Social Purpose
Create a world in which all people have access to just, dignified and comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare
What We Do
We help students, nurses and midwives advance their skills and deepen their understanding of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), enabling them to provide comprehensive and compassionate care. By equipping members with specialized education, advocacy and professional development, and taking an inclusive approach to our work – be it about abortion, contraception or prenatal care – we can advance sexual and reproductive health and justice. Together, we can create a movement and shift the narrative – from a topic that’s too often seen as taboo, niche and even shameful – to one that’s seen as an essential and central part of our healthcare ecosystem.
Simply put, we foster a community of change-agents and super-heroes dedicated to ensuring access to just, dignified, safe, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare is available to everyone who calls America home.
How We Do It
We see sexual and reproductive health not only as a vital part of our healthcare system, but one that’s vital to our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. It’s why NSRH was created in 2010 (at that time we were Nursing Students for Choice), and remains the only Nursing organization in the US today exclusively focused on sexual and reproductive health and justice. Together with our members, allies and partners, our work continues to break down barriers, reduce the stigma, and drive dialogue in our country surrounding sexual and reproductive health.
We believe access to SRH is a matter of justice and a fundamental human right. And we won’t stop until mindsets shift, bills are passed, and sexual and reproductive health moves from a niche specialty available to some, to an integrated part of our overall healthcare system open to all. Systemic shifts are hard and take time, but our 3-pronged approach to workforce development is proving successful and continues to gain traction.
With most organizations focused on physicians, the approach we take directs our advocacy, education and professional development on the nursing community – those who typically work more closely with patients, providing support and care.
Why We Do It
According to the Independent, 31 US states are failing to provide basic sexual health and reproductive services, with our nation ranking poorly on the world stage, especially compared to countries with similar income demographics. There are many factors contributing to these statistics, including inconsistent access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare services – which tops the list.
Yet, Nurses for Sexual & Reproductive Health – together with its members, partners and allies – believe these stats need not dictate our future. A future that’s well-aligned with the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agendas – which provide important opportunities to realise sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, including key and vulnerable populations, and to reimagine and enhance equitable access and quality coverage of SRH services.
So how are we going to get there? By taking a thoughtful and deliberate approach, centered in advocacy and education, and backed by science. We believe that sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality. It’s one that requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, stigma, discrimination and violence. It’s also one that requires everyone to have the right to access sexual and reproductive health services and information, irrespective of race, citizenship status, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, religion, socio-economic or occupational status. In short, everyone should have the opportunity to attain their full health potential. It’s an essential and basic human right, and we’re paving the path to get there.
Some may wonder how we are going to get there when we work within a system steeped in systemic racism, inequality and hierarchy. The answer, while not simple, is to empower our members to challenge these systems, not accept the status quo, and be fiercely determined not to allow people’s SRH rights and freedoms to turn back in time. There’s strength in numbers and we can’t do it alone. So while our focus is on nurses (LPN/LVNs, RNs, APRNs, Certified Midwives), and nursing students (ADN, BSN, DNP, LP/VN, MSN, and PhD), we also recognize how important it is to collaborate with other providers. Together, as a powerful community committed to health equity and reproductive justice, we are fighting back and challenging the hierarchical structures within our profession that currently exclude many. And while typical health care education neglects to scrutinize how generational and structural inequities contribute to the ongoing marginalization and disparities among BIPOC, immigrant, rural, poor, LGBTQ+, and other communities – our approach differs. Instead, we prioritize the experiences of marginalized groups and ground our education in Reproductive Justice, Health Equity, Trauma-Informed Care and Harm Reduction.
And we’re making progress! NSRH was recently awarded a grant through the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) as a part of the Reproductive Health Services Corps (RHSC). The Corps – a collaboration with TEACH, UCSF School of Nursing, CSU East Bay, ACTIONS, and the Black Midwifery Fellowship – was established to develop and/or update current curricula to provide comprehensive reproductive health care training, including abortion care to scope of practice for various health care professionals throughout the state of California, including Doulas, EMT/ Paramedics, Community Health Workers, and Medical Assistants, in addition to RNs and LP/VNs. This is an unprecedented statewide effort to improve access to abortion care and training and diversify the state’s reproductive health workforce in the face of continuing attacks on abortion access nationwide. And California is just the beginning.
We know that nurses play a distinct and critical role as members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team, supporting patients, and providing comprehensive care and emotional support. Our nurses are a crucial link between patients and doctors. Our nurses are superheroes. If you are one of them, join our passionate community of skilled and compassionate social change agents. If you’re not, but are committed to sexual and reproductive health and justice for all, consider supporting our work.