Duckworth meets with Planned Parenthood leadership, highlights need to protect women’s access to health care

Mar 30, 2017 8:14 AM

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois Linda Diamond Shapiro and Planned Parenthood of Illinois leadership to discuss the importance of protecting against efforts from Conservatives to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood and prevent tens of thousands of women from receiving the health services they need. A photo of today’s meeting is available here.

“Recent attacks on Planned Parenthood are shameful and strip thousands of Illinois patients – and millions across the country – from access to essential care like mammograms and physical screenings,” said Senator Duckworth. “When I was struggling to put myself through college with student loans, Pell Grants and a part-time waitressing job, I had to rely on Planned Parenthood for my basic healthcare services. Now, in 2017, Planned Parenthood continues to serve 2.5 million patients for a wide variety of health services, and I will continue to work with my Senate colleagues to help ensure Planned Parenthood has the resources it needs to care for its patients.”

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Duckworth has been a staunch advocate for women and families as a Member of the House and Senate. In January, she signed a letter to Republican leadership urging them to reconsider their harmful attacks on women’s health care. More recently, Duckworth introduced the FAMILY Act, which would create a universal paid leave program of up to 12 weeks for workers who need time to care for a newborn or adopted child, a seriously ill family member, or their own serious health condition. As a Member of the House, Duckworth introduced the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act to ensure breastfeeding mothers traveling through large- and medium-sized airports have accessible, clean and convenient lactation rooms to use. Duckworth will continue to work to advance equality for women and protect women’s access to health care in the Senate.

In Illinois alone, Planned Parenthood serves 60,000 patients annually. Of those, 34,000 seek testing for sexually transmitted diseases and nearly 7,000 seek out cancer screenings.

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