Congress may be on a month-long break, but that hasn’t stopped reproductive rights activists across the country from laying the groundwork for real legislative change. A diverse coalition of women’s health, racial justice, and family planning advocates are currently traveling more than 10,000 miles to gather signatures for a petition urging lawmakers to lift the abortion bans currently in place for low-income women.

“All women should have equal ability to make their own decisions about abortion even if they are poor,” the petition reads. “We ask our members of Congress to affirm their support to lift all restrictions on coverage of abortion care, so that every woman can make personal decisions that are best for her circumstances, without political interference.”

Thanks to the 37-year-old Hyde Amendment, the federal policy that prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding abortion services, the low-income women who rely on the Medicaid program often have no affordable options for ending a pregnancy. Hyde, which has spawned similar restrictions on the state level and in other government programs, ensures that abortion access has been firmly divided along economic and racial lines for nearly as long as it’s been legal in this country. However, social conservatives’ vehement resistance to taxpayer-funded abortion has stalled any political momentum for reversing the policy. In fact, government support for women’s abortion services is often referred to as a political “third rail,” something that’s too controversial for lawmakers to ever talk about.

But now, All Above All — a coalition founded last year that’s comprised of more than 40 organizations — is hoping to shift that narrative. Its “Be Bold” road trip, which made its first stop in Los Angeles on Saturday and will travel to 11 additional cities over the next month, seeks to highlight the broad base of support for ensuring all women’s access to insurance coverage for abortion. The fully interactive bus includes a signature wall for people to add their names to the cause, a “selfie” booth, and a quiz game. Each stop along the tour will include a rally and a reading of abortion stories.

Tennessee lawmakers will consider a controversial measure on Wednesday that could intimidate women seeking abortions by requiring that the names of doctors who perform the procedures be published online. The legislation, known as the Life Defense Act of 2012 or House Bill 3808, would restrict access to the procedure in two ways:

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But the measure goes beyond existing reporting requirements and could undermine women’s right to privacy by allowing opponents to identify — harass and intimidate — patients who undergo the procedure.

The state’s Department of Health already reports information on the age, race, education, and number of children of women who receive abortions, and aggregates the data by region, “making it impossible for others to figure out who underwent an abortion procedure.” This bill, however, would require the department “to release patient data broken down by county” and could “reveal the identities of some women who receive abortions, particularly in small, rural communities.” “I think in some small communities that woman would be identified,” State Rep. Gary Odom (D) warned when a subcommittee advanced the measure earlier this month. “I think that by publicizing this, it would have serious consequences. … We know what has happened to physicians who perform abortions that there has been violence. … There could be violence against the women. … This is a dangerous piece of legislation. … I think this is full of meanness.”

Abortion providers could also be at risk, as abortion foes would now have a comprehensive list of the names of the doctors who perform the procedure. “In an environment where doctors are victims of violence — and we’ve had physicians who provide abortion care murdered in the past few years — I think this is an attempt to intimidate and allow for providers to be terrorized,” said Jeff Teague, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee.

Half the Sky, a multi-part documentary series based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, will air on PBS October 1st & 2nd, 2012, and internationally in 2013. The series follows Kristof and celebrity activists America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde as they travel throughout the developing world to introduce women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable—and fighting bravely to change them. With an introduction by George Clooney and incisive analysis led by WuDunn and a host of other experts including Hillary Clinton, Desmond Tutu, Madeleine Albright and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the series features intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle that reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer an actionable blueprint for transformation. See halfskymovement.org for more information.