State Senator Art Haywood made the below statement in support of Planned Parenthood following attacks on the organization:
PHILADELPHIA, August 3, 2015: “Planned Parenthood provides vital services to families across Pennsylvania and the nation. According to Planned Parenthood, the organization serves more than 2.7 million patients each year, the vast majority of whom live at or near the federal poverty line. Without Planned Parenthood, these individuals would have limited access to affordable birth control, cancer screenings and evidenced-based family planning education. The wellbeing and independence that Planned Parenthood provides to individuals is essential to the health of our communities.
Defunding of Planned Parenthood would cut family planning services – not abortions. Publicly-funded family planning services prevent 1.94 million unintentional pregnancies each year, according to a Guttmacher Institute study. Cutting these programs has the potential to lead to an increase in unintended pregnancies and abortions. Additionally, Pennsylvania’s Planned Parenthood centers do not donate fetal tissue, although the practice is legal in our commonwealth; an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue donation practices in Pennsylvania would waste taxpayer dollars. I fully support the critical work of Planned Parenthood in Pennsylvania.”
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Contact: Melissa Ostroff
215-242-8171
mostroff@pasenate.com