislators with ones who respect the will of the voters and will fight to protect our rights. We’re building on the power we created to pass Amendment 3 to grow our movement, shine a bright light on the actions of these elected officials, and activate voters to replace them with reproductive healthcare champions who will fight to protect our rights.
But we can’t do this work without you. This is the moment to invest in Missouri. This is the moment to fund the grassroots, power-building work that will protect reproductive freedom for all Missourians.
Donate to Access MO now to fuel our fight.
We’re proud to work alongside Project 50 to build lasting political power in Missouri and beyond. This is how we win - not just by changing laws, but by changing who holds power.
National Landscape Updates
A pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain-dead following a medical emergency and has remained on life support for the past three months. Doctors have continued life-sustaining measures to allow the fetus time to develop, in accordance with Georgia’s restrictive abortion laws. This case highlights the heartbreaking realities emerging in the wake of abortion bans enacted following the Dobbs v. Jackson decision three years ago. Read more here.
Attacks on the ballot initiative process persist in states across the country:
In Oklahoma, Governor Stitt signed a controversial bill that makes significant changes to the ballot initiative process, including capping the maximum number of signatures that can be gathered in each county. Critics say this will make it impossible to gather enough signatures without widespread support in very rural counties. Read more here.
Florida has implemented a law that significantly limits the ability of certain groups to support ballot initiatives, including a ban on specific organizations from collecting petition signatures needed to place those initiatives on the ballot. Read more here.
Due to Title X funding cuts, Planned Parenthood is closing four clinics in Minnesota and four clinics in Iowa. Read more here.
Louisiana opened a second investigation into a New York doctor for mailing abortion medication. Read more here.
Project 50 State Updates
Indiana
Last year, Our Choice Coalition invested in polling research to better message to voters in the state about abortion care and reproductive rights more broadly. The poll results can be found HERE. Based on the results of this poll, Our Choice Coalition’s Board voted to undergo a name change that would resonate more with voters in Indiana. Next month, Our Choice Coalition will officially rebrand to become the Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC. A website relaunch featuring a new logo is planned for mid-June. Our Choice Coalition will also welcome a new board of directors at the beginning of July.
Our Choice Coalition’s annual fundraising event will take place in August, and we’ll share more details about the event and information about registering soon!
We Are Rising and repro46
Oklahoma
repro46 is a group of Oklahomans from across the political spectrum who believe that when Oklahomans have the freedom to decide whether and when to become parents, it is better for our families and our future. repro46 is committed to educating Oklahomans through campaigns and conversations that provide trustworthy information and dispel myths about abortion, those who seek it, and providers.
repro46, We Are Rising’s 501(c)(3) sibling, officially launched on January 22, 2025 with standing-room-only events in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City highlighting the impact of abortion bans on the health and welfare of all Oklahomans. Since the launch, we have received positive press; and we have deployed our spokespeople to write op-eds. In addition to traditional and social media campaigns, repro46 invites Oklahomans from all walks of life to small, living-room style Open House, Open Minds conversations, where they can learn and hear real talk about reproductive health in our state. repro46’s corps of trained facilitators lead participants through a curated conversation where Oklahomans can ask questions and get honest, accurate answers; grapple with their ambivalence without judgment; explore their values, combat stigma, and see that there are Oklahomans of every religion, party, and region in our state who believe in access to reproductive healthcare.
To date, we have held six of these Open House, Open Minds conversations have reached men and women in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and more rural parts of the state. Our goal is to host at least 20 of these conversations through the summer; we are also developing a rural-specific strategy for scaling in the communities that have become obstetric deserts in the wake of Dobbs.
We appreciate your steadfast support and continued engagement during these challenging times. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at info@project50.net.
Paid for by Project 50 (project50.net) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.