Women in America gained access to important reproductive rights more than 40 years ago. It was a hard-fought victory. Ever since, opponents have chipped away at laws, protested at clinics and influenced elections. In 2011 and 2012 a new record was set, with the highest number of state restrictions on women's reproductive rights ever enacted. This trend continued into 2013, when two states passed the nation's most extreme bans on abortion.

For many older women, this was a call to action. But younger women, who have always had the legal right to control their own reproductive rights, were uniformed about these threats. They needed to be quickly engaged in an important debate about their future.

The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) stepped in with an innovative approach to activating young women. Instead of issuing a call to arms – which young women would dismiss – they went online to meet young women on their own terms and to engage them with a campaign that was informative, humorous, sarcastic and at times shocking.

The campaign 'This Is Personal' launched in September 2012. In just four months it grew into a community of more than 400,000 dedicated activists and engaged over 1.2 million young women who took to social media to spread the word, sign petitions and write to elected officials. Their actions have resulted in key legislative victories that protect and expand access to reproductive health.

These young women have found their voice and their power, and they’re just getting started.

'This Is Personal' includes:

Social Media: Facebook is the core of the campaign, where supporters are engaged daily, and traffic is driven to the website.

Website: The cutting-edge, visual website engages visitors, encourages them to take action – sharing, joining, writing lawmakers – and tracks progress against goals.

Content: Highly visual, lightweight content on Facebook (mini-infographics/snackables) educates the audience as reproductive rights issues emerge.

Paid Media: Facebook and Twitter advertising grew the community quickly and advanced targeting ensured 90%+ of fans are in the target demographic.

Partners: Online petitions with advocacy partners Change.org and Care2 expanded the email list at the start, and UpWorthy (viral content curation) helped syndicate videos and actions.

Video: Thought-provoking videos help viewers confront this uncomfortable subject matter and raise awareness.

In 2013, the campaign continues to engage the community in state-based actions and is exploring offline extensions and partnerships.

We’re turning a new generation into advocates ready to take sustained action to protect their reproductive health decisions.

Creating a community of 420,000 young women to date who can be activated via social media (Goal of 500,000 to be reached by June.)

Generating compelling content:

- Organic reach averages 29% – double the Facebook average

- Virality is among top 15% of Facebook content; some posts in top 1%

Reaching a highly sought-after audience:

- 280,000+ Facebook supporters (target 250,000)

- 87% do not overlap with membership in other women’s health organizations

1.2 million have shared news, signed a petition or sent a letter to an elected official.

This has led to new national legislation eliminating the ban on abortion coverage for women in the military. On the state level, "This Is Personal" defeated restrictions in New Mexico, Michigan and Florida, and there are battles ahead.