Planned Parenthood on Clinton Victory in Iowa

Washington, DC -- Planned Parenthood Action Fund tonight celebrated Hillary Clinton’s victory in Iowa and issued the following statement.

Statement from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“This is a victory for women and an important step toward protecting and expanding the progress we’ve made. Last night, young people, women, people of color, LGBT people, and Iowans of all backgrounds came together to send a message that Hillary Clinton is the leader we need in the White House.

“The stakes are higher this year than in any other election in memory. Access to safe and legal abortion is on the ballot, and so are insurance coverage for birth control and equal pay. This election is about whether our daughters and granddaughters will have fewer rights than we have. Hillary Clinton won’t let that happen, and the people of Iowa saw that she’s the best the candidate to fight for all of us.

“Planned Parenthood supporters in Iowa have knocked on thousands of doors and made thousands of phone calls to help elect Hillary Clinton as our next President – because the stakes are so high and she’s the candidate who can get things done to improve the lives of women and families.

“Every one of the Republican candidates for President would take women back to the 1950s, or worse. Given what women are facing if one of them wins, we need much more than a friend – we need a fighter and a champion, and that’s what Hillary Clinton is.”

Planned Parenthood executed a robust organizing program in Iowa, with Planned Parenthood Action Fund direct mail highlighting Secretary Clinton’s record, grassroots action, and both the Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes running phone banks to reach out to tens of thousands of voters leading up to today’s Iowa Caucuses. Planned Parenthood invested in a six figure ad buy in Iowa. The buy included two videos - What’s At Stake and In Her Own Words - and takeovers of the home pages of the Cedar Rapids Gazette and The Des Moines Register.

About Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton:

After two months of evaluating the records of all of the candidates and interviewing all of the candidates – and after more than 100 local leaders representing all 50 states voted to recommend endorsement -- Planned Parenthood Action Fundendorsed Hillary Clinton in early January. Planned Parenthood political and advocacy organizations plan to spend an unprecedented $20 million in this election cycle, with a focus on the presidential race, as well as key Senate races in New Hampshire, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio to make sure voters know where the candidates stand on these issues and how candidates’ positions will impact them.

Women’s health was a deciding issue in the 2012 presidential election. Mitt Romney took a hard stance on Planned Parenthood and reproductive health care in 2012, and he then lost the election by the biggest gender gap in recent history. In Virginia in 2013, women’s health was a deciding factor when Terry McAuliffe won women overall–and won 59% of the votes of people who said abortion was the most important issue to them – 20% of the electorate.