Political Quotes

“this vote to allow States to defund Planned Parenthood and other title X funded health programs is simply shameful and dangerous, and millions of Americans across this country, including tens of thousands of women and men in Illinois, are going to suffer as a result. This vote is particularly devastating to the 2.7 million Americans who depend on Planned Parenthood for their basic preventive healthcare each year. I personally understand what is at stake with this vote because I have been there. When I was working my way through college as a waitress, with the help of Pell grants and student loans and student work-study, I relied on Planned Parenthood for my basic healthcare, for services that are just as simple as a simple physical that I needed to get that waitressing job. I went to Planned Parenthood because that is all I could afford on a student's budget, and I needed to get that second job. While I can relate to the obvious good that Planned Parenthood does, many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, unfortunately, simply cannot. They don't understand what is at stake. Let's take a look at my home State of Illinois. In Illinois alone, Planned Parenthood serves 64,000 patients annually. Of those, 34,000 seek testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and nearly 7,000 are seeking out cancer screenings.…”