Want to make sure that your voice is heard? Write a letter! The letters page of the newspaper is the most highly read section of the paper, and the first section that elected officials check to see what their community members are saying.

Even letters that aren't published have an impact, because they give the media a sense of the general public mood. By sending letters you ensure that the media hears your message, loud and clear. And when your letter is published, you know for certain that it will be read.

We've made it easy to send a letter to your local paper. Read through these tips and examples, and enter your zip code for links to all your local newspapers.

Tips for letter writers:

Keep your letter short: 100-200 words.

Start with a "hook" -- a personal story or a connection between your letter and something that's going on in the news.

Choose one topic and stick to it. For example, one of these:

  • Every woman should have the ability to make her own decision about bringing a child into the world.
  • The government and religious extremists should not be able to take the decision away from a woman and her family.
  • An abortion fund makes a real difference in my community.
  • The Hyde Amendment harms women.
  • Thank a local lawmaker for taking a principled stand on a tough issue.
  • A response to an article or opinion piece that appeared in the paper.

Personalize your letter: Explain how the issue affects you or your community. Choose from the talking points we have provided (in the next step), or fill in the letter on your own.

If possible, give a suggestion for how to change things: call legislators, write to the President, vote for a certain measure, donate to a specific cause, sign a petition.

Use your real name. You may be asked to provide a phone number so that the editors can contact you and verify your identity.

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Are you responding to an article in a specific paper or a specific community issue, or are you trying to make as much noise as you can, far and wide?  Smaller city or town papers tend to have more room for letters from locals, but larger metro papers are read by more people. 

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • Women's lives and health care needs, not politics, should govern abortion coverage. Instead, politicians are using real women as political chess pieces. This cannot go on -- every woman must have the ability to make important health and life decisions for herself and her family.

  • Women who do not have abortion coverage often must make painful sacrifices in order to make the decision that is best for their families. Women cut back on food for their families, live without heat or electricity, and even risk eviction so they can try to raise the money they need for an abortion.

  • Abortion coverage is a matter of racial justice. Because of racial inequities in the United States, restrictions on coverage of abortion care like the Hyde Amendment disproportionately burden women of color.

  • The Hyde Amendment, which has prevented federal Medicaid funding of abortion for more than thirty years, is a threat to the lives of women who are living in poverty and working hard to take care of themselves and their families.

  • If we are a nation of people who value community and family, then providing women and families with the ability to make good decisions about the long-term health of themselves and their families is a moral imperative. We must remove laws that stand in the way.

  • Women’s lives matter. The Hyde Amendment and all other policies that restrict a woman’s access to abortion care disregard the importance of a woman’s life, her hopes, and her hard work on behalf of her family and her future. Bans on abortion coverage deny a woman the ability to find and keep a decent job or to obtain a college degree. These bans deny a woman the opportunity to build a better life for herself and her family, the chance to contribute to the community.