The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent this letter July 31 to the U.S. Senate:
Dear Senator:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 96 undersigned civil and human rights and labor organizations, we urge you to oppose all efforts to defund Planned Parenthood Federation of America ( PPFA ). We strongly condemn the distorted and fraudulent campaign against PPFA, a critical provider of vital health services to low-income women and women of color.
As a result of the false claims based on selectively edited videos by the so-called "Center for Medical Progress" infiltration of PPFA, we expect a number of Senate proposals will be offered on this Monday at 5:30pm to defund the organization. The group behind this fraud has undertaken 10 separate attack campaigns like this over the last eight years. Their real agenda is now clear—they want to defund PPFA and block access to basic health services, particularly for low-income women, women of color, women with disabilities, and young women. This is also an attack on all women and their basic civil and human right to health care.
PPFA provides affordable, and critically needed quality preventive health care and treatment to 2.7 million women, men, and young people across the country. Their clinics provide routine examinations, cancer screenings, contraceptive services, HIV and STI ( sexually transmitted infections ) testing. Approximately one in five women in America will rely on PPFA for health care in her lifetime.
For many low-income women and women of color, PPFA is their main health care provider. In 2013, PPFA's clinics served 370,000 African American patients, which was 14 percent of their overall patients; 575,000 Latinos, which was 22 percent of their overall patients; and 11,500 Native Americans. PPFA services are particularly critical for African American and Latina women who experience the highest mortality rates among women diagnosed with breast cancer and cervical cancer. Access to PPFA for early diagnosis is critical to these women's health and lives. In addition, over the last ten years, PPFA has significantly increased the numbers of male patients they serve, including from communities of color.
We strongly urge you to oppose all proposals to defund PPFA and stand with the undersigned organizations to protect the right to health care for low income women and women of color. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nancy Zirkin, Leadership Conference Executive Vice President, at zirkin@civilrights.org, or June Zeitlin, Leadership Conference Director of Human Rights Policy at zeitlin@civilrights.org .
Sincerely,
Wade Henderson
President & CEO
Judith Lichtman
Chair, Leadership Conference Board of Directors
Senior Advisor, National Partnership for Women & Families
Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President
List of Organizations:
Alliance for Justice
Amalgamated Transit Union
American Association of University Women ( AAUW )
American Civil Liberties Union
American Family Voices
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ( AFL-CIO )
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME )
American Federation of Teachers
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee ( ADC )
Americans for Democratic Action ( ADA )
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Andrew Goodman Foundation
Anti-Defamation League
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
BCTGM International Union
BiNet USA
Bisexual Resource Center
CAEAR Coalition
Campaign for America's Future
Catholics for Choice
Center for Health and Gender Equity ( CHANGE )
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Communications Workers of America
Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
DC Vote
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Equality Federation
Family Equality Council
Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas
Feminist Majority
Freedom to Marry
Gender Action
GLAAD
Global Justice Institute
GLSEN
Human Rights Campaign
Institute for Science and Human Values, Inc.
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Women International
Lambda Legal
Latino Justice PRLDEF
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of United Latin American Citizens
Legal Momentum
Marriage Equality USA
Metropolitan Community Churches
Movement Advancement Project
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Black Justice Coalition ( NBJC )
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Education Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Health Law Program
National Immigration Law Center
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Salud
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
National Urban League
National Women's Law Center
New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project
NMAC
People for the American Way
PFLAG National
PolicyLink
Project Vote
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union ( RWDSU )
Secular Coalition for America
SEIU
Southern Poverty Law Center
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
USAction
Voices for Progress
Women Enabled International
Women Graduates-USA
Women of Reform Judaism
Women's Research & Education Institute ( WREI )
Women's Intercultural Network ( WIN )
Women's Media Center
The Workmen's Circle
See PDF here: civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/policy/letters/2015/PPFADefundingLetter7-31.pdf .
