Be Informed, Stay Safe

In times of uncertainty, we find strength in those who step up to help—and we strive to be among them. The results of the 2024 elections signal a moment of significant change, leaving many in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and beyond, feeling fear and uncertainty about the road ahead. Yet, we remain steadfast in our mission: to build collective power with AAPI women and girls, ensuring full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.  

In response, the NAPAWF team has assembled a comprehensive list of resources outlining your rights as they stand today, in December 2024, ahead of the new presidential administration taking office on January 20, 2025. As the political landscape shifts, we will closely monitor proposed policies impacting AAPI women and gender-expansive individuals, mobilizing and advocating fiercely to defend our communities and our rights—just as we always have.  Together, we will persist, resist, and rise.
Read more about NAPAWF’s commitment to advancing the rights, safety, and dignity of AAPI women and gender expansive individuals and join the movement by adding your name to our solidarity statement.

Abortion Access & Reproductive Rights

AAPI communities, including gender expansive people, face unique and often invisible barriers to reproductive healthcare. More than 60% of AAPI women report difficulty accessing essential services like birth control and cancer screenings, compounded by exclusions from critical healthcare programs due to immigration status, language barriers, and systemic neglect. We will resist any attempt to restrict reproductive healthcare access and will fight for inclusive policies that honor and protect the bodily autonomy of all AAPI people.

Understand Your Reproductive Rights

The Repro Legal Helpline answers legal questions about abortion, pregnancy loss, and birth, and can be called at 844-868-2812. On their website, you can find abortion laws by state, information for providers, lawyers, and advocates, and a secure contact form. Their website is available in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese. The Repro Legal Helpline is run by our allies in the movement at If/When/How.

Find Abortion Care 

Your local abortion fund is on the front line of ensuring that any person, regardless of who they are, can get an abortion. If you need financial support for abortion care, or if you are in a position to help others reach care, find your local abortion fund at abortionfunds.org/find-a-fund/.

Learn how to protect your privacy if you are seeking an abortion with this guide from The Markup.

iNeedAnA.com is a website that can help you find verified abortion clinics and abortion pills by mail safely and privately.

PlanCPills.org provides up-to-date information on how people in the United States can access abortion pills.

NAPAWF’s Asian Abortion Glossary is a collection of words that are useful in conversations about abortion and reproductive freedom translated to eight Asian languages: Arabic, Bangla, Chinese, Cambodian, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Download the glossary as a PDF here.

Protections for Women, Gender Expansive Individuals, and LGBTQ+ People

Find Support and Community

The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) has published resources on coming out as an LGBTQ+ AAPI person and on family acceptance, each translated to a variety of Asian languages. nqapia.org/resources

DeHQ is a confidential helpline for LGBTQ+ South Asians. They have an online contact form, and a hotline available on Thursday and Sunday nights. deqh.org

Exercise Your Rights

Human Rights Campaign created an FAQ and resources page that details protecting one’s online privacy and safety, legal protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ people, identity document procurement advice, gender affirming care readiness, and more. HRC | Facing the Future Together: FAQs, Guidance, and Resources

The ACLU has a Know Your Rights webpage about gender markers and protection from discrimination for LGBTQ people: aclu.org/know-your-rights/lgbtq-rights

Immigrant Rights

AAPI immigrants constitute over 30% of the U.S. immigrant population and face significant obstacles to healthcare and economic security under restrictive immigration policies. Many AAPI women and gender expansive individuals work in low-wage, essential jobs without adequate protections, leading to disproportionate poverty rates among Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities. We remain committed to advancing policies like the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act and the Raise the Wage Act, which address the systemic inequities harming AAPI immigrants, workers, and gender expansive individuals.

Enroll in Healthcare

DACA recipients living in certain states are still eligible for ACA health insurance and can enroll in health insurance at healthcare.gov by December 15th for coverage starting January 1, 2025. However, 19 states are included in a federal judge’s order to block DACA recipients from access (list can be found here from the National Immigration Law Center (NILC)).

Health care providers and patients have legal rights in Protected Areas, which are designated areas, such as medical and mental health care facilities like hospitals, doctor’s offices, health clinics, urgent care centers, and similar places, where ICE and CBP are directed to refrain from enforcement by DHS. NILC has provided a list of these rights: 2024-Health-Care-Providers-and-Immigration-Enforcement-Know-Your-Rights-Know-Your-Patients-Rights.pdf.

Obtain Legal Assistance

Everyone in the United States has guaranteed rights under the Constitution, regardless of their immigration status.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center prepared a toolkit focused around developing a Family Preparedness Plan that suggests actions to take for childcare options in case of an absent parent, where to find trusted immigration services in your community, and how to prepare to assert your constitutional rights in the presence of an immigration officer. Find the downloadable toolkit in English and in Spanish here: Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan | Immigrant Legal Resource Center | ILRC

The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) has published a know-your-rights resource on the rights everyone, including undocumented immigrants, has under the Constitution. This resource is also available in Korean, Arabic, Spanish, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. www.nilc.org/resources/everyone-has-certain-basic-rights/ 

The National Immigration Legal Services Directory is a list of nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services, sorted by all 50 states (plus DC and Puerto Rico): www.immigrationadvocates.org/legaldirectory/ 

Combat Anti-Asian Racism and Hate Crimes

The alarming rise in anti-Asian violence has deeply affected AAPI communities. AAPI individuals, including women and gender expansive communities, face escalating hate incidents that threaten their safety and well-being. We unequivocally denounce all acts of hate, violence, and discrimination against our communities. We are steadfast in our efforts to promote policies that protect all AAPI individuals, including increased funding for community-based safety programs, culturally responsive mental health resources, and strengthened hate crime reporting systems.

Stop AAPI Hate Resources: 

The National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) has resources on racism and mental health as well as informative articles. www.naapimha.org