He firmly defended Planned Parenthood and stood up for a woman's right to choose.
President Barack Obama addressed more than 1,200 attendees at Planned Parenthood Federation of America's annual conference in Washington, DC, on Friday, denouncing the unprecedented attacks on Planned Parenthood funding and women's health in general in 42 states.
"One in five women in this country has turned to Planned Parenthood for health care," the President said. "One in five. And for many, Planned Parenthood is their primary source of health care -- not just for contraceptive care, but for lifesaving preventive care, like cancer screenings and health counseling."
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards introduced the President, detailing some of the assaults on basic reproductive health care around the country. "When you read about some of these laws, you want to check the calendar," she said.
All across the country, women are losing access not only to abortion, but to basic contraceptive care, as Abby Scher reports in a cover story for the current issue of The Progressive:
"Americans United for Life is the anti-choice movement's equivalent of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the rightwing generator of "model" state legislation that benefits its corporate members. Founded in 1971, Americans United for Life has been busy creating anti-choice bills -- forty in total -- that are now overwhelming statehouses across the country. Republicans are flexing their legislative muscle, turning their electoral gains into reactionary laws, particularly against women's reproductive access. 'For us, it is very much a military strategy,' Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, has been quoted as saying. 'Never attack where the enemy is strongest.... We pick our battles. What we do is very much under the radar screen.'
Here is video of the President's speech:
Dr. Ruth Westheimer received the Margaret Sanger Award at the event "for her lifelong committment to empowering women and men to talk openlhy and honeslty about sex and sexual health."
If you liked this article by Ruth Conniff, the political editor of The Progressive, check out her story "Progressives Say They'll Primary Dems Who Vote for Chained CPI."
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