Planned Parenthood Organizations and Partners To Hold National Day of Action on Sept. 1 to Raise Awareness of Texas’s Draconian Six-Week Abortion Ban

Organizations will host events across the country, both virtually and in-person, to send a clear message: Bans Off Our Bodies 

Washington, D.C. — On Sept. 1, in direct response to the potential implementation of S.B. 8, Texas’s draconian six-week abortion ban, Planned Parenthood organizations and partners will hold a National Day of Action in support of reproductive freedom across the country. With 2021 already the most hostile year on record for state attacks on abortion access, partners will rally nationwide to fight for abortion rights and the freedom for people to make their own decisions about their bodies and their futures.

Example of homepage takeover ad in online newspaper in Louisiana

Planned Parenthood organizations and other partners are taking the lead of the Trust Respect Access coalition in Texas during this national day of action, urging supporters and activists to get involved and speak out during this critical moment. The ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights, who are litigating partners in the lawsuit filed last month to block S.B. 8, will also join in efforts to mobilize alongside abortion rights supporters in states across the country. The organizations are set to host in-person and virtual events, launch mobile billboard and homepage takeovers across the country, produce multiple Instagram Live Q&A sessions with activists and influencers, and more. Together, organizations will send a loud and clear message to politicians who want to control people’s bodies and lives: BANS OFF OUR BODIES.  

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

We have a message for every politician trying to curtail our freedom and control our futures: Keep your bans off our bodies. Planned Parenthood organizations, alongside our partners fighting back against these attacks, will host this day of action to stand up for access to safe, legal abortion. We reject hostile laws like Texas’s S.B. 8 and the onslaught of attempts to strip us of our rights. No matter what, we will never stop advocating for the health of everyone seeking an abortion.

Among the events taking place on the day of action include:

• In-person actions in California, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, and Virginia
• Virtual actions happening in AK, AR, AZ, FL, IA, ID, IL, KS, MI, NE, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, and WA
• Mobile billboards with the message “Bans Off Our Bodies” in AZ, DC, DE, GA, KY, MI, and TX
• Homepage takeovers in online newspapers in AZ, DC, GA, KY, LA, MI, and TX
• Virtual canvassing, asking supporters to sign the Bans Off Our Bodies petition
• Instagram Live on Planned Parenthood Action Fund (@ppact) featuring Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson and an influencer and activist.
• Instagram Live on Planned Parenthood (@plannedparenthood) featuring Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson and Dr. Bhavik Kumar of Planned Parenthood Center for Choice.

If you are interested in covering/attending an action, please email [email protected]

The day of action comes as S.B. 8, Texas’s draconian six-week abortion ban, is set to take effect — one of 90 abortion restrictions enacted in 2021 alone. The Texas law, unlike abortion bans in other states that are enforced by state officials, gives the general public unprecedented authority to enforce its abortion ban. It’s a full-scale assault on patients, their health care providers, and their support systems. It’s unusually cruel and intended to intimidate physicians and other clinic staff out of providing abortion for fear of facing frivolous lawsuits and court orders shutting their doors. It also comes ahead of Supreme Court oral arguments in a case from Mississippi about a different abortion ban that could overturn Roe v. Wade.  

Planned Parenthood organizations and partners are showing up in force because we all deserve the ability to control our own bodies, our lives, and our futures. Politicians passing abortion restrictions are acting in defiance of the American people, whose support for safe, legal abortion is strong: 80 percent of Americans want abortion to be legal. The day of action will send a loud and clear message to politicians: Banning abortion is unconstitutional, dangerous, deeply unpopular, and people will not stand for it. For those that wish to join the movement for reproductive freedom and be part of the Sept. 1 National Day of Action, they can sign up or get more information here from the Trust Respect Access coalition in Texas. 

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all 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, striving to create equitable access to health care. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable education and information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports the independently incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates operating health centers across the U.S.