ICYMI from The 19th*: ‘You represent us’: What it’s like to lobby for abortion rights from a red state
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC — Last week, Planned Parenthood Action Fund patient advocates from across the country visited Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress and their staff about the importance of protecting and expanding access to sexual and reproductive health care. In this in-depth feature story in The 19th, patient advocates Elizabeth Feldmanm from Pleasant Hill, Iowa, Yolenna Regmi from Papillon, Nebraska, and Lacey Layne from Fort Mill, South Carolina, spoke to their experiences sharing their personal stories, including with their representatives who have opposed abortion access.
- “I just want them to know that we’re out here, and we’re going to keep showing up…And whether you like it or not, you represent us,” said Feldman.“It can be scary, a little bit nerve-wracking. But the experience has been incredibly empowering…It makes me feel very much validated to be able to take the experiences that I’ve personally had and potentially make any kind of a difference with them.”
- “It’s not realistic to keep pushing this abstinence-based program federally or statewide,”said Regmi. “I think that people shouldn’t be scared to say what they believe in, when you never know who’s listening…You never know what opportunities are going to come to your door if you just say your values and speak up for people.”
- “Any decision I would have made, it would not have changed; I would not have had a living baby at the end,” said Layne. “So it’s hard when people are politicizing a health care decision…I just think about all the moms out there that are receiving those devastating reports on their anatomy scans, and they have to figure out where to go or what to do…And some of them have the privilege to travel for health care, and some of them do not.”
The Planned Parenthood National Storytellers Program, founded in 2018, is a leadership development cohort for patient advocates and currently has 131 members around the country.
If you are interested in interviewing a patient advocate please email [email protected].
Read more from The 19th* here and in Spanish here.
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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.