Planned Parenthood believes every woman should have access to the full range of reproductive health care. Decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a patient, with the counsel of their family, their faith, and their doctor or health care provider. Politicians should not interfere in an individual’s personal medical decisions about their pregnancy.
Access to abortion is legal, constitutionally protected, and consistently supported by a majority of Americans; yet anti-choice organizations and policymakers have made it increasingly harder for women to access needed care. Anti-choice hardliners erode access to abortion through court battles, ballot measures, and burdensome legislative restrictions on abortion services — some extremists even resort to intimidation, harassment, and violence against women and health care providers.
Opponents of safe and legal abortion have tried to erode access to abortion through a range of abortion restrictions, including targeted restrictions designed to shut down health centers (known as TRAP laws), and laws designed to shame and judge patients. Some states, including California, have passed legislation codifying Roe v. Wade to guarantee its protections because of the continuing judicial controversy.
Planned Parenthood fights these anti-choice efforts on every level. From courthouses to statehouses to Capitol Hill to the grassroots, Planned Parenthood works to protect access to reproductive health care through education of elected officials, litigation, and mobilization of more than four million Planned Parenthood activists, donors, and supporters.
Learn more about abortion access here.