Author: Jamila K. Taylor

Dr. Jamila K. Taylor is president and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), where she leads efforts to build evidence that drives policy change and advances gender equity and economic justice. A renowned health policy expert, her work focuses on maternal health and reproductive justice—addressing structural barriers to care, racial and gender disparities, and the intersection of health and economic outcomes. Taylor has held senior roles at leading policy organizations and began her career as a congressional staffer.

How Abortion Restrictions Exacerbate America’s Affordability Crisis

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Few decisions carry more weight than whether or when to have a child. Women who decide to end a pregnancy are making an intensely personal, at times deeply emotional, decision. They deserve quality care, compassion and respect. Instead, under the Trump administration, abortion restrictions are expanding and options for care are disappearing.

Four years after the Supreme Court’s  Dobbs ruling, abortion care comes with a maze of logistical and financial hurdles.

A new study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) concluded Widespread abortion restrictions across numerous states and the rollback of federal funding and protections costs our country $140 billion annually. And the 16 states with the most restrictive abortion policies cost the national economy nearly $68 billion annually in lost earnings.

In the U.S. today, abortion is increasingly reserved for those who can find and pay for it.

We urge new thinking: Instead of a return to the  Roe v. Wade era ripe with restrictions and hurdles, let’s govern expansively. We envision a supportive government that makes abortion accessible to anyone who needs it.

Why Democracy Needs Data—and What Happens When It Vanishes

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In the first few months of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, one thing has become crystal clear: The war on gender and racial equity is being waged in a new arena—on the battleground of data.

This fight isn’t waged with tweets or soundbites. It’s carried out through budget cuts, shuttered research programs and disappearing federal surveys. It’s a quiet but devastating assault on the tools we rely on to tell the truth—and to hold those in power accountable. And the message is chilling: If we can’t measure inequality, maybe we can pretend it doesn’t exist.

When race is stripped from maternal health reports, we overlook the crisis facing Black mothers. When LGBTQ+ identity is erased from youth surveys, we lose critical insight into mental health and safety. When disability status is omitted from labor market data, inequities in access and pay go unaddressed.

We need a renewed federal commitment to the research infrastructure that allows us to see and solve inequality—not ignore it.

Ending the Public Health Emergency Could Prove Disastrous for New Moms on Medicaid

Last week, the Senate narrowly passed a bill that would end the national emergency declaration for the pandemic after two years. Next month, the nationwide public health emergency is set to end as well. While the steadily falling case numbers are encouraging, for many pregnant people and new moms who qualify for Medicaid, the crisis is far from over, and the end of pandemic-era flexibilities could mean disaster.