Planned Parenthood is seeing an even higher demand for IUDs, and the statistic is just more proof of how vital their services are
Last week, the GOP doubled down on their efforts to deprive women of one of our most basic rights — health care. In the days since Paul Ryan vowed to federally defund the organization, Planned Parenthood has seen even more demand for IUDs. In an interview with Christiane Amanpour this week, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said that demand for IUDs has surged by 900 percent because women know the future of their access to health care is in peril.
Richards also emphasized that, if Ryan is successful, women will no longer have access to Planned Parenthood’s preventative health care, which includes cancer screenings, STD testing, and contraception.
.@CecileRichards: “Women in this country are absolutely not going without a fight.” https://t.co/HsXwhkUn25
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) January 9, 2017
“What we’re talking about now in fact and what Paul Ryan, Speaker Ryan, said the other day, is now they will end access to Planned Parenthood preventive care, Richards told Amanpour.
The organization provides these vital, life-saving services to 2.5 million people each year.
In the days since Ryan’s announcement, women (and men) have pledged to stand with Planned Parenthood by signing petitions, making donations, and sharing our own personal stories in an effort to explain why the organization is so desperately needed by millions.
.@SpeakerRyan's office can try to stop us from delivering petitions, but they can't stop millions of patients & supporters from speaking out https://t.co/8LWPBb8vke
— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) January 6, 2017
Richards also told Amanpour that she looks forward to joining the upcoming Women’s March on Washington, and added the fight for women’s rights is far more than one march.
"I think what we’re talking about is more than a march. I think what is important is that women and men who are concerned about the future of women’s rights and women’s health in the U.S., that they make their voices heard in whatever way, whether they march, or whether they call their member of Congress, or call their Senators, Richards said.
Although we’re facing an uphill battle, Richards has vowed that Planned Parenthood’s doors will stay open and she, along with the organization’s millions of supporters, will continue to fight for women’s access to health care.
As the GOP wages a war on women’s rights, it’s important to remember that we still have a voice.
As Richards has emphasized, Planned Parenthood isn’t backing down and neither should we.
