Gloria Feldt Speech at John Kerry Rally 4/23/04

Hello!

I’m so excited to be here today 

And it’s so great to see all of you who have fought together to protect women’s rights, save women’s lives and ensure access to reproductive health care!

This is a powerful and historic moment for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the reproductive rights movement. The outcome is critical to the lives of women, men and families both here and abroad.

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is the political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.  Planned Parenthood Action Fund is non-partisan and independent. 

In fact, later today across the street we’ll present our Barry Goldwater Award to an outstanding pro-choice Republican member of Congress and yesterday we honored the 4 co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Pro-choice Caucus dedicated to improving the health care and lives of ALL AMERICANS!

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has never before endorsed a presidential candidate, but we have a moral obligation to the women of America to stand up for their rights, their health, their lives.

It’s time for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund to bring its unique and extraordinary strength, with 85% favorable ratings with critically important blocks: single women and swing votes, to bear at a point in history when reproductive rights are most threatened.

How threatened?

Imagine a country where the government spends nearly as much money on unproven, abstinence-only preaching as it does family planning  health care?

Imagine a country where the government’s most important public health organizations censor their own websites under pressure from the Bush Administration?

Imagine a country where 87 percent of counties have no abortion provider?

Imagine a country where the attorney general subpoenas women’s private medical records?

Imagine a country where the President appoints people to the FDA’s health advisory committees because of their right wing ideology not their scientific expertise— people who don’t think even married couples should use birth control ?

In George W. Bush’s America, you don’t have to imagine these scenarios.  

WE LIVE IT!

So it is with great pride and enthusiasm that I stand before you today to announce that the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, for the first time in history, endorses a candidate for President of the United States.

Senator John Kerry.

When Joanne Smith, Chair of PPAF and Pam Sutherland, PAC Committee Chair and I  met with John Kerry and interviewed him for our endorsement process, I assure you, we grilled him on all our issues.

John Kerry demonstrated not just a knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand, but incredible passion and conviction for advancing women’s rights and access to reproductive heath care not just here in the United States, but all around the globe.  He really gets in his heart and soul that women’s civil and human rights require reproductive rights and full access to reproductive health services.

President Bush’s very first executive order back in January 2001 was to reinstate the Global Gag Rule on international family planning.

John Kerry has said his first act will be to rescind the Global Gag rule.

Make no mistake about it. The Bush Administration is waging a war on choice.

John Kerry will protect medical privacy.

John Kerry will provide funding for family planning programs.

John Kerry will put medical science over ideology.

And John Kerry will make judicial appointments that uphold our Constitution.

We must win this war on choice!  And we can.

This is the most important election in my lifetime and possible in yours. 

This isn’t an election we hope to win. 

This is an election we must win.

 This is an election with your help, with this candidate, at this timeż

WE WILL WIN!

For your daughters, your sisters, your friends: vote for medical privacy and access to family planning, vote for our next president, John Kerry!