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Planned Parenthood Advocacy Groups Endorse Ruben Gallego in Arizona Congressional Race

For Immediate Release: July 10, 2014


Washington, DC — Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAA) announces the endorsement of Ruben Gallego for Congress.  

“Ruben Gallego has a spotless voting record on women’s health care at the Arizona State Legislature,” stated Bryan Howard, CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. “His advocacy included support of emergency contraception for assault victims, tireless efforts against denial of public funding for Planned Parenthood and stalwart support for Medicaid expansion.  We look forward to working with him in Congress.”

“As one of the founders of Arizona Men for Choice, and an active member of Catholics for Choice, Ruben is a staunch abortion rights advocate and longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood,” said Jodi Liggett, director of public policy, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. “In Arizona and across the nation, we continue to see politicians try to dictate when and how women access health care. We are confident that in Congress, Ruben will be a fierce advocate for choice, just as he has been in the Arizona Legislature,”

“Ruben is a visionary leader committed to increasing civic engagement in his community, especially among young people around issues that matter most, like health care,” said Howard.  “In Congress, we are confident that he will work to protect access to quality, affordable health care to ensure that all Americans, no matter where they live, or how much money they have, are able to get the care they need, when they need it.”

Earlier this year, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced the “Women are Watching” (WAW) campaign to educate voters about candidates’ positions on women’s health. Over the last several years, Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations have become a powerful and effective force by educating voters about where their candidates stand on women’s health issues. The majority of Americans and Arizona voters believe that a woman and her doctor, not politicians, should be making health care decisions.

  • Women’s health played the defining role in Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial victory last year in Virginia. He won women’s votes by a nine-point margin — matching Obama’s 2012 advantage with Virginia women, beating Obama’s 2008 advantage with Virginia women by two points, and flipping Republican Governor Bob McDonnell's eight-point advantage with women that propelled him to victory in 2009. Notably, 20 percent of Virginia voters said abortion was the most important issue in determining their vote, and McAuliffe won 59 percent of those votes.
  • Polling from the 2012 election shows that access to safe and legal abortion, affordable birth control, and basic health care access are motivating voting issues for women, who view them as core economic issues for their families.  An overwhelming majority of women voters trust Planned Parenthood’s political and advocacy organizations when they speak out about issues affecting the health of women.
  • A 2012 post-election report from the Sunlight Foundation on big winners and losers found that the Action Fund had a 98 percent return on investment — having supported 12 winning candidates and opposed 12 losing candidates.