New Pro-Choice President to Bring New Day to Women's Health

Chicago, IL – This year, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade comes just two days after the historic inauguration of President Obama, a pro-choice president committed to protecting and strengthening women’s health.

“The elation that everyone in the pro-choice community feels from electing a pro-choice president continues – two days after he was sworn into office,” said Steve Trombley, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “Having President Obama in office means it is a new day for women’s health.”

One of President Obama’s first acts as president has already been to halt Bush’s “midnight regulations,” the final set of regulations he tried to push prior to the end of his presidency. These regulations included a Health and Human Services rule that would have allowed health care workers to deny patients vital health care information and services based on their own personal biases.

Obama’s Presidency means an end of eight years of an administration that put ideology before science, poured millions of dollars into ineffective abstinence-only until marriage programs, and denied women basic health care services. The new administration will work to find commonsense solutions to these problems that have jeopardized the health of our nation.

“We are looking forward to working with the new President and Congress to address the critical issues affecting women in our current health care situation,” said Trombley. “Given these tough economic times, we are seeing more and more women turn to Planned Parenthood to make sure they stay healthy and continue to use birth control to avoid unplanned pregnancies, and it is vital that we have policies in place that protect and support women’s rights to these services.” 

Planned Parenthood of Illinois offers a wide range of reproductive health care services, including: gynecological exams, birth control methods and consultation, emergency contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, HIV testing, HPV and hepatitis vaccines, men’s health services, and surgical and medication abortion services.