Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

There’s a lot at stake for reproductive freedom in the 2016 election. That’s why the Planned Parenthood Action Fund spent two months asking our members what matters most to THEM via Action Forums across the country. What did we hear? We heard that young people with Planned Parenthood Generation Action are bold and unapologetic about abortion, sexuality and sex-positivity. We also heard what issues we should be fighting our very hardest on. All that feedback has driven Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s strategy for the 2016 election.

Now, ​Planned Parenthood Action Fund ​is ​bringing ​together nearly ​1,000 ​of ​our member leaders — including many who are part of Planned Parenthood Generation Action ​— ​​to kick off our fall electoral work and get trained on ​organizing ​in our communities. For 2016 and beyond, these leaders will be ​driving the ​program ​that will ​result in real change for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and freedom; that will change ​the ​nature ​of ​power ​in ​this ​country. 

 

Action Forum in Orlando, FL: Planned Parenthood Action Fund members discussed what's most important to them this election.

 

Action Forum in Orlando, FL: Planned Parenthood Action Fund members voted for their top issues with stickers.

How the Action Forums Worked

To build a strong, diverse movement inclusive of Planned Parenthood health centers’ patient base, Planned Parenthood Action Fund engaged hundreds of our members in Action Forums across the country. We got feedback from over 800 reproductive health advocates at 50 Action Forums and over 6,500 people online about what they’d most like to see Planned Parenthood Action Fund (and presidential candidates) fight for in this election.

  • We talked with Latinx voters in Las Vegas who stressed the importance of ensuring that all people, regardless of immigration status, receive quality and affordable reproductive health care.
  • We heard from folks in Idaho, Alaska, and Washington state on the need for elected officials to support — and Planned Parenthood health centers to provide — reproductive healthcare in rural communities.
  • In North Carolina and New Orleans, we got the word from our youth activists — who are part of Planned Parenthood Generation Actionon the importance of fighting campus sexual assault.
  • And on Twitter, we talked about whose voices should be at the forefront when decisions are made: young people, people of color, LGBTQ people, women — everyone who will be impacted by the decisions.

 

Action Forum at North Carolina State University: Planned Parenthood Action Fund members included many young people who are part of Planned Parenthood Generation Action.

 

Action Forum in North Carolina: Planned Parenthood Generation Action folks led a  powerful chant!

Week by week, we heard from teachers and college professors, LGBTQ community leaders, youth activists, faith leaders, recent immigrants, and longtime volunteers. In Nevada, a promotora (Latinx community health educator) even recruited her car mechanic to be part of the abortion discussion group at the Las Vegas Action Forum — that’s the type of power we’re building!

To get a better sense of the values and needs of our members, check out what these Action Forum participants said:

“I’ve been fighting for a GSA (gay straight alliance) at my high school for three years and I’ve stood in front of our school board 17 times to make it happen. I don’t want any student to have to go through that to feel accepted as a person or in the classroom. We need comprehensive and inclusive sex education, as well as safe spaces for all.”

— New Hampshire Action Forum participant

“I really enjoyed the forum! My 1st time in a meeting with Planned Parenthood, and I was blown away with how much my voice as a young person was valued and included!”

—North Carolina Action Forum participant

"This was a wonderful event! Thank you for allowing me to share my opinions. Let’s do this every year!"

—Florida Action Forum participant

 

A break-out group at the Las Vegas, NV, Action Forum

 

The full group of Action Forum participants in Las Vegas, NV

What You Said: Your Values, Your Voices

Planned Parenthood Action Fund members shared several strong, core values, including:

  • Inclusivity and intersectionality in everything Planned Parenthood does — especially the connection to racial justice, economic justice, immigration reform, transportation and other issues that directly impact our supporters’ and patients’ lives. 
  • Ending abortion stigma, and taking a bold and proactive stance in fighting to expand access to abortion care 
  • Access to reproductive health care in safe and secure environments, free from violence, harassment and intimidation 
  • Sex Education that is comprehensive, inclusive, medically accurate, and emphasizes consent. 

 

Small group discussions at the Action Forum in Little Rock, AR

In addition to expressing their values, Action Forum participants — including both survey respondents and event attendees — cited laws and policies that they care about:

  • Guidelines and policies for sex education K-12, as well as opportunities for lifelong learning about sexuality and sexual health.

  • Affirmative consent legislation (i.e., “yes means yes” laws)

  • Medicaid expansion in states that are rejecting it and withholding access to affordable care to hardworking individuals and families

  • Repealing the Hyde Amendment so that all women have access to safe, legal abortion regardless of their income, employer, or zip code.

  • Protecting access to  safe and legal abortion by defeating bad laws, such as:

    • Targeted restrictions against abortion providers (TRAP) that place unreasonable requirements on health care centers, slowly erode access to abortion, have nothing to do with improving the health or safety of women — and have everything to do with politics

    • Barriers and bans on telemedicine — a safe and effective method for providing medication abortion that incorporates video conferencing and in-person care; such barriers can make safe and legal abortion inaccessible in rural areas

    • So-called parental notification and/or consent laws for abortion, which do nothing to improve communication between parents and children but rather have the potential to harm young people who are already vulnerable — and can especially endanger minors when they are victims of abuse, rape or incest at the hand of a parent.

 

Youth Leaders gathered from across the country in New Orleans, LA

 

The Washington, DC, Action Forum team

Holding Politicians Accountable

Now that Planned Parenthood Action Fund has this powerful and diverse feedback, we want to share it with to key local, state and federal decision-makers — as well as 2016 candidates. Why? To gain support for issues like abortion access, affordable birth control coverage, and inclusive sex education.

Planned Parenthood Action Forum is using what we learned from our members to hold elected officials and 2016 candidates accountable for their positions on reproductive health.

Here’s to electing leaders who will work toward reproductive freedom — not against it!

 

Dozens came out to the Action Forum in Seattle, WA

Join the Fight

Inspired? Join the fight to elect pro-reproductive health leaders in 2016!

 

Act Now

We can't let these attacks on reproductive care keep happening. Now more than ever is the time to fight back. Now is the time to make sure everybody gets the health care access they deserve. Now is the time to join the I Vote Planned Parenthood Action campaign!

Tags: Hillary Clinton, African Americans, LGBTQ, communities of color, action forum, Youth, Generation Action

Is Abortion Still Legal in My State?

Learn about abortion access changes in your state.

Get the Facts

Tell Our Courts: Save Mifepristone!

We should be able to trust our courts to respect science and follow the law. It's time for our leaders to hear us, loud and clear: The attack on mifepristone is a gross injustice that could harm millions of people.

Speak Out Now

Planned Parenthood Action Fund Will NEVER Back Down

Know this: our right to abortion is not debatable. We will rebuild and reclaim the freedom that is ours.

Donate

Sign Up for Email

Sign Up

Explore more on

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our Necessary Cookies as they are deployed to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.