The Quickie: “She's Always Been A Repro Champion” - Planned Parenthood Action Fund Unveils New Digital Thank You Card For VP Harris

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: PPAF unveils new ads thanking Vice President Harris for her reproductive rights advocacy, rising temperatures threaten the effectiveness of contraception, and supportive reproductive health policies improve job recruitment efforts.

“SHE’S ALWAYS BEEN A REPRO CHAMPION” - PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND UNVEILS NEW DIGITAL THANK YOU CARD FOR VP HARRIS: Today, Planned Parenthood Action Fund unveiled a new digital thank you card for Vice President Harris, creating a space for supporters to share their gratitude for her unwavering commitment to fighting for abortion rights, protecting patient privacy and access to birth control, and working to improve maternal health. Amidst ongoing attacks on sexual and reproductive health, Vice President Harris has traveled across the country to meet with state legislators and elected officials and these ads highlight key steps the Biden-Harris administration has taken to protect patients and providers. 

“Kamala Harris has always been a champion for reproductive rights and maternal health – and, as Vice President, she has continued to take on this fight in a forthright and unapologetic way,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “She has leaned into her convening power to bring together everyone, from civil rights and reproductive rights leaders, business leaders, young people, patients, and providers, to be heard and inform her approach to tackling this crisis. That is leadership – and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and 18 million Planned Parenthood supporters, are grateful to have a leader like her during such a time as this.” 

“Vice President Harris is the kind of leader and woman I look up to. Her continued fight for people’s access to health care, especially for those who look like me, is both impactful and inspiring,” said Onjheney W., a Planned Parenthood Patient Advocate featured in the ad campaign. “Thank you Vice President for being the leader my community needs and deserves, and for advocating for our right to reproductive health care.

(These ads can be seen across Politico’s news platform)

EXTREME HEAT THREATENS ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE: This summer’s extreme heat has threatened access to essential reproductive health care supplies including condoms, emergency contraception and birth control. Each of these can become less effective or ineffective when exposed to high temperatures for a prolonged period of time. 

The risk to patients is particularly high in abortion ban states, many of which have been affected by this year’s record-breaking heat waves. Abortion funds, which often provide assistance for abortion access in these very states, have begun shipping supplies for pregnancy prevention to those in need. One such organization in Texas, The Lilith Fund, reported damage to over $3,000 worth of pregnancy tests, thermometers and condoms. As a result, similar organizations have begun taking precaution and factoring potential losses due to heat damage into their budgets.

Read more here.

RECRUITING MADE EASIER WHEN EMPLOYERS OFFER SUPPORT FOR ABORTION ACCESS: We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: supporting abortion access is good for business. As the economic research arm of Indeed, the world’s leading job site, reports, employers with policies that announced supportive reproductive health care policies post Dobbs saw an 8% increase in clicks on their job postings — and those same companies raised wages by 4% as compared to companies that did not announce those changes.  

Per Indeed’s report: “The data show that announcing firms reaped clear benefits in recruiting potential employees over peer firms that made no public announcements of support.” But it’s clear that there is more to be done to shift employee understanding of workplace equity: job satisfaction dropped among employees in male-dominated jobs at existing companies that announced support post Dobbs