Dear Mr. Legislature

A musical advocacy campaign bringing attention to the New York State Senate’s failure to pass abortion law reform and also to restrictive abortion laws being passed across the country

RHAvote announces “Dear Mr. Legislator,” a song and video project in collaboration with artist Emily Walton and a dynamic creative team of friends and accomplices. As the New York State Senate winds down the 2018 session, activists would like to remind lawmakers that New York State still has a big problem with reproductive health.

RHAvote was created by patient advocates Erika Christensen and Garin Marschall after they had to travel from Brooklyn to Colorado to end a non-viable pregnancy at 32 weeks. New York criminalizes abortions later in pregnancy that are protected by Roe vs. Wade, specifically in cases of fetal non-viability or when there are threats to the health of the pregnant person.

Their advocacy efforts target the stigma around later abortion and give context to New York’s unconstitutional law and the legislation necessary to fix it.  They created RHAvote.com to raise awareness about the issue and to support the Reproductive Health Act (S2796). The husband and wife team have visited Senate offices of both parties to share their story and the stories of other patients across the state affected by the current law.

“It is clear to us that traditional advocacy efforts will not be enough to get this law changed,” says Christensen. She continues, “Our current government is either uninterested or unable to put the health of New Yorkers before politics. Meanwhile patients suffer by having to travel and pay huge sums of money out of pocket for care or worse, forced to carry doomed pregnancies or pregnancies that threaten their health because they can’t afford to travel.”

Singer/Songwriter Emily Walton explains her motivation for partnering with RHAvote for this effort, “As a native New Yorker, I was shocked when I learned of our state’s abortion law and felt I had to do something to support the cause. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the fight for reproductive rights. I hope women hear this song and relate to it and feel fired up by it.”

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About RHAvote

The RHAvote campaign was founded by patient advocates affected by New York State’s unconstitutional abortion law. Alongside a statewide reproductive health coalition, RHAvote supports the Reproductive Health Act, a bill sitting in limbo in the GOP-controlled state senate that would fix current state law. For more information, visit RHAvote.com and follow on social @RHAvote.

About Emily Walton

Emily has performed extensively both on and off Broadway and has just released her first full-length album, Little Longings, available on iTunes. She is represented by The Katz Company and Wolf Talent Group.