President Obama Speaks to the Planned Parenthood Conference
The President became the first sitting President to address
Planned Parenthood-s National Conference, where he demonstrated his unwavering
support for protecting women-s reproductive rights.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/04/26/president-obama-speaks-planned-parenthood-conference
Friday, April 26th
Today, President Obama spoke at the Planned Parenthood
Conference in Washington, DC, reaffirming the core principle that has
guided the organization for nearly a century: that women should be allowed to
make their own decisions about their own health.
President Obama thanked the doctors, nurses, advocates and
staff who work tirelessly to keep the doors open for the millions of women who
depend on the health services Planned Parenthood offers.
Somewhere there’s a woman who just received a new lease on
life because of a screening that you provided that helped catch her cancer in
time. Somewhere there’s a woman who’s
breathing easier today because of the support and counseling she got at her
local Planned Parenthood health clinic.
Somewhere there’s a young woman starting a career who, because of you,
is able to decide for herself when she wants to start a family.
“One in five women in this country has turned to Planned
Parenthood for health care,” he said. “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.”
When politicians threaten to cut funding for Planned
Parenthood, they’re “talking about shutting those women out at a time when they
may need it most -- shutting off communities that need more health care options
for women, not less.”
“After decades of progress, there’s still those who want to
turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st
century,” he said. “And they’ve been involved in an orchestrated and historic
effort to roll back basic rights when it comes to women’s health.”
When you read about some of these laws, you want to check
the calendar; you want to make sure you’re still living in 2013.
Forty years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s
constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose, we shouldn’t
have to remind people that when it comes to a woman’s health, no politician
should get to decide what’s best for you.
No insurer should get to decide what kind of care that you get. The only person who should get to make decisions
about your health is you.