Friday, July 14, 2017

Rep. Steve King Wants to use Welfare and Planned Parenthood funding to pay for Mexico Wall

Congress should use money from its food stamp budget and Planned Parenthood funding to pay for a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico, Rep. Steve King said Wednesday.
"Are you comfortable, congressman, with providing $1.6 billion of taxpayer money, not from Mexico, to build that wall?" CNN's Alisyn Camerota asked on "New Day."
"Absolutely, yes and more," he replied. "And I'd throw another $5 billion on the pile and I would find half a billion of that from right out of Planned Parenthood's budget. And the rest of it could come out of food stamps and the entitlements that are being spread out for people who haven't worked in three generations."
He then went on to literally compare taking food stamps away from people to Michelle Obama's healthy school lunch initiative. What the what?!


It's chilling how out of touch some legislators are. Two-thirds of people on food stamps are elderly, children, or disabled. This is little better than gaslighting; perpetuating the myth that food stamps are an "entitlement for people who haven't worked for three generations," when in reality, it is estimated that fraud exists in only about 2.7% of all cases. In fact, the highest cases of fraud are connected to long-term disability payments, not food stamps and welfare. It's a campaign going back generations in an attempt to further dehumanize people struggling with poverty, mental illness, and disability. Don't listen to this nonsense. Take the time to educate yourselves on the facts.

Next, I would ask the good Congressman to take a solid look at what is happening in Texas, where a defund forced 80 Planned Parenthoods in the state to close. Unwanted pregnancies and STD rates have gone up. In some rural areas where women would have to drive 100 miles or more to receive preventative care, the abortion rate skyrocketed by 191% in three years. The point is, whether you like it or not, people need access to preventative care, including checkups, cancer testing, birth control, STD testing and treatment, and more. If you take that away, what is it that you honestly expect to happen?

As the wise poet Zac de la Rocha once said; wake up!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Capital Region Handmaids Take on DC!



On Tuesday, UHPP, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts (PPESA), Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley and Planned Parenthood Central and Western NY joined together with staff, advocates and volunteers to travel to DC. And what a GREAT trip it was!

Our volunteers were AMAZING and our Handmaids ROCKED Washington! And the proof was that Senate Leader Mitch McConnell suffered a setback and was forced to delay the vote to “defund” Planned Parenthood and repeal the ACA. This is clearly the result of all the tremendous pressure Planned Parenthood affiliates and partners are exerting online, on-the-ground, and through grasstops connections.
We have to take a moment to celebrate every victory we have -- and this one is important. They are buckling under the immense pressure we are exerting. Simply put: this is because of the tireless work of Planned Parenthood staff, supporters, and volunteers over the last six months. Every call, tweet, rally -- IT MATTERS.

And we can’t let up. They are going home over July recess -- and we will be there waiting to deliver the same message -- people will not stand for blocking women from Planned Parenthood.

Thank you to the awesome volunteers and especially to the staff who came...Anne, Jonathan, Amy Wo., Nicole C., Chelly, Kate, Tracey!



And HOLY did we get some attention!

Our local advocates made a stir in DC and it was noticed by national and international media!
Please feel free to share to your social media to help us spread the word!
Katherine S. Bruno
Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs
Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood