Using a strategic combination of press + social media + online advocacy + on-the-ground organization, we’re working with Population Connection to repeal the Helms Amendment—a 1973 law that banned U.S. foreign aid for safe abortion access.
We developed and executed a dynamic integrated plan centered on a key tactic no other group had tried: targeting presidential candidates on the campaign trail to get them to commit to fix Helms in cases of rape, incest, and life-threatening pregnancy.
Working with organizers on the ground in the primary states of New Hampshire and Iowa, we were able to get activists there to target candidates with questions and iPhone cameras at events. Then we used the intercept videos to engage online activists to sign petitions and chime in on social media and leveraged them with key reporters.
As a direct result of our strategy and execution, in February 2016 both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went on the record committing to fix this deadly policy. The Huffington Post carried the news and the New York Times editorial board solidified the Clinton and Sanders support when they featured the Helms campaign win as a key piece of their March editorial: What the Election Means for Reproductive Rights.
Examples of national press coverage M+R secured for Population Connection’s campaign to repeal the Helms Amendment
