Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today met with Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America to continue efforts to ensure protection for women’s right to choose, as well as efforts to increase funding for family planning resources and access to medically accurate, comprehensive sex education. Senator Gillibrand has a 100 percent rating from NARAL and other pro-choice organizations.
“We can never let up in our efforts to ensure all women have access to the family planning resources and education they need,” Senator Gillibrand said. “NARAL is on the frontline, fighting tirelessly to protect women’s right to choose, and I am committed to working to ensure all women and their families have access to the resources they need to make health care decisions that are right for them.”
“In addition to her solidly pro-choice voting record, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is a rising star among pro-choice leaders in the Senate who not only talk the talk but walk the walk when it comes to protecting a woman’s right to choose,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, which counts more than 62,000 member activists in the Empire State. “As a result of pro-choice gains in the Senate, we now have an opportunity to change policies in a way that makes a positive difference in the lives of women and their families. We look forward to working in partnership with Senator Gillibrand to achieve these goals.”
Opponents to choice continue to chip away at reproductive access for women. Their ultimate goal is to turn back the clock more than 35 years, returning to the days when women were denied privacy and access to proper medical care. Senator Gillibrand discussed with NARAL President Keenan ways to work together to ensure the nation’s progress is protected, and women across America have the information they need to make the health care decisions that are right for them.
Earlier this month, Senator Gillibrand urged strong support for President Obama’s proposal to rescind the so-called “Conscience Clause” – a dangerous anti-choice regulation instituted during the waning months of the Bush Administration that undermines a woman’s access to emergency contraception and family planning information. Senator Gillibrand joined with her colleagues to sign a letter to Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Charles E. Johnson pledging her support for the agency’s “Rescission Proposal” to fully reverse this backward and unnecessary regulation.
Senator Gillibrand believes strongly that a woman’s medical decisions should be made between her, her family and her doctor – not politicians. Her support for reproductive rights has earned her a 100 percent rating from the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. As a working mother of two, Senator Gillibrand believes in commonsense solutions to reduce the number of abortions, such as increased access to medically accurate sex education and affordable contraception.
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