Planned Parenthood Action Fund Celebrates the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris  

PPAF releases new video, “Our Future Begins Today” to celebrate what’s possible with new leaders who respect our rights, freedoms, and health care 

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, in a historic step forward for the country and a victory for health care, democracy, justice, and civil and reproductive rights, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated as the next president and vice president of the United States. President Biden and Vice President Harris, who won the election by more than 7 million votes, have a mandate to restore decency and compassion, and advance accountability and justice in our nation, our government, and around the world.

To mark this historic moment, today Planned Parenthood Action Fund released a new video, “Our Future Begins Today,” highlighting the nation’s potential for an inclusive new chapter that includes racial justice, equity, and reproductive freedom for all. 

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

Today we finally begin a new chapter for our country — one where we begin to take full control of our bodies, our rights, and our futures. The victory of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and reproductive health, rights, and justice champions in the House and Senate sent a message: A majority of Americans want a more equitable and just society, with access to quality sexual and reproductive health care. In partnership with the Biden-Harris administration and the pro-reproductive health care majority in Congress, Planned Parenthood Action Fund will work to not only reverse the attacks of the past four years, but boldy expand sexual and reproductive health care and rights for all people in the U.S. and across the globe. It’s up to all of us to build a future where everyone has the freedom to make their own health care decisions. Let’s get to work.

The Biden-Harris administration is already getting to work on several pressing human rights issues, which intersect with the right to reproductive freedom. Today, Biden will take executive action for the U.S. to rejoin the World Health Organization, a critical step to strengthen the global community and to protect and expand health care worldwide. President Biden also announced a “100 Days Masking Challenge,” reflecting the Biden administration’s commitment to addressing COVID-19 and listening to science. Biden plans to end Trump’s discriminatory Muslim travel ban that targeted people based on their religious beliefs. Biden will also immediately create a task force to reunite immigrant parents with children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, and introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship for DACA and TPS recipients. Additionally, President Biden is launching a whole-of-government initiative to advance racial equity, embedding equity across federal policymaking. In another important advancement for civil rights, the administration is ensuring that the federal government interprets the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Planned Parenthood Action Fund applauds these Day One actions to protect human rights and help ensure access to comprehensive health care regardless of one's religious beliefs, immigration status, or geographic location. Complementary immediate actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic and our standing in the world must also include rescinding the global gag rule and removing medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion, as critical first steps.

Beyond these initial actions, the Biden-Harris administration and 117th Congress must get to work immediately to manage the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including by advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. They must also work with Congress to end the Hyde and Helms amendments, reverse the restrictions on the Title X program, and address racial health disparities such as the maternal mortality rate. Along with a coalition of more than 90 bold, progressive organizations, Planned Parenthood Federation of America developed “First Priorities for the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice,” a detailed list of executive and agency actions on global and domestic issues that the Action Fund expects the Biden-Harris administration to get to work on immediately.

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy and electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.