Planned Parenthood is launching a $20 million fund that will go toward candidates who support abortion and other reproductive rights.
The program, called “March. Vote. Win,” will focus on gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, attorneys general, and state legislature elections. The focus will be on Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The $20 million, which is an initial investment, will fund grassroots programs as well as ad and mail programs to inform the public about where different candidates stand on issues such as abortion and birth control.
States have a range of restrictions on abortions, from banning abortion after 20 weeks into a pregnancy to limiting which healthcare professionals can administer an abortion pill.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have moved to let states cut off family planning funds from Planned Parenthood, reversing one of President Obama’s final actions in office. The administration also has provided guidance on how to do so through Medicaid.
Planned Parenthood officials are pushing back on some of these actions in their latest campaign effort, saying the administration had launched “an unprecedented assault” on their organization.
“Today we have a clear message for politicians who are undermining our freedoms and making it harder to get healthcare: We’re voting you out in 2018,” Deirdre Schifeling, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, said in a statement.
