Wendy Davis and Gov. Phil Murphy Headline Planned Parenthood Spring Benefit
Wendy Davis and Gov. Phil Murphy Headline Planned Parenthood Spring Benefit
Champions of women’s equality celebrate Planned Parenthood’s work for reproductive health
PRINCETON, NJ – In a show of strength, reproductive health and rights supporters from across the state came out in droves today for the Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey (PPNCSNJ) annual Spring Benefit Luncheon. More than 530 attendees heard from keynote speaker Wendy Davis and award recipient Governor Phil Murphy. The event raised funds for PPNCSNJ’s 17 health centers across the state to be able to continue to provide high-quality, affordable reproductive health care services, like cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
“We were so thrilled to be joined by both Wendy Davis and Governor Murphy today – they are both people who stand up for reproductive health care, both here in New Jersey and across the country,” said Triste Brooks, President and CEO of PPNCSNJ. “At a time where our basic reproductive freedoms are under attack nationally, we are moving forward in New Jersey.”
Governor Phil Murphy received PPNCSNJ’s Reproductive Freedom Award, which is presented to recognize leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement. Since taking office in January, Governor Murphy has immediately proven himself to be a leader for reproductive health access.
“I am honored to stand with Planned Parenthood, one of the most vital partners supporting women’s reproductive health in New Jersey and around the country,” said Governor Murphy. “My first bill signed as Governor restored health care funding to facilities like Planned Parenthood, a signal that New Jersey will no longer be a state that values partisan politics over the health of women. I am thankful to be seen as an ongoing ally in this fight and honored to stand alongside Senator Wendy Davis, one of the fiercest combatants on the front lines.”
Keynote speaker Wendy Davis is a former Texas state senator who is best known for her historic 13 hour filibuster on the floor of the Texas Senate to prevent a legislative effort aimed at dramatically reducing women’s access to abortion care in her state. Davis was not allowed to sit, lean, eat, drink, or cease speaking during her marathon filibuster in 2013. For hours, Davis spoke against antiabortion legislation that would have shuttered the vast majority of Texas’s abortion clinics, requiring women to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest provider. Her efforts were vindicated with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
“Whether you live in a state with extraordinary leaders like Governor Murphy who support women’s reproductive freedoms or in one like mine, where women’s access to reproductive health care is under constant assault, it’s important that we commit ourselves to supporting the work of Planned Parenthood,” said Wendy Davis. “On the frontlines of protecting needed health care for women and men in New Jersey and across the country, Planned Parenthood’s work at the state and national level has proven time and time again that they are successful champions for access to needed health care, no matter what.”
“We are honored to be joined by leaders who understand the importance of reproductive health care and access,” said Brooks. “We need leaders who have the political courage to stand up for reproductive health and rights.”
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Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey, Inc. (PPNCSNJ) provides quality, affordable and accessible sexual health care to the women, men, and teens of New Jersey through reproductive health services and sexuality education. We advocate for the privacy, dignity and right of each individual to control his/her sexual and reproductive health.
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