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An Evening with Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood
On June 13th, The San Francisco Foundation welcomed Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation, who shared with our donors her insights into the challenges and opportunities currently facing Planned Parenthood.
Based in New York, she articulated the extreme nature of the political conflict and said that it is not only a budget or resource challenge, nor one specifically about a woman’s right to reproductive freedom. In fact, the growing momentum to disallow federal funds to support Planned Parenthood clinics overall jeopardizes patients’ rights to receive their healthcare at the provider and clinic of their choice.
Ms. Richards emphasized the need for people to get involved in three ways:
- Back candidates who will advocate for women’s health;
- Take action to defend women’s rights – through emails, phone calls, and letters to elected officials; and
- Support Planned Parenthood’s local affiliates as they work to expand their services to meet the growing demand.
Dr. Sandra Hernández, CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, spoke about findings from a recent survey commissioned by the Foundation to map Bay Area reproductive health needs and services, including an assessment of the impact of the closure of Golden Gate Community Health. Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific’s CEO Heather Saunders Estes and Medical Director Dr. Jeff Waldman also described their ongoing work to expand services throughout the Bay Area, including some of the challenges they face.
For more information about the evening’s presentations, please contact the Philanthropic Services team at donorservices@sff.org or 415.733.8500.
