Planned Parenthood Action Fund Welcomes President-elect Biden’s Choices to Lead Fight For Reproductive Rights Across the Globe
For Immediate Release: Nov. 23, 2020
WASHINGTON — Today, President-elect Biden announced his intent to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. With these selections, Biden not only begins to build his administration, he begins to make good on his promises to restore U.S. global engagement. These roles are critical to protect and advance sexual and reproductive health care and rights, which have been relentlessly attacked on a global level by the Trump administration.
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“With the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, America chose leaders deeply committed to advancing and expanding reproductive rights — a choice with effects far beyond our borders. The Biden-Harris administration is positioned to end the reproductive rights abuses the outgoing Trump administration inflicted on countries around the world, and to protect and advance sexual and reproductive health care access for all people.
“To begin this work, we must end the global gag rule and its chilling effects, restore funding for the United Nations Population Fund, rejoin the World Health Organization, rebuild our relationship with the global community, and so much more. Antony Blinken and Linda Thomas-Greenfield have deep foreign policy experience and their work will be critical to championing sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world. Planned Parenthood Action Fund is ready to work with these leaders and the entire Biden-Harris team — throughout this transition, on day one, and in the days, weeks, and years ahead — to advance the health and rights of all communities.”
Blinken brings over 25 years of foreign policy experience to the office of secretary of state, including serving as deputy secretary of state under President Obama. He has firmly declared that the Biden administration will work to protect reproductive rights, address gender-based violence, support displaced communities, and more.
Thomas-Greenfield served the U.S. Foreign Service for 35 years. She has helped strengthen our international relationships as the ambassador to Liberia, assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, and the director general of the Foreign Service. She has been outspoken about the need to treat the lack of diversity in the diplomatic corps as a national security crisis.
A coalition of more than 90 bold, progressive organizations 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 Planned Parenthood Action Fund expects the Biden 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.