Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin
Press Release

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin to Join Partners for Women’s March in Wisconsin

“We won’t back down, we won’t be silenced, and we will stand in solidarity with our partners for protection of our rights, our safety and our health.”

By - Jan 20th, 2017 05:55 pm

MADISON –– Saturday, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (PPAWI) will participate in the Women’s March on Madison. The march is being organized by community activists and supported by a diverse group of organizations like Planned Parenthood. It is one of hundreds of women’s marches taking place across the country to send a clear message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world, that women’s rights are human rights.

The marches come as anti-women’s health members of the new Administration and Congress are already threatening the reproductive freedom of women of all backgrounds, identities, and ideologies through proposed attacks on health care. Supporters are marching to protect our collective fundamental civil and human rights. Those rights include protection of reproductive freedom including access to safe, legal abortion services, birth control and sexual health information for all people regardless of income, race, immigration status, faith and location.

Included in the new Congress’s threats are attempts to block Medicaid funding for patients receiving health care at Planned Parenthood which would deny millions of people access to the cancer screenings, birth control, STD and HIV testing and treatment and other care they rely on.

If these politicians succeed, it would devastate people’s access to essential preventive care putting 50,000 women and families in Wisconsin alone at risk for more undiagnosed cancers, STDs, unplanned pregnancies and other poor health outcomes. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves 60,000 patients in our state, most of whom are in rural or underserved areas, and nearly half are people of color, who already face disproportionate barriers in accessing health care. This isn’t just an attack on women, but an attack on our community.

Statement from Tanya Atkinson, incoming President of PPAWI:

“The role that Planned Parenthood plays in health care access and social justice is critical for many women. We are proud to be a part of this movement to unify and achieve equity that is so much bigger than one organization or issue. In our 80 year history, we’ve made enormous progress for women and their health care access. Yet, there is so much more work to do in ending violence, advancing rights for people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, workers and more. People are coming together to say they refuse to go back, and we demand protection of our rights, our safety and our health.

“We know there are enormous challenges ahead, and together with our partners we will rise up with a collective voice too big to ignore. Our unified commitment to achieve human rights, dignity and justice for women of all backgrounds will guide and sustain us through 2018 and beyond.”

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. PPAWI engages in legislative and educational activity and works to elect candidates to office that support these goals

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

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