Read the Women's Media Center's Media Guide to Covering Reproductive Issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Women’s Media Center’s Media Guide to Covering Reproductive Issues was released on January 22, 2013 as a resource for accurate media coverage of reproductive issues.

The media guide is a resource for journalists, producers, and interview bookers to help them understand medical, health, legal, social policy, and other key issues in covering today’s reproductive stories and to identify key organizations and leaders who support and oppose reproductive freedom.

Contents include chapters that cover the following:

• Fact check of common inaccuracies in reporting about abortion and birth control
• Definitions of terminology in reproductive issues
• An overview of public polling on abortion and birth control
• A summary of key Supreme Court cases involving reproductive rights
• An explanation of the Hyde Amendment and how it disproportionately affects poor women, young women, and women of color and their ability to access needed abortion care
• Details about the Affordable Care Act and women’s health care
• A list of state legislation, passed and proposed, to restrict abortion and access to family planning funding
• The history of violence directed at doctors, staff and clinics performing abortions
• Two directories - one of the most active reproductive rights groups and one of the most active anti-reproductive rights groups

The coming year will feature national and state-by-state campaigns to limit reproductive rights, especially for poor women, young women, and women of color.  The goal of this guide is to help the press get accurate, reliable facts and resources to tell the stories that are crucial to women’s lives.