In response to the 100 year anniversary of Planned Parenthood, Physicians for Reproductive Health Board Chair Dr. Willie Parker issued the following statement:
“Physicians for Reproductive Health applauds Planned Parenthood on their 100th anniversary. As physicians, we work every day to provide the highest quality care to our patients, and we are deeply aware of the integral part Planned Parenthood plays in not only the reproductive health community but also our national health system as a whole. Throughout its history, Planned Parenthood has empowered millions of people to make informed health care decisions and to access vital care, and we look forward to its many years ahead.
I am also keenly aware that opponents of Planned Parenthood try to use rhetoric and tactics that exploit racial fears against Planned Parenthood. As a physician caring for women in the South and as a former Medical Director of Planned Parenthood, I know what W.E.B. Dubois, Mary McLeod Bethune, and the other Black leaders of her day understood when they asked the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, to deliver to the women of Harlem the same family planning knowledge that she carried to the other boroughs of New York: medically accurate sex education, modern methods of contraception, and that women controlling their own bodies saves lives. Scientific research proves this to be true. This organization has meant so much to the health and lives of all women and families, and Physicians proudly stands ready to partner with Planned Parenthood for the next 100 years, empowering all to realize their reproductive and sexual health goals.”
