Planned Parenthood President Marks One-Year Anniversary of Attack on U.S. Capitol
For Immediate Release: Jan. 6, 2022
Alexis McGill Johnson: Protecting the Freedom to Vote is Inextricably Linked to Abortion Rights
Washington, D.C. — Today, Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the violent insurrection at the U.S. capitol.
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Today is a reminder that our democracy and civil rights remain at risk. Jan. 6, 2021 was a visual representation of what's been happening to our democracy for decades –– a tyranny of the minority acting to subvert the will of the people. This insurgency continues by other means, through efforts to undermine our vote. The freedom to vote is a core pillar of our democracy and protecting it is inextricably linked to abortion rights. It’s no coincidence that the same politicians pushing voting restrictions are the architects of some of the most egregious abortion bans in the country. These policies do exactly what they’re designed to do: disenfranchise Black and Brown people, women, people with low incomes, and the LGBTQ+ community. We cannot allow this to continue. Congress must use every legislative means necessary to protect the right to vote and our right to bodily autonomy. Our democracy depends on it.”
Yesterday, Alexis McGill-Johnson joined a press call with voting rights leaders, including Martin Luther King III, and MLK Day mobilization partners to discuss the urgent need to protect the right to vote and the monumental victory Black and Brown organizers won in Georgia with Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on January 6 — a historic moment that was too quickly overshadowed by white supremacist violence at the Capitol.
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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 limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.