Hits: 23

WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. From the New York State Democratic Committee. August 5, 2015:

National Republicans were intent upon jeopardizing women’s health in order to score political points with voters. Earlier this week the Republican-controlled Senate in Washington tried to defund Planned Parenthood but were STOPPED by Senate Democrats!

If they had succeeded, millions of women could have lost vital services like breast exams, pap tests, cancer screening, pediatric care, and preventive health services and immunizations.

In effect, 97% of the Planned Parenthood’s work would have been wiped out.  

Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, warned that “More than half of Planned Parenthood’s health centers are in rural or medically underserved areas. And for many low-income women, Planned Parenthood health centers are their sole source of medical care. Our health centers are lifelines that our country cannot afford to cut.”

New York leaders spoke up too. “…it’s clear that some of my colleagues here are so desperate to roll back Roe-v-Wade they’re so desperate to take us back to the days when women didn’t have any medical independence, that they’ll use any excuse they can get to overreact, and force this tired, same-old Planned Parenthood debate on us…But here’s the truth about Planned Parenthood: Millions of American women rely on Planned Parenthood to stay healthy. They rely on it to prevent diseases. They rely on it to detect diseases. They rely on it to treat diseases.”

Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, standing with members of the New York State Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus (BPCLC), including State Senators Liz Krueger, Mike Gianaris and Velmanette Montgomery, and Assemblymembers Richard Gottfried, Todd Kaminsky, Charles Lavine, Linda Rosenthal, Rebecca Seawright, and Aravella Simotas, said, “Just as I stood with them in Congress, defending them against political extremists who orchestrate a smear campaign to achieve their goal of eliminating a woman’s right to choose, I proudly stand with Planned Parenthood and defend it so that women’s healthcare is not compromised.”

“The fact that eighteen Republican men in the United States Senate have vowed to shut down the government if they don’t succeed in defunding Planned Parenthood is absolutely shocking. As they say, if you aren’t at the table then you are on the menu. Women keep being served up in John Boehner’s and Mitch McConnell’s Congress. Meanwhile Planned Parenthood continues to provide basic services like cancer screenings and birth control to millions of women who otherwise wouldn’t have access to health care. We’ll keep working to recruit and elect women up and down the ballot, from the New York Senate to the U.S. Senate, who are ready to take us forward and not backwards on women’s rights.” said Brette McSweeney, President, Eleanor’s Legacy.