PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY COULD BE NEXT TO FLIP TO A PRO-REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE MAJORITY

Planned Parenthood Votes Launches First of Its Kind Youth Voter Guide To Educate Voters on Down-Ballot Races

HARRISBURG, PA— This week, Planned Parenthood Votes announced the launch of its Youth Voter Guide in Pennsylvania to educate young voters in the state about where federal and state level candidates stand on an array of issues. This year, the rights and freedoms of all Pennsylvanians are on the line like never before. Who the state elects to the capitol will determine people’s access to birth control, cancer screenings, sex education, abortion and more. Pennsylvania state politicians have been hellbent on eroding abortion access one restriction at a time. 

That’s why Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates is ramping up voter contact work to ensure big wins on November 3. In 2020, that means moving toward a pro-reproductive health care majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. Pennsylvania needs champions in the statehouse who will fight for our rights and freedoms.

The interactive Youth Voter Guide, specifically geared towards engaging young voters of color, will compare where both federal and state candidates stand on a variety of issues impacting young people — who make up the largest voting bloc in the 2020 election — including health care, education, minimum wage, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, police reform, gun safety, and climate change. 

Voters will be able to create their own ballots based on these guides, print them out, and take them to the voting booth or keep them handy when filling out their mail-in ballots. The guide is available in 9 other states, NC, FL, MI, ME, MN, GA, TX, AZ and CO, strategically selected to coincide with the key swing states where young voters have the capacity to be instrumental this election cycle.

Since taking office, Gov. Tom Wolf has played a crucial role in defending reproductive health by vetoing harmful legislation that would attack people’s health care and abortion access. Now it’s time for Gov. Wolf to sign legislation that will protect and expand people’s access to reproductive health care, but in order to do so, Pennsylvania needs to elect the state legislators that can make it happen. 

Statement from Emily Callen, Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates Executive Director:

“Politicians in Pennsylvania have been intent on taking away our power — our power to decide when and how to start a family, how to take care of our sexual and reproductive health, and what happens to our own bodies. 

“The 2020 election is our time to decide: Will we be a state where each person, regardless of who we are or where we live, can control their body and their future? It’s time that we move toward a pro-reproductive health care majority in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly.

“Young voters know so much of what they care about is at stake — their reproductive rights, the future of climate change, racial justice, immigration justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. With leaders who will stand up for us, we can protect safe and legal abortion by codifying Roe v. Wade, introducing a line item for sexual and reproductive health services into the state budget and expanding coverage for telehealth services including sexual and reproductive health care including abortion. From now until Election Day, we will be working to ensure Pennsylvanians turn out in force at the ballot box to support reproductive rights champions.”

Planned Parenthood Votes also launched its National Voter Guide this week, featuring the records of federal candidates on sexual and reproductive health. These guides are part of Planned Parenthood Votes “We Decide 2020” electoral program. “We Decide 2020” is Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations’ largest electoral program ever - with a historic investment of at least $45 million in key battleground states during the 2020 cycle. 

###

Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.

 

Paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, 123 William St, NY NY 10028. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.