Planned Parenthood Action Fund Thanks Bernie Sanders, a Stalwart Champion for Health Care Access, for His Outspoken Support of Reproductive Rights and Health Care
For Immediate Release: April 8, 2020
From his call to repeal the Hyde Amendment during the last debate to his bold plan to expand reproductive rights, Sanders prioritized the health care needs of every American
WASHINGTON — Earlier today, Senator Bernie Sanders, a stalwart champion for expanding health care access, ended his candidacy to be the next president of the United States. Senator Sanders is a fierce advocate for working families and expanded economic opportunities for every American.
Senator Sanders made his support for expanding reproductive rights a key issue throughout his campaign. In the last debate, Senator Sanders centered reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy by forcing a conversation about the Hyde Amendment’s disproportionate impacts on people with low incomes and communities of color. He also released standalone plans to address the need to protect and expand reproductive rights.
Access to health care has become an especially pertinent issue in the 2020 campaign, as the country struggles to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, and as states across the country and even some members of Congress and the Trump administration use the response to try to restrict access to abortion and other reproductive health care.
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, acting President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Senator Bernie Sanders has been a fierce champion for expanding health access during this race. We’re grateful he brought access to reproductive health care and abortion front and center in this last debate, and had a comprehensive plan to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care in this country. We know he will continue that leadership in the Senate and look forward to working with him to pass bold policies that expand reproductive rights.
“We now look to Vice President Joe Biden to continue this conversation in the presidential race, and to push bold policies that will protect and expand our health and our rights. Now, more than ever, we need someone who will be an outspoken champion for health care, and who will stand up against the politicians who use the COVID-19 public health crisis to restrict access to reproductive health care. That’s never more clear than when we watch President Trump’s relentless attacks on health care access — from an incompetent handling of the response to the new coronavirus to sabotaging the Affordable Care Act to attacking access to abortion, birth control, and Planned Parenthood health centers. Now is the time for bold leadership to bring big ideas and reverse the damage the Trump administration has done.”
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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.