Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards addressed a Democratic Party on Tuesday that’s more firmly committed to abortion rights, and her group, than ever before.
“Hillary has always been in Planned Parenthood’s corner, because she knows women deserve someone in theirs,” Richards told the delegates gathered in Philadelphia.
It’s the third party convention Richards has spoken at, but the first time her group endorsed a candidate during the primary season. In January, Planned Parenthood announced it would support now-soon-to-be-nominee Hillary Clinton, taking an unprecedented step in its 100-year history.
“This isn’t just about electing the first woman president, it’s about electing this woman president,” Richards said. “Each year, millions of women, men, and young people trust Planned Parenthood. And the Planned Parenthood Action Fund trusts Hillary Clinton.”
As Planned Parenthood has fought off attacks from the right over the past year, Clinton and Democrats have rallied around the women’s health and abortion provider, signaling growing political clout for the group and an increased commitment by Democrats to expanding abortion rights.
In Democrats’ first platform after the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, the party said it supported the decision but acknowledged that some Americans had “religious and ethical concerns” about the procedure. This year, the Democratic platform calls for the first time to repeal the federal Hyde Amendment, a longstanding prohibition on using taxpayer dollars for abortions.
Democrats invited Richards and the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America to speak in 2008 and 2012 as well. This year, they’ve added Emily’s List President Stephanie Schriock to the lineup as well.
Anti-abortion groups are protesting the apparent alliance between Democrats and abortion rights groups, arguing that a sizable minority of Democrats — 32 percent, according to a 2011 Gallup survey — identify as “pro-life.”
“The Democratic National Convention is stacked with pro-abortion speakers, and just yesterday the Democratic Party ratified the most extreme abortion language ever seen in its platform,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.
“Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, cheered on by Planned Parenthood, are pushing the Democratic Party further and further to the extreme on abortion,” she said.
But if anything signals the cozy relationship between Planned Parenthood and Democrats, it could be the group’s spirited defense of Kaine, Clinton’s vice presidential pick. For most of his career, Kaine said he opposed abortion and voted for restrictions on it, although he has become more supportive of abortion rights since becoming a senator.
Yet in an op-ed published by Time Magazine this week, Richards wrote that Kaine has been a strong ally on abortion rights. “Senator Kaine has long held personal beliefs about abortion, but he does not impose those personal beliefs on public policy,” she wrote.
In her speech Tuesday night, Richards called Kaine “a champion for women and families his entire career.”
While Planned Parenthood attacks the GOP presidential nominee every year, Donald Trump and his often-derogatory statements about women have given the group easy ammunition, beyond handing out Trump-themed condoms outside each convention. Richards noted Trump has used the terms “fat pigs” and “dogs” to refer to women.
“He wants to punish women for having abortions,” Richards said. “And he says pregnancy is an inconvenience for a woman’s employer. Well, Donald Trump, come November, women are going to be more than an inconvenience. We’re going to be the reason you’re not elected.”
Democrats have rewarded Planned Parenthood for its strong advocacy with a consistent show of support for the group. The batch of internal DNC emails posted on Wikileaks last week included an exchange about preparing a press release for when former GOP presidential contender Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out.
“Can we add in something on workers and/or women’s health? That has been our two main topline hits about him — especially closing down the planned parenthood clinics,” DNC staffer Christina Freundlich wrote on May 3 to colleagues Miranda Luis and Ryan Banfill.
“Yes, where I put a placeholder it should have that,” Luis responded.
