Letter to the editor
In less than a week, voters will head to the polls here in Virginia to cast their ballots for representation in the Virginia General Assembly.
It is imperative that we send a message and elect leaders who support women’s health care—now and in the future. For too long, anti-choice advocates have attempted to defund Planned Parenthood. They have failed in the past and they will fail again.
Those who attack Planned Parenthood continue to look past the fact that 2.7 million patients are served each year nationwide through our services. While we offer quality health care services to our patients with care, attention, and safety, some out-of-touch politicians are seeking to take away our ability to help people across the commonwealth.
A voter doesn’t have to look further than SD-13 candidate Dick Black to see how out of touch right-wing politicians are when it comes to women’s health issues. His words provide us with a glimpse into the brand of the so-called leadership he would like to provide. His vision is not pretty and it doesn’t look out for women’s interests. Dick Black does not believe in access to birth control or emergency contraception.
Simply put, he does not believe in people, particularly women, making their own health care decisions. It’s clear, Black’s beliefs are not only distorted, but overreaching. On the other side, Dr. Jill McCabe is an emergency room physician and working mom who supports women’s rights. She has been attacked and belittled by Dick Black for her work as a doctor and mother.
Who would you rather have represent you? Someone who is a working health care professional or someone who has long been viewed as a right-wing extremist? Planned Parenthood is the nation’s most trusted reproductive health care provider, and the place millions of women, men, and young people turn to each year for basic, preventive care. In our state alone, thousands of Virginians rely on our health care centers.
For many, it is the only care they are able to receive. Women’s health is an important issue in this election. We urge all voters to select candidates that will promote a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions—not invade her right to privacy.
This post is submitted by Cianti Stewart-Reid, Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
