CECILE RICHARDS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND PRESIDENT, STATEMENT ON MCCAIN VICE-PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION

“Senator McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a running mate makes clear that John McCain is completely out of touch on the issues that matter to American women. The last thing women need is a president — and vice president — who are prepared to turn back the clock on women's rights and repeal the protections of Roe v. Wade.

“The 2008 presidential election is about going forward, not backwards. It is about change, not about more of the same. But in choosing Governor Palin, Senator McCain has once again demonstrated that a McCain-Palin administration would be four more years of the same.

“According to an article in the Alaska Journal of Commerce (3/16/08), when Palin was running for lieutenant governor in 2002, she sent an e-mail to the Alaska Right to Life board saying she was as 'pro-life as any candidate can be.' She is also on the record stating that she is opposed to abortion even in the case of rape or incest.

“Women deserve a president who understands all their health care needs. There should be no question now that Barack Obama does and John McCain does not. John McCain may have a woman on the ticket, but he does not have the interests of women at heart. This selection may satisfy the right wing of the Republican Party, but it will further alienate mainstream women voters.”