Planned Parenthood Teams Up with Independent Filmmakers to Tell Stories of Patients and Providers

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2016

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Watch the Series Here:https://www.plannedparenthood.org/videos

 

 

Washington, DC —Planned Parenthood has teamed up with a network of independent filmmakers to tell the stories of the amazing patients and health care providers of Planned Parenthood.  Called “Stories of Care. No Matter What,” this video project tells the stories of patients and providers from all corners of the country, in their own voices. The series launches today with a 12-part installment by writer, director and independent filmmaker Brooke Sebold, co-director of the award winning documentary Red Without Blue.  Filmed in partnership with Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, Sebold explores stories that represent the full range of Planned Parenthood care - too many of which have been overlooked in the current political landscape, including the services Planned Parenthood provides to the LGBTQ community and what it means to be a spiritual Catholic who also supports Planned Parenthood.

 

You can view the first video series here:https://www.plannedparenthood.org/videos

You can share using the hashtag: #WeArePP

 

“The 2.5 million patients who come through our doors each year are at the core of what we do,”said Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “We want to make sure that their stories, and the stories of the dedicated providers who serve them, are told. After a year of unprecedented attacks on Planned Parenthood’s patients and providers – this incredible series showcases the real and personal stories of those who provide and those who benefit from Planned Parenthood’s essential health care. I'm so proud of the quality care we provide - you can see it in these films and I encourage people to come see for themselves at one of our 650 health centers across the country.”

 

“This was an incredible opportunity to capture and share what really happens behind the doors at Planned Parenthood,” said filmmaker Brooke Sebold. “It’s a series about real lives, exploring complicated narratives and the notion that not everything is black and white. My hope is that these stories are seen and shared widely, and that they help shape a productive conversation about what brings us together rather than what divides us. As someone who had never been to Planned Parenthood before this project, I was surprised to learn about the wide variety of services that health center staff provide. I was also surprised to learn what a saving grace Planned Parenthood has been for many loved ones in my life. I’m proud to help such an essential and important organization tell its story.”

 

“Nobody works at Planned Parenthood by accident. Everyone is there because of their call to the mission,” said Dr. Sierra Washington, the new Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, who was seven months pregnant at the time this series was filmed. "There is a certain solidarity among patients when they see that I'm pregnant.”

 

“Thank you so much for making us feel appreciated,” said Sally, who served her country in Iraq for seven years. Now she's a Staff Clinician at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, where she works to provide quality health care to women, men, and young people alongside her dedicated colleagues. “It really boosts morale to know we have such incredible support!”

 

“The reason I wanted to share this story is because I'm sure your job isn't easy,” said Adeline, a patient featured in this series who wrote to Planned Parenthood at the height of last summer’s attacks. “I read every single email I get from Cecile Richards, written while protesters scream outside her building. I find it infuriating, and wanted to cut that perpetual noise that I'm sure you deal with constantly, by sharing a positive story and experience that I had with Planned Parenthood.”

 

“Planned Parenthood... I’ve always felt really safe there,” said JC, who was afraid to come out as gay to his family physician. A visit to a compassionate Planned Parenthood provider gave him the courage he needed to identify his sexuality for the very first time. “They saw me as a human being. Not just a patient walking in.”

 

This is not the first time patients have shared their stories in support of Planned Parenthood.

• America Stands with Planned Parenthood: Over the past number of months, news outlets, community members, medical organizations, and local leaders have demonstrated their deep support for Planned Parenthood and the patients Planned Parenthood serves by signing over 2.4 million petitions, showing up at over 2,000 events, and publishing editorials, op-eds, letters to the editor, and articles.
   

• National #PinkOut Day: In September 2016, after months of attacks on reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood supporters fought back with a spectacular show of solidarity by turning their communities (and the Internet) pink — Planned Parenthood pink. Millions of volunteers rallied in support of Planned Parenthood as part of our first annual National #PinkOut Day.
   

• Planned Parenthood Saved Me: After the Komen controversy in 2012, hundreds of people submitted their stories of how Planned Parenthood saved them, with patient and supporter Deanna Zandt starting the “Planned Parenthood Saved Me” Tumblr to highlight the many stories from women whose lives were “saved or changed because they had access to affordable health care like cancer screenings through Planned Parenthood.”

 

Additional Background:
 

• Since July, politicians in at least 24 states have taken action to “defund” Planned Parenthood and block care at Planned Parenthood health centers. According to theCongressional Budget Office, if patients who rely on public health programs are blocked from coming to Planned Parenthood, up to 650,000 people would face decreased access to health care in just a one-year period.
   

• Blocking care at Planned Parenthood has very real and devastating consequences for the communities served. In Texas, a recent study in theNew England Journal of Medicine showed that blocking patients from going to Planned Parenthood led to a35% decline in women on Medicaid using the most effective methods of birth control and a dramatic 27% spike in births among women who had previously had access to injectable contraception through Medicaid.
   

• Planned Parenthood health centersserve an outsized role in meeting the health care needs of those who rely on federally­ funded health programs. More than half of Planned Parenthood's health centers across the U.S. are in rural or medically underserved areas, meaning that often without Planned Parenthood, patients would have nowhere else to turn for reproductive health care.
   

• Planned Parenthood has filed 17 lawsuits since July to protect or expand access to care at its 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 over 650 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.