Post-Election Strength: A letter from Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri President and CEO Mary M. Kogut

What a difficult week for all of us who care about reproductive health care and about women and their lives. The feelings of shock, anger, disappointment, sadness, surprise, anxiety, and any number of reactions are palpable. We have been hearing from many of you, from patients, and from supporters, that you share this very serious concern about the very threatening future for our ability to serve all who need our care. 

I don’t want to sugarcoat this for you: we will grapple with the impact of this historic outcome for many years to come. Challenges like defunding Planned Parenthood health centers, attacks on Medicaid and Title X, destroying the access to women’s health through the ACA, and increased bans on abortion are just some of what might be on the horizon. 

We stand prepared to continue this fight for access to quality, affordable reproductive health care for all.

Mary M. Kogut, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri President and CEO

However, in Planned Parenthood’s 100 year history, we have dealt with and overcome many challenges.  We stand prepared to continue this fight for access to quality, affordable reproductive health care for all.

Will we have great work to do? Yes. 
Are we up for this challenge? Yes. 

But we can only meet this challenge with you as our backbone and continued source of support. Together we can make a difference for those we love and for those who most need us.

For today and every day, our determination is to continue forward, to keep our doors open and to be accessible to every person who needs us. We’ve provided quality and excellence for 100 years – we are not stopping now. 

Today, a picketer in front of our building stopped me to say that the election “was a victory for babies.” It was not. We must always take care of women and mothers in order for families and children to be healthy and safe. We will continue to do that every day. We will stay open. We will be here. 

But to do that, we need you!  We need your steadfast support of what is right, what is fair, and what is worth fighting for. We need your belief in our mission and our care. This is a time for us to move forward together and produce a groundswell of support and movement, together, for women’s health care and all who need our services. 

Planned Parenthood’s doors stay open, no matter what.

In the upcoming weeks we will make asks of you – things you can do to impact the lives of others. Today, we ask you to give. With your help we will forge forward. Please give what you can today!

With my deepest gratitude,

Mary M. Kogut
President and CEO 
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri