PLANNED PARENTHOOD LAUNCHES TEXAS STATEWIDE ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION
For Immediate Release: March 20, 2014
Planned Parenthood Texas Votes To Educate Texans About What’s at Stake for Women’s Reproductive Health Care and Rights
AUSTIN, TX – Today Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas announced the launch of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Action Fund (PPTV), a statewide advocacy organization that will engage supporters of women’s health across the state to fight to protect and expand women’s access to health care. PPTV will also form a state PAC to educate Texans about what’s at stake for women at the ballot box in 2014 and beyond.
The formation of this new organization comes at a time when the stakes for women and their access to basic health care like cancer screenings and birth control could not be higher, with Texas women facing a health care disaster at the hands of a small and extreme group of politicians.
After years of attacks decimating women’s access to basic health care, and a historic protest last summer by thousands of Texas men and women against dangerous abortion restrictions, Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliates — Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Planned Parenthood South Texas — have created a new entity to fight back: Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Action Fund. PPTV will work closely with Planned Parenthood’s national advocacy and political organization, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, to build a strong base of women and men working to end the repeated attacks on access to family planning and reproductive health care in this state.
In addition, PPVT will create a statewide PAC that will work closely with the national Planned Parenthood Votes to shape the new electorate of Texas. This year’s election will have very real consequences for millions of women in Texas, and it is the women of Texas who will decide the outcome.
“This is an investment in the future of Texas. Just as women trust Planned Parenthood health centers when it comes to their medical care, they trust Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations when we speak out about the policies and politicians that determine their access to their health care. Last summer, thousands of Texas women and men saw how powerful we can be when we stand together and speak with one voice for women’s health and rights. The whole country heard Texas women then, and they will hear us now,” said Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes.
“Planned Parenthood Texas Votes will make sure that every single elected official in Texas hears one message loud and clear: The rights of women aren’t negotiable and our health care isn’t a political bargaining chip,” said Yvonne Gutierrez, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Action Fund. “Moreover, the new state PAC will make sure that every candidate running for office knows that you can’t win in Texas by working against Texas women. Texas women — and all Texans who care about women’s health — are watching. And we are fighting back.”
Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Action Fund and the state PAC will use all the tools at our disposal to advocate on behalf of Texas women, families, and the thousands of women and men who rely on Planned Parenthood's health services in Texas.
Background:
- Planned Parenthood health centers across the state serve more than 200,000 women, men and teens in Texas. The number of supporters in the Planned Parenthood Action Network in Texas exceeds 500,000.
- Thousands of women lost access to birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings and well-woman exams after the state banned Planned Parenthood health centers from the Texas Women’s Health Program (TWHP). This was on top of the estimated 155,000 women who lost access to basic, preventive health care due to the 2011 Legislature’s cruel and dangerous budget cuts.
- In the summer of 2013, more than 6,000 people rallied at the Capitol, more than 34,000 letters were sent to legislators and more than 2,300 people testified against these dangerous restrictions on women’s health.
- This fall, more than 19,000 people urged the Department of Health to write rules for abortion facilities that allow existing, quality providers to remain in service.