UltraViolet Responds to EMTALA Unofficial Ruling: Court Fails to Affirm Right to Emergency Care for Pregnant People

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2025

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com

UltraViolet Responds to EMTALA Unofficial Ruling: Court Fails to Affirm Right to Emergency Care for Pregnant People

Statement from Nicole Regalado, Vice President of Campaigns, at UltraViolet, the nation’s largest online feminist organization: 

After what appears to be a copy of the U.S. Supreme Court’s EMTALA ruling was published briefly on the Court’s website today, we at UltraViolet are outraged that the Republican-stacked Court would dismiss this opportunity to make clear that pregnant people in crisis have the right to receive emergency abortion care, not just to save their lives, but to prevent grave bodily harm, future infertility, and significant mental health consequences. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted in the apparent ruling, this decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho or other states with abortion bans, it’s merely a delay.

Ensuring that the law does not force medical providers to deny life-saving treatment to pregnant patients who require emergency abortion care is crucial. However, in practice, it is extremely difficult for doctors to navigate emergency abortion exceptions for the “health of the mother,” and people still face serious risks while pregnant when denied full access to abortion. 

The fact that the EMTALA case made it to the highest court demonstrates just how radical the Christian nationalist agenda is, how far these extremists are willing to go to end abortion access, and why it is absolutely critical that we defend our right to bodily autonomy on all fronts. We must hold accountable the corporations funding the MAGA Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) whose members have brought this and many other cases to decimate abortion access. We must squash federal and state laws restricting abortion rights, and we must establish equal rights under the Constitution so that no one faces sex- or gender-based discrimination in health care decisions.

EMTALA was implemented to ensure that any person in need of emergency medical care could access it, regardless of their financial situation. We know that anti-abortion politicians brought this case to the Supreme Court because abortion IS a form of emergency medical care. They know that, and we know that. This is the second time in two years that a Supreme Court ruling on abortion care has been divulged before official release.

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UltraViolet Hails Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Protecting Access to the Abortion Pill Mifepristone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 13, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com

UltraViolet Hails Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Protecting Access to the Abortion Pill Mifepristone

Statement from Nicole Regalado, Vice President of Campaigns, at UltraViolet, the nation’s largest online feminist organization: 

“The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision today to uphold the FDA’s authority to regulate medications like the abortion pill mifepristone is a win for the people and the Constitution. 

“For months, everyday people across the country shined a spotlight on this unprecedented attempt to undermine the FDA’s authority and restrict access to safe, life-saving medication for hundreds of thousands of women and pregnant people. We took to the streets in Texas to put Judge Kazcmaryk on notice, kept the pressure on pharmacies to provide mifepristone, and combatted medical disinformation online.

“This case was always about whether the Supreme Court would prioritize the political, religious, and ideological beliefs of a few of the most powerful men in this country, or the health and wellbeing of everyday people. 

“This time, they did not, but we will not be fooled into complacency by this ruling.  

“This case was weak and had no standing – it does not mean that the Supreme Court is reversing its efforts to curtail access to abortion access. Without a doubt, the conservative cadre of justices that control the Supreme Court is simply biding its time to do whatever it can to ban abortion nationwide, criminalizing medical providers and pregnant patients. UltraViolet members will continue to show up for abortion rights and hold bad actors accountable for stripping women and gender-expansive people of our inherent right to bodily autonomy.

“This ruling today should serve as a green light to pharmaceutical providers that stocking mifepristone is the right decision, their moral obligation, and a decision protected by the full power of the Constitution.”

Over 125,000 people have signed petitions from UltraViolet calling on US pharmacies to provide abortion medications to all customers.

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After Megan Thee Stallion Was Targeted by Sexually-Explicit Deepfakes, Women’s Group Renews Demand that Google Remove “MrDeepFake” from Search Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 12, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com 

After Megan Thee Stallion Was Targeted by Sexually-Explicit Deepfakes, Women’s Group Renews Demand that Google Remove “MrDeepFake” from Search Results  

Last week, a sexually explicit deepfake video of Megan Thee Stallion, which was made without her consent, circulated on X,  garnering tens of thousands of views and being reposted by multiple accounts. While the video was ultimately removed, Megan Thee Stallion is just the latest celebrity to be targeted by this type of online harassment – highlighting just how pervasive this form of abuse has become. 

Reacting to the news, UltraViolet, the nation’s largest online feminist community, reiterated its call for Google, which is responsible for more than a third of all traffic to deepfake pornography platforms on the internet, to immediately act, and remove MrDeepFake, one of the largest platforms for non-consensual sexually-explicit images from its search results. 

Nicole Regalado, Vice President of Campaigns at UltraViolet, explained: 

“Women have always had to suffer from sexually explicit harassment and non-consensual exploitation – but deepfake technology has radically changed and supercharged this abuse into a national epidemic. 

“Sadly, the harassment of Megan Thee Stallion mirrors the experiences of tens of thousands of women across the country – who have had sexually explicit deepfake videos made without their consent. 

“Platforms like Google supercharge the spread of non-consensual sexual deepfakes that are used to humiliate girls and women, especially women in power.

“We know that deepfake-created images, which often involve superimposing an individual’s face onto explicit content without their consent, not only violate privacy by undermining an individual’s right to control their image, but also normalize sexual exploitation and reinforce harmful stereotypes about gender, sexuality, and consent. By reducing people to objects for sexual gratification, non-consensual sexual deepfakes perpetuate a culture of exploitation and dehumanization while eroding the integrity of digital media and trust in online information sources.”

More than 10,000 people have signed onto an UltraViolet petition urging Google and other major platforms to act. UltraViolet also endorses the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act) legislation that would hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos.

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Women’s Group Says Pat McAfee’s Apology for Racist & Sexist Comments on WNBA Players & Caitlin Clark is Insufficient

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 4, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com

Women’s Group Says Pat McAfee’s Apology for Racist & Sexist Comments on WNBA Players & Caitlin Clark is Insufficient 

Warns McAfee Has Pattern of Promoting Problematic Falsehoods; Urges ESPN & Disney to Fire Host

Statement from Kathy Plate, spokesperson for UltraViolet, a leading national gender justice organization: 

“Pat McAfee’s apology for his racist and sexist comments about Caitlin Clark and other WNBA players is insufficient. The simple reality is that even if McAfee meant what he said as a compliment – he should know that referring to any professional athlete with a misogynistic or racial epithet is never a compliment and shouldn’t be done. 

“But it’s about more than just the specific words he chose to describe Caitlin Clark. His entire segment, which he has said he stands behind and doesn’t apologize for, was used to downplay the contributions of other WNBA rookies including Angel Reese, and perpetuate a dangerous narrative rooted in misogynoir that the WNBA, a league dominated by Black women for years, is being “saved” by Clark, when both profits and viewership have been on the rise prior to the start of this season. 

“Coupled with McAfee’s pattern of promoting problematic falsehoods – including platforming Aaron Rodgers and allowing him to spread conspiracy theories about the coronavirus or Jeffrey Epstein – demonstrate that McAfee simply does not have the necessary judgment that sports fans deserve. 

“Not only does McAfee deserve to be fired, but Disney needs to ensure that ESPN commits to a culture where commentators will no longer be allowed to spew sexist and racist remarks. That should be the minimum standard that sports fans should expect from their commentators and that ESPN and Disney should expect from their hosts. It is hard to ask for anything less when we recall that ESPN is the same network that suspended Jemele Hill for calling President Trump a white supremacist.  

“We urge ESPN and Disney to fire Pat McAfee and take action to clean up its news room and frankly do a better job of covering women’s sports in an unbiased way.”

Tens of thousands of UltraViolet members have signed a petition urging major broadcasters like ESPN, Warner, and Ion to stop underpaying the WNBA (and other women’s athletic leagues) and pay more for the WNBA’s broadcast rights in the upcoming 2025 contract.  

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UltraViolet Reacts to the Overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s New York Rape Conviction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 25, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com

UltraViolet Reacts to the Overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s New York Rape Conviction

Calls for New York Prosecutors to Move Swiftly to Retry Weinstein

Statement from Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, a leading national gender justice organization and whistleblower on Harvey Weinstein:

“The overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction is absurd, shameful and dangerous.  It is also just the latest reminder that our criminal justice system does not take sexual violence cases seriously and that the majority of survivors of sexual abuse are often not served by our courts. 

“Let’s be clear – Harvey Weinstein is a serial sexual predator who was fairly convicted. There is no doubt that he committed the crimes that he was accused of.

“We urge New York prosecutors to remedy this injustice and move swiftly to retry Weinstein in the event that the survivors involved wish to proceed. 

“We stand with the survivors in disbelief, grief, and outrage. We are with you.”

Shaunna was the first to suggest to The New York Times’ Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey that Harvey Weinstein be investigated for sexual abuse and UltraViolet has been a leading voice in the accountability movement for powerful abusers, including Weinstein.

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UltraViolet Receives Multi-Million, Multi-Year Investment from the Ford Foundation in BUILD Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 24, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com 

UltraViolet Receives Multi-Million, Multi-Year Investment from the Ford Foundation in BUILD Grant

WASHINGTON, DC — UltraViolet is proud to announce a new commitment from the Ford Foundation to invest $4M over five years through the Ford Foundation’s Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) program. The Ford Foundation’s BUILD program seeks to empower organizations addressing systemic inequality by providing substantial financial support and capacity-building resources. 

The Ford Foundation’s generous investment in UltraViolet, the nation’s leading gender justice campaigning organization, is an investment in preserving our democracy. 

The backlash to feminism has been extreme, hostile and well-funded, and the gender justice movement must be ready to ensure the significant strides that BIPOC women, LGBTQ+ people and feminists have made are protected and expanding. There is renewed momentum for gender justice–spanning generations of feminists–to protect access to reproductive health care and fight abortion disinformation, dismantle sexism and racism in the media and online, and hold powerful corporations and people accountable to feminist values. UltraViolet’s selection for the BUILD grant underscores UltraViolet’s impactful work, capacity for growth and acceleration, and UltraViolet’s role as a leader in the gender justice movement.

Through the BUILD Program, the Ford Foundation will provide steady support to UltraViolet over the next five years, ensuring we have the institutional strength and resilience to advance feminist cultural and systemic change, and to create the conditions for a more gender-just future for all.

“We are excited to provide long-term support to UltraViolet as part of our commitment to investing in the sustainability of institutions that are leading the way for reproductive justice at this crucial moment,” said Silvia Henriquez, program officer for Reproductive Justice at the Ford Foundation. “Investing in the resilience of social movements is core to our work at the Ford Foundation and we look forward to seeing what UltraViolet accomplishes in the years to come.”

VIEW MORE ABOUT THE FORD FOUNDATION’S BUILD GRANTS HERE: https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/building-institutions-and-networks/how-it-works/

“UltraViolet and the Ford Foundation have been partners in social justice for over a decade and we are thrilled and honored to be entrusted with a BUILD grant,” explained Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet. “This BUILD program will allow UltraViolet to focus on strengthening the foundation of our organization, from which we will be better able to create the transformative feminist future we believe in.”

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UltraViolet is a leading national gender justice organization in the US with a multiracial, multi-generational, gender-diverse community of more than 1 million members, spanning all 50 states. As the largest feminist campaigning organization in the United States, UltraViolet combines organizing, technology, creative campaigning, and people power to make the dream of gender justice a reality. 

UltraViolet Says Increasing Broadcast Rates For WNBA is Smart Business; Help Close the Pay Gap for Women’s Athlete

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 15, 2024
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com 

Thousands Join Campaign Calling on ESPN, Warner, and Ion to Stop Underpaying Women’s Athletic Leagues, Pay WNBA More For Broadcast Rights

WNBA Currently Negotiating with Networks Ahead of 2025 Renewal; Advertisers Plan to Double Investment in Women’s Basketball After the Record-Breaking Ratings & Attendance for NCAA March Madness Season

UltraViolet Says Increasing Broadcast Rates For WNBA is Smart Business; Help Close the Pay Gap for Women’s Athlete

Thousands of people nationwide have joined a new petition and campaign from UltraViolet, a national gender justice organization, calling on ESPN, Warner, Ion, and other sports providers to stop underpaying women’s sports leagues, and specifically to pay more for broadcast rights to the WNBA. 

UltraViolet argues that increasing broadcast rates for the WNBA is not just smart business sense, but is also key in helping close the pay gap experienced by women athletes.

The call to the networks comes as national attention has been focused on the record-breaking NCAA women’s basketball tournament – which broke both the most-watched and best-attended season ever. The WNBA, currently in negotiations with major providers, is hoping to double its broadcasting revenue in their new deal. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT ULTRAVIOLET’S CAMPAIGN HERE: 

Star athletes from the season like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Cameron Brink, Aaliyah Edwards, and Jacey Sheldon moving onto the WNBA this year – which has also seen record growth over the years. According to Sportico, the “… the 2023 campaign was the WNBA’s most-watched regular season in over 20 years, and its highest attendance in 13 years.” Tickets to attend tonight’s WNBA draft sold out in 15 minutes and TV viewership is likely to break records. 

The increased attention has drawn focus from major advertisers as well with reports that Disney’s ad revenue for the NCAA tournament doubled from last year, ad space for the Final Four tournament was sold out, and women’s elite sports were expected to generate 300% more revenue than just three years ago. GroupM, the world’s largest media buying agency, also announced a commitment to double media investment in women’s sports. 

“Women’s basketball, like all elite women’s sports, are finally getting the attention that they have always deserved,” explained Nicole Relegado, Vice President of Campaigns at UltraViolet. “Now it’s time to make sure that the women’s sports leagues and thus their players get paid fairly too. Paying the WNBA more for its broadcasting rights makes good business sense. ESPN, Warner, and Ion are seeing record profits from ad sales as major advertisers only plan to increase their buys. But it also is the right thing to do. Higher broadcast rights would mean that the WNBA teams have more money to invest in their athletes, increasing salaries and setting up women’s sports for a generation to come.”

UltraViolet has a long record of campaigning for fairer pay in elite women’s sports. 

• In 2015, Ultraviolet pressured FIFA to close the pay gap after the 2015 Women’s World Cup champions netted only $2 million for their win, while the winners of the 2014 men’s World Cup netted $35 million. 
• In 2016, during the women’s soccer finals at the Rio Olympics, UltraViolet ran a TV ad calling for the U.S. Women’s National soccer team players receive equal pay for equal play.  
• In 2019, UltraViolet launched a campaign targeting US Soccer to demand an equal pay policy for men and women players, bolstering efforts toward a successful agreement signed by US men’s and women’s soccer teams last year.

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Advocates Urge Top Brands to End Funding for Extremist GOP Attorney General Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 10, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com 

Advocates Urge Top Brands to End Funding for Extremist GOP Attorney General Group 

Donations to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) from T-Mobile, CVS and its subsidiaries, General Motors, Elevance Health Contradict Companies’ Commitments to Equality and Social Responsibility

Campaign Highlights How Far-Right GOP Attorneys General Are Using State’s Legal Power to End Abortion, Attack LGBTQ+ Rights, Undermine Social Justice, and Assail Democracy

WASHINGTON, DC — Ahead of the 2024 general election, UltraViolet Action, a leading national gender justice organization, has launched a new campaign urging some of the nation’s leading consumer brands with a proclaimed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion- to stop providing financial support to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), a far-right political organization actively working to advance policies that harm underrepresented minorities and other groups.  

The campaign will focus on specific companies that are major funders of RAGA. This includes T-Mobile, CVS, General Motors, and Elevance Health (Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield), which have collectively contributed at least $1.3 million to RAGA since 2020. By seeking to mobilize employee resource groups with a vested interest in their employer’s commitment to social justice, UltraViolet Action and its partner, True North, hope to spark change from within and ensure these companies live up to their stated values.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN HERE: magaraga.com

Through coordinated legal action and advocacy, RAGA and the state attorneys general it supports have sought to eliminate abortion access, assail LGBTQ+ rights, undermine social and racial justice, deny the outcome of the 2020 election, and encourage supporters to join the Stop the Steal rally on January 6th, 2021, that led to mass violence at the United States Capitol.  Companies that claim to support equal rights and democratic values are undermining those very priorities through their support of RAGA.  

RAGA-funded AGs have used their office  to endorse President Trump’s anti-rule of law claim that he should be immune from all criminal prosecution and to strip away rights and freedoms. As examples: 

• Lynn Fitch, Mississippi’s Attorney General, helped overturn Roe v. Wade, which she called “egregiously wrong.” AG Fitch argued that eliminating abortion rights will “empower” women “to pursue both career and success and a rich family life.”
• Ken Paxton, Texas’ Attorney General, stated he would be “willing and able” to defend laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy.
• Kris Kobach, Kansas’s Attorney General, alongside 15 other RAGA AGs have attacked a proposal by the EPA to remove 9 million lead water lines across the country.  In a comment letter to the EPA, Kobach and his colleagues call the proposed rule “unworkable, underfunded, and unnecessary.” They also say the benefits of removing lead pipes is “entirely speculative.”
• Todd Rokita, who is running for re-election as Indiana’s Attorney General, was reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court over defamatory statements about a doctor who provided an abortion for a ten-year-old rape victim. He had previously launched an anti-LGBTQ+ snitch line allowing extremists to anonymously report public school officials for supporting LGBTQ+ students. 
• Andrew Bailey, who is running for re-election as Missouri’s Attorney General, has used his power as AG to join in federal lawsuits to stop abortions in the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and an FDA rule allowing abortion-inducing medications to be mailed to patients.
• Austin Knudsen, who is running for re-election as Montana’s Attorney General, is currently lobbying the courts to strike down a 1999 ruling shielding abortion under the state’s privacy protections.  He also tried to block a ballot proposal that would further solidify abortion access in Montana if passed.
• Rokita, Bailey, and Knudsen are also three of over a dozen AGs opposing a proposed federal rule that would expand HIPAA to protect health information from officials attempting to prosecute legal, out-of-state abortions.

In addition, RAGA has said it will spend “whatever it takes” to get Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., elected as North Carolina’s Attorney General. As a state senator, Bishop sponsored the transphobic “bathroom bill,” and as a Congressman he supported Texas AG Ken Paxton’s MAGA lawsuit filed with the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 Election, and objected to the certification of electoral college votes on January 6, 2021.

“Right now, there is an active effort by MAGA fanatics and right-wing extremists to use our courts to undermine our rights, and our democracy – and Republican Attorneys General in the States are driving that assault forward. Using public tax dollars, the MAGA RAGA caucus is escalating attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, racial and social justice, and our democracy – and using judge-shopping to advance their undemocratic and extremist agenda in courts,” explained Nicole Regalado, Vice President of Campaigns, at UltraViolet Action. “If major consumer brands like CVS, T-Mobile, and General Motors are serious about their commitments to democracy, equality, and social justice, they should immediately end their funding of the Republican Attorneys General Association.”

• T-Mobile has donated $180,000 to RAGA since 2020. To learn more how those contributions directly violate the company’s professed values, click here:  https://magaraga.com/t-mobile 
• General Motors has donated $330,000 to RAGA since 2020. To learn more how those contributions directly violate the company’s professed values, click here:  https://magaraga.com/general-motors 
• CVS has donated over $375,000 to RAGA since 2020. To learn more how those contributions directly violate the company’s professed values, click here: https://magaraga.com/cvs 
• Elevance Health has donated $405,000 to RAGA since 2020. To learn more how those contributions directly violate the company’s professed values, click here: https://magaraga.com/elevance-health 

True North, a watchdog group devoted to protecting freedom by exposing groups advancing a regressive agenda, will support UltraViolet Action in its efforts to educate the public on the special interests that have captured key levers of power and threaten our democracy. 

“Consumer brands like T-Mobile, GM, and CVS market that they value equity and inclusion but by funding RAGA they are aiding anti-abortion and anti-gay operative Leonard Leo’s fueling of top state law enforcement officials as weapons to attack abortion access, assail LGBTQ+ rights,  wreak havoc on our environment,  dishonor our votes, and defend reckless assertions of presidential immunity,” said Lisa Graves, executive director of True North, a fiscally sponsored 501(c)(4) project.  “Workers who care about the reputation of their companies and consumers who want to support brands that reflect their values should demand an end to the flow of corporate money that fuels RAGA’s regressive agenda.”

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UltraViolet on Reports Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Homes Being Raided by Federal Agents, Likely In Connection to Sexual Abuse and Sex Trafficking Allegations Against Him

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 26, 2024

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com 

UltraViolet on Reports Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Homes Being Raided by Federal Agents, Likely In Connection to Sexual Abuse and Sex Trafficking Allegations Against Him

Says Music Industry Must Do More to Dismantle Rape Culture 

This morning, it was reported that federal agents raided the homes of Sean “Diddy” Combs Los Angeles and the Miami area, likely as part of an investigation into sexual assault and sex trafficking claims made public in multiple civil lawsuits over the last several months.

In reaction to the announcement, Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director at UltraViolet, a leading national gender justice organization, which had urged the Grammys and the Recording Academy to sever ties with Combs following the multiple accusations against him, issued the following statement: 

“It took the courage of a survivor, Cassie, and the legal pathway for survivors to seek justice created by New York State to remind us all that rape culture is alive and well within the entertainment industry — and that for far too long powerful people like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have been able to escape accountability.

“Because of Cassie and the three other women who came forward to tell their stories, we all now know the real Sean Combs. His brand deals have collapsed, fellow artists have distanced themselves from him and called for accountability, and even though he was nominated for a Grammy Award this year, he didn’t show up because he knew he would not be welcome there. 

“Making sure abusers aren’t able to continue with business as usual, let alone be celebrated on a national platform like the Grammy Awards is an important first step towards accountability. And while justice for the women that Combs abused will be defined by them and them alone — the music industry has a real opportunity to make clear that abusers will not be tolerated, and that the industry will take the necessary steps to ensure a safe and equitable workplace for all its workers and artists. 

“By holding abusers within the industry accountable and taking the important steps to protect workers and artists — the industry can help model the structural changes that we all need to dismantle rape culture in our larger society.”

More than 15,000 people signed a petition organized by UltraViolet calling on the Recording Academy to rescind Sean ‘Diddy; Combs’ invitation to the 66th annual Grammy Awards, ban him from future Grammy Award shows, and revoke his membership in the Recording Academy.

You can view the petition here: https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/NoDiddyAtGrammys/ 

UltraViolet has a long-running connection addressing sexual violence in the music industry. 

• In 2014, pop singer Kesha came forward to accuse music producer Dr. Luke of sexual assault. After the allegations were made public, UltraViolet hosted petitions, organized protests, and publicly advocated for Sony Music to “Free Kesha” from her relationship with her alleged abuser. 
• In 2018, following Spotify’s decision to remove R. Kelly and other infamous abusers from its official playlists, UltraViolet penned an open letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek applauding the company’s decision, but urging Ek to look deeper at other artists with a history of sexual and physical abuse that continued to profit from Spotify’s promotion. 
• One year later, tens of thousands of people signed UltraViolet’s petition, echoing calls of the #MuteRKelly campaign, urging RCA Records to drop Kelly.  UltraViolet also commissioned a plane banner to fly over Sony Music’s HQs in Los Angeles, demanding RCA Records to sever ties with R Kelly and took part in the “#MuteRKelly Rally to Protect Black Girls” at Sony Music HQ’s in New York City.

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UltraViolet Praises Announcement by CVS and Walgreens That They Will Begin Selling Abortion Pills This Month, Urges Other Pharmaceutical Providers to Follow Their Lead

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 1, 2024
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com

UltraViolet Praises Announcement by CVS and Walgreens That They Will Begin Selling Abortion Pills This Month, Urges Other Pharmaceutical Providers to Follow Their Lead

Moments ago, The New York Times reported that two of the largest pharmaceutical providers – CVS and Walgreens – will start dispensing the abortion pill, mifepristone, this month.

The chains plan to make the medication available in stores in a handful of states this week, gradually expanding to all other states where abortion is legal and where pharmacies are legally able to dispense abortion pills.

In reaction to the announcement, Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, a national gender justice advocacy group, issued the following statement:

“We are deeply encouraged by reports that Walgreens and CVS will begin dispensing mifepristone to patients around the country this week – and expanding that program to as many places as possible, including states like Kansas, Montana, and Wyoming, where laws restricting access are currently blocked.

“We urge CVS and Walgreens to continue to make public updates as to their efforts to expand availability nationwide.

“Simply put, pharmacists and pharmaceutical providers haven a moral and ethical obligation to provide appropriate medications to their patients. This decision will make the lives of women and pregnant people who are seeking a safe and effective way to terminate their pregnancy better, ensuring that they have the ability to do so.”

“Other major national chains – like Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and RiteAid – should follow this leadership and announce their plans to roll out access to the abortion pill to their customers as soon as possible.”

Over 125,000 people have signed petitions from UltraViolet calling on US pharmacies to provide medication abortion to all customers.

VIEW THE PETITION HERE:
https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/pharmacies_abortion/

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