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You can watch the Mitch McConnell ad here.

WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood today launched a new campaign, “Birth Control:  We All Benefit,” to celebrate and protect the no co-pay birth control benefit made possible by the Affordable Care Act.  The campaign will remind Americans and their elected representatives that we all benefit when women have access to affordable birth control, despite the continued attempts by some politicians and for-profit companies to take this benefit away. Every woman should have access to birth control without cost being an issue.  

As part of the campaign, Planned Parenthood Federation of America today is launching a TV ad highlighting the anti-birth control positions of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who spoke out this week along with other Republican lawmakers in support of bosses who want to deny the women who work for them access to no-cost birth control, and calling on him to change his positions.

“Women's preventive care — including birth control – is basic health care. This shouldn't be a revolutionary idea, but unfortunately it is to some,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Politicians and bosses have no business denying women access to this basic health care.  All women, no matter where they live or who their boss is, deserve access to the same benefits provided through the Affordable Care Act.”

In addition to McConnell, PPFA is launching online ads calling on the other lawmakers who spoke out this week to change their positions, including: Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA).

You can watch the Mitch McConnell ad here.

The ad highlights that McConnell is siding with bosses who want to dictate their employees’ access to birth control — saying, “McConnell voted to let companies pay women less than men for the same work.  And now he wants to let bosses deny women birth control coverage.  Even while men get their Viagra covered. The fact is, Mitch McConnell’s plan could cost Kentucky women and families up to an extra $600 a year. That’s just not fair.”

“As the nation’s leading women’s health care provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood has led the charge for access to contraception for nearly a century, from those first days 97 years ago when Margaret Sanger was arrested for handing out information about family planning.  We know that when women have access to affordable birth control — they benefit, their families benefit, and we all benefit.  That is what we are going to remind these politicians and bosses who continue to insist that they should be the ones who decide if and when women can access birth control,” said Richards.

Every year, nearly 750 Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide see nearly three million patients — two million specifically for birth control information and services.

Public polling finds overwhelming support for women’s access to birth control:

  • Seven in ten Americans (70 percent) believe that health insurance companies should be required to cover the full cost of birth control, just as they do for other preventive services, according to an October 2012 poll by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
  • A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracking trends in birth control use from 1982 to 2010 reinforces that almost all women (99 percent) have used contraception at some point in their lives, regardless of their background or religious affiliation.
  • The Contraceptive CHOICE Study released last fall demonstrated that access to no co-pay birth control — as is outlined in the Affordable Care Act — leads to significantly lowered unintended pregnancy and abortion rates.  

Access to affordable birth control benefits women and their families:

  • Birth control has contributed to the advancement of women in the workplace by allowing them to plan for their futures and invest in their careers.
  • Research finds that availability of the pill is responsible for a third of women’s wage increases relative to men. By the 1980s and ’90s, the women who had early access to the pill were making eight percent more each year than those who did not.
 

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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 700 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.

Source

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Contact

Planned Parenthood Federation of America media office: 212-261-4433

Published

February 22, 2013

Updated

March 23, 2016

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