[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14021-14022]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, today I congratulate the Planned 
Parenthood Federation of America on a century's commitment to 
protecting women's health and making that health care a right, not a 
privilege. I have been proud to stand with Planned Parenthood against a 
tide of relentless political attacks, and I look forward to supporting 
this organization as it continues to empower all Americans to take 
control of their health for years to come.
  When advocates opened the first birth control health clinic in the 
United States in 1916, they had a simple but bold goal: to ensure that 
all women, regardless of where they were born or where they live, have 
access to the information and resources they need to lead strong and 
healthy lives. Over the next hundred years, Planned Parenthood worked 
to cement the idea that preventive and reproductive health care is not 
a privilege afforded to the few but a key to leading a full, healthy 
life that should be available to every American.
  In Ohio, our 28 Planned Parenthood clinics educate and provide care 
to tens of thousands of men and women each year, many of whom have 
nowhere else to turn. The lives and struggles of those patients are 
what motivate the dedicated staff and volunteers at these health 
clinics. And they do this critical work in the face of constant threats 
and attacks from all levels of government. Just this year, the State of 
Ohio passed an ill-conceived law that, had it not been overturned by a 
Federal district court, would have jeopardized access to preventive 
care and ceased operation of a prominent infant mortality prevention 
program.
  I get letters all the time from constituents who rely on Planned 
Parenthood. One Ohioan wrote to me saying, ``I was so amazed by the 
support for women that Planned Parenthood provided that I volunteered 
for them for years,'' while another wrote, ``Planned Parenthood not 
only provided a well-rounded education, in which I had received none 
previously, but they also provided services that I would not have had 
access to otherwise.'' I have even heard that Planned Parenthood 
``saved the life of my best friend when she found a lump in her breast 
and she had no health insurance.''
  We need to listen to the voices of these women and remember that 
Planned Parenthood remains a vital health provider for so many. It is a

[[Page 14022]]

strong advocate for its patients, and further attempts to defund or 
destabilize this organization will result in more undiagnosed cancers, 
more untreated illnesses, and more unintended pregnancies.
  We have seen the incredible progress our country can make when women 
make their own health care decisions and follow their dreams, and we 
know what an important role Planned Parenthood plays in making that 
possible. Congratulations to Planned Parenthood Federation of America 
on its 100th anniversary and for the important work its members do in 
Ohio's communities and across the country every day.

                          ____________________