Stand with Planned Parenthood

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STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD "We will work to defund them in every state wherever it is possible.... The other part of it, too, is to create controversy.... We need to help them feel that fear." — Anti-abortion extremist, as reported by The Associated Press 1 It's bad, Terrence. Our opponents are set on eliminating family planning and sex education and making abortion illegal. Stand with us today. Add your name. There is no other way to say this: our opponents are set on eliminating family planning and sex education and making abortion illegal. Today, their latest attack hit the news. Anti-choice extremists, who have been attacking Planned Parenthood for five years, released a secretly taped video claiming that Planned Parenthood is covering up exploitation of children. What these videos don't say is that when their "undercover" operators visited clinics asking for services for an "underage sex trafficking ring," Planned Parenthood staff immediately reported them to both local and federal authorities. We're turning to you for help, Terrence. Please, I ask you to stand with Planned Parenthood in the face of increasing — and increasingly aggressive — attacks. The very fact that the people behind the video would fabricate a story about a child sex trafficking ring — a serious and horrific crime that no one should exploit for their own political agenda — is beyond comprehension. And, unfortunately, it is just the latest in the escalation of attacks that include Representative Smith's bill to ban private insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women and Representative Pence's bill to defund local Planned Parenthood clinics, so that they can no longer provide family planning, birth control, or preventive care to millions of women. It is unconscionable that this band of newly-emboldened extremists has resorted to egregious lies to discredit the doctors, nurses, and other staff who devote their lives to protecting women's health. But, lies are all they have, because the truth is on our side. The truth is that Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate — period. Planned Parenthood gives millions of women the means to control their own reproductive health, from sex education to birth control. We are the leading voice for women's reproductive health and rights. We've been at it for 90 years, and we aren't going anywhere. Not now. Not ever. That is the truth. We've seen too often what happens when the anti-choice fringe takes control of the national conversation about women's health and rights, and we've seen how easily politicians and the media fall for their dirty tricks. Well, not this time. We cannot allow this coordinated effort between anti-choice extremists and dangerous members of Congress to work. You, and I, and every woman and man in America who knows the truth about Planned Parenthood, who has found care and compassion at a Planned Parenthood health center, who values women's health, must speak out now. Stand with us today. And then spread the word. Thank you so very much for standing with us and the women, men, and teens that rely on Planned Parenthood. Sincerely, Cecile Richards, President Planned Parenthood Federation of America 1: "Planned Parenthood seeks FBI probe," Associated Press, January 24, 2011.

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