Planned Parenthood Celebrates Women’s March Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2018
CONTACT
303-359-8519, [email protected]

Planned Parenthood Celebrates Women’s March Anniversary

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—On Sunday, January 21, 2018, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) and Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico (PPVNM) will join local Women’s March anniversary events in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe. Planned Parenthood will celebrate the millions of people who marched a year ago in support of social change.

• The Albuquerque event will be held at Civic Plaza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• The Las Cruces event will be held at Plaza de las Cruces from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• The Santa Fe March will begin at 12 p.m. from the Roundhouse.

In 2017, reproductive rights were attacked at the federal level and in New Mexico. Last year, in the state legislative session, there were five attempts to restrict reproductive health care. At the federal level, Donald Trump and Mike Pence repeatedly tried to block access to affordable birth control, defund Planned Parenthood, cut teen pregnancy prevention programs, and strip away a woman’s fundamental right to control her own body.

The Women’s March sparked an energy that will carry through 2018. In the past year:

• millions of women called and showed up at their member of Congress’ offices. They defeated Trumpcare and efforts to block women and their families from getting preventive care at Planned Parenthood.
• brave women stood up and spoke out against sexual harassment, assault, and institutional inequality.
• women of color lead the way towards important electoral victories in Virginia and Alabama.   

“2018 will be a pivotal year for reproductive rights and health care. In this election year, women and other minorities will be a potent political force. People are demanding nothing less than full equality - at work, at school, at home, and in society,” said Marshall Martinez, Director of Public Affairs, PPRM. “Planned Parenthood volunteers in New Mexico are a force to be reckoned with. One year ago, millions marched in the streets the day after Trump was inaugurated, they flooded their elected officials’ offices to stop bad legislation, and a historic number of women and LGBT folks have declared that they are running for office. And we’re just getting started. We’re going to use this energy and support to fight at the local level to ensure everyone in New Mexico has full equality, can control their own bodies, and can access health care without fear, shame, or stigma.”

As a result of attacks on reproductive rights and health care, Planned Parenthood saw an unprecedented outpouring of organizing, activism, and support in 2017. People across New Mexico and the country marched, showed up at town hall meetings, flooded the Congressional switchboard with calls, organized online, and stood up for access to health care. Four out of five members of New Mexico’s federal delegation stood strong against attacks on affordable care and reproductive rights. Rep. Steve Pearce, Republican Congress-member, voted for every attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. They and coalition partners pressured Rep. Pearce for over ninety days, forcing him to have a public event, the sole opportunity his constituents had to speak out. Locally, Planned Parenthood trained over one hundred and fifty young activists to become community organizers in their home communities, and saw tremendous growth in organizing work in more rural areas, including Las Cruces and Farmington. In 2017, Planned Parenthood gained more than 250,000 volunteers and more than 1.5 million new supporters across the US; held more than 2,700 organized events across the country to resist attacks on women and basic health care rights; and delivered more than 1.5 million petition signatures to members of Congress in opposition to defunding Planned Parenthood.

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Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which includes Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada, Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, and Planned Parenthood of Wyoming, empowers people to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health by providing high quality health services, comprehensive sex education, and strategic advocacy.