Reproductive rights apply to everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. This Pride Month, we’re celebrating the connections between reproductive rights and LGBTQIA+ rights—and highlighting the attacks that threaten them both.

Here are five places where reproductive rights and LGBTQIA+ rights intersect.

Bodily autonomy

1. The right to bodily autonomy

Each person deserves the right to make decisions about their own body and life. That means the freedom to make choices about pregnancy, contraception, sexual activity, and gender identity—as well as the medical procedures that best align with those decisions.

When politicians limit access to abortion or gender-affirming care, they are taking that right away. Government regulation of people’s bodies negatively impacts their immediate health outcomes and their ability to live the life they want in the future.

Having (or not having) a family

2. The right to have (or not have) a family

If, when, and how to have a family is a deeply personal choice. But lawmakers across the country are increasingly trying to control who gets to—or is forced to—become a parent. As restrictions on abortion have escalated, so have attacks on access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

IVF is a widely used method of assisted reproductive technology that has helped millions of people build families. It makes family building accessible to heterosexual couples facing infertility, as well as people who do not have the necessary gametes (egg and/or sperm) to become pregnant, such as single individuals and same-sex couples.

Non-discriminatory, equitable access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies are vital for ensuring everyone who wants to be a parent can be—just as access to contraception and abortion are vital for ensuring nobody is forced into parenthood.

Sex education

3. The right to sex education

In places across the U.S. and the world, young people are barred from receiving comprehensive sex education. Many states and countries enforce abstinence-only messages, which fail to educate young people on other methods for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or to teach them about consent, healthy relationship dynamics, and more.

When governments restrict sex education, they keep young people from understanding their bodies and the bodies of others. They strengthen stigma and shame around sexuality, and discourage people from accessing the services they need. Withholding this information—which is crucial for health care decisions— disproportionally impacts young women and LGBTQIA+ youth.

Evidence-based care

4. The right to evidence-based care

Everyone deserves to receive the highest standard of medical care. So what happens when politicians make laws that go against these established standards? Restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care strip people of access to lifesaving, evidence-based care.

In states with abortion bans, women are twice as likely to die during pregnancy. And state-level bans on gender-affirming care have been shown to increase suicide rates among trans and non-binary youth by up to 72%.

Any time governments contradict science, people’s health and lives are at risk. Access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services—including abortion and gender-affirming care—is a human right. Our laws should reflect that.

Non-discrimination

5. The right to non-discrimination

Restricting access to healthcare that disproportionately affects specific groups, like women and LGBTQIA+ people, is part of a larger extremist movement opposing equal rights for marginalized communities. It’s about more than just the healthcare itself—it’s about control and cutting off resources.

In 2022, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and took away the federal constitutional right to abortion. That decision is already being weaponized against trans rights: the Supreme Court extended its flawed reasoning from Dobbs into United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld a Tennessee law that banned gender-affirming care for trans young people. 

Since Dobbs, 20 states have banned or severely restricted abortion, while 24 have banned gender-affirming care for young people. These laws serve as a means of dehumanizing women and LGBTQIA+ people and restricting their ability to live happy, healthy, autonomous lives. 

Our rights, our fight

Our rights, our fight

Everyone deserves to make decisions about their body, their future, and the medical care they receive. When we fight for reproductive rights, we fight for all people to live the life they choose, with the resources they need. This and every month, we celebrate the diversity in our bodies and lives—and the rights that apply to all of us, simply by virtue of being human.