About Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Our Story

In 1978, Faye Wattleton became the first female president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America since Margaret Sanger — and the first president of color. During her tenure, U.S. President Ronald Reagan passed policies opposing reproductive rights, including the devastating Global Gag Rule. Meanwhile, violent attacks against health centers escalated: Planned Parenthood facilities and health centers around the country became targets of arson, bombs, and other acts of violence.

By the late 1980s, it was clear to Wattleton that Planned Parenthood needed to do more to fight back to keep Planned Parenthood health center doors open and to preserve abortion rights. Wattleton launched Planned Parenthood Action Fund (Action Fund) in 1989 as Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s advocacy arm. Since then, the Action Fund has led the Federation through the country’s toughest political battles over reproductive rights.
 

Who We Are

Planned Parenthood Action Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan membership organization tax exempt under section 501(c)(4). The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education. Backed by millions of activists, donors, and other supporters, the Action Fund is working to promote, protect, expand, and restore access to sexual health care and defend reproductive rights. While the Action Fund works at the national level, many local Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations are fighting to defend sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion access, in states across the country.

There is much to defend — but we’re up for the task. From the time Margaret Sanger opened the country’s first birth control clinic (only to be arrested), Planned Parenthood staff and supporters have been pioneers in reproductive rights and self-determination.

Today, Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education.

One in three women in the U.S. has visited a Planned Parenthood health center.

And the nearly 600 Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide deliver high-quality, supportive health care to millions of people each year.
 

What We Do

We at the Action Fund fight back when anti-abortion rights politicians try to outlaw abortion, take away access to affordable birth control, and block patients from care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The Action Fund fights alongside our local allies when the basic human rights of Planned Parenthood patients, volunteers, supporters, activists, and staff of all races, faiths, genders, and identities are under attack.

To advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

• Advocates to protect, expand, and restore abortion access

• Educates and organizes the public

• Promotes policies that help people access health care

• Works with reproductive health champions in federal, state, and local legislatures

• Registers, informs, and mobilizes voters

• Stands in solidarity with social justice partners to fight back against hate and discrimination that create barriers to care for Planned Parenthood patients

• And, during elections, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Planned Parenthood Federal PAC, and Planned Parenthood Votes each promote candidates who advocate for Americans’ sexual and reproductive rights. The Action Fund also endorses federal candidates who are champions for our issues.
   

Fighting for Planned Parenthood Patients

Many Planned Parenthood patients are people who have historically faced barriers to quality health care. Often, those patients are people of color, people who live in rural areas, LGBTQ+ people, people with low incomes, and people without health insurance. Without Planned Parenthood health centers, many of these patients may have no other place to turn to access safe and legal abortion — or preventive care like birth control, annual exams, and lifesaving cancer screenings, and STD testing and treatment.

Planned Parenthood patients are the inspiration for the work that we at the Action Fund do to advocate for:

• Inclusive sex education, and expanded access to sexual and reproductive health care

• The right to safe and legal abortion — without government interference

• Other key issues across different communities around the world
   

Join the Fight

The Action Fund and the people we fight for are up against major challenges. 

But one thing is certain: We will never back down. Planned Parenthood Action Fund will never stop fighting to protect the access to care at Planned Parenthood health centers that so many people across this country depend on. We will fight to make sure that people in this country can access reproductive health care no matter their ZIP code, income, sexual orientation, race, religion, gender, country of origin, or immigration status. Please join us in this fight.
 

About Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Federal PAC

Planned Parenthood Votes and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Inc. Political Action Committee — Planned Parenthood Federal PAC, for short — are political action committees. Each is separately committed to electing candidates who are steadfast in their support for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure committee registered with the Federal Election Commission. It conducts independent expenditures in federal races, and engages in state elections as permitted by state campaign finance laws.

Planned Parenthood Federal PAC is the Action Fund’s non-partisan political action committee. It is a traditional federal PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission. It collects contributions from Action Fund members and makes limited contributions to federal candidates in accordance with federal campaign finance laws. It also supports state candidates as permitted by state laws.