Planned Parenthood Holds Largest Lobby Day Ever

WASHINGTON D.C - Yesterday, more than 600 Planned Parenthood patients, supporters, and staff from across the country came together in the nation’s capital to advocate for essential programs like Title X, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, and Medicaid. The advocates flooded the offices of Democratic and Republican representatives to discuss the impact that the Trump-Pence administrations’ attacks on reproductive health and rights have on their communities. According to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, one in five Americans have protested or participated in rallies since the beginning of 2016 — 19 percent of whom had never before joined a march or a political gathering, and nearly 50 percent of whom are doing so in support of women’s rights.

Reps. Gwen Moore (WI), Marc Veasey (TX), and Barbara Lee (CA) joined Planned Parenthood’s Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin CEO Tanya Atkinson, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast CEO Melaney Linton, and a Planned Parenthood Teen Council member at a press conference to discuss the impact that attacks on Medicaid, Title X, and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs have on people who rely on Planned Parenthood for health services and information. The organization announced efforts in May and the months ahead to educate supporters.

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

Today is Planned Parenthood’s largest lobby day in the history of our 101-year-old organization. All throughout 2017, the Trump-Pence administration launched attack after attack on our health and rights — and young people, women, and their families across the country are riled up. Our supporters are putting in the hard work to make sure everyone gets the health care they want or need, without politicians controlling when, how, or why. Planned Parenthood is more than 11 million supporters strong, and we are here to tell lawmakers that we aren’t going anywhere.

This lobby day launched a month of grassroots activism from Planned Parenthood supporters across the country to rally their communities and educate their representatives about the impact of Trump-Pence administration policies that undermine people’s health and rights. These efforts will be led by super volunteers called Planned Parenthood Defenders, who organized more than 2,500 events in 2017 and will be spending 2018 organizing on and offline to fight back against federal and state efforts to roll back reproductive rights. Representatives should expect to see their town halls pinked out during May congressional recess.

Since taking office, The Trump-Pence Administration has...

• Issued a rule that allows employers to deny birth control coverage to employees
• Cut funding for evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs
• Removed protections for sexual assault survivors on campus and transgender people
• Pushed for abstinence-only programs to be funded through the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs
• Shifted Title X family planning funds to faith-based providers and ones that focus on “natural family planning”
• Allowed HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Scott Lloyd to block young, undocumented women — including at least one victim of rape — from accessing safe, legal abortion
• Attempted to stack the courts with unfit and dangerous anti-women’s health judges
• Repeatedly tried to block patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.