Lucy Gellman Photos
If the federal government defunds Planned Parenthood, poor women — and men — in and around New Haven won’t just have trouble obtaining birth control, STI testing, and abortion services. Thousands of them will also lose access to cervical and ovarian cancer screenings and routine breast exams. That loss of preventative care could translate to thousands of women battling a life-threatening disease that wasn’t caught early enough.
More than 150 Planned Parenthood supporters drove that message home Tuesday evening, blanketing the four-way intersection of College and Chapel streets in a sea of hot pink as they alternated between rallying cries of two/four/six/eight/congress won’t decide our fate and don’t take away our care!.
The New Haven gathering was held as part of national #PinkOut Day organized by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) as the organization faces mounting attacks from Congressional Republicans, including this month’s 241-to-187 U.S. House of Representatives vote to gut the organization of $500 million.
The gathering collected momentum a little after 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening, as Judy Tabar, president and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, arrived at the corner of the New Haven Green donning a light pink blazer. A small army of around 12 volunteers, toting boxes of deep pink shirts and placards, gathered behind her.
Just 15 minutes later, the streets were exploding. Signs went up in the air, hot pink bright against the greying sky. Children were hoisted onto shoulders and bounced jubilantly in baby carriers. A communal roar rose up, voices of all octaves mingling in the name of not just reproductive choice, but affordable health care for women and men in some of Connecticut’s lowest-income communities.
Leading them as they chanted was Planned Parenthood regional Director of Public Policy, Advocacy & Strategic Engagement Gretchen Raffa (pictured at top of article) and University of Connecticut law student Anna Boyle. Boyle urged supporters to remain calm as around 10 counter-protesters with large, graphic posters attempted to file in front of them. When asked for comment on Planned Parenthood’s provision of cervical cancer screenings, one (who declined to give her name) replied, “Do you know that they’re cutting up babies?”
While Planned Parenthood makes no attempt to conceal its provision of abortion services, it is equally set on reminding national audiences that abortions make up only 10 percent of its annual distribution of services, and don’t involve federal funds.
That isn’t just a national issue, Tabar said Tuesday night. It’s a hyper-local one too.
“The reason we’re here today is really to stand up for the 2.7 million women across this country who come to Planned Parenthood for lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, for testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), for birth control, for pregnancy testing and counseling, and for abortion services,” she shared.
She noted that “90 percent of our services are focused on prevention, and so we’re here today to stand up for those services, to push back against defunding efforts … That’s part of these vital services.”
The numbers game she would face if hit with significant budget cuts would be devastating. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England serves 64,000 patients; 76 percent of its 16 medical health centers are in underserved or “health professional shortage” areas, meaning that they may be the only health care provider to which residents of certain communities have access. If those satellites are forced to close their doors, all services will go with them, speakers emphasized.
As she cheered on advocates, Mayor Toni Harp said defunding would put an enormous strain on New Haven.
“I keep wondering why women who are over 50 percent of the population will allow this debate to even happen in America,” Harp said. “We need to let the men — and the few women who are a part of this [pro-defunding] — know that you are accountable if you take away our right to have a healthy life. I don’t think that they’re hearing that strong enough, so hopefully this [rally] across the country will make a big difference and people will recognize that we value the healthcare that we have, and we value Planned Parenthood.”
“We’re not going to stand for much more of this nonsense,” she added.
To find out more about Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, visit its website.