The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
President Obama speaks at the Planned Parenthood Conference and reaffirms 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 Barack Obama delivers remarks at the 2013 Planned Parenthood National Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., April 26, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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.
