For the second year in a row, women around the world will march to bring attention to issues important to them. Wochit
It’s 2018, and women are leading the largest grassroots movement in generations.
It started one year ago this week when millions joined the Women’s March – the largest demonstration in history. From there, women led the charge in demanding Iowa lawmakers oppose the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and demanding members of Congress oppose efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
It continued with huge victories at the ballot box, with women of color leading important victories in Virginia and Alabama. In Iowa’s five special elections, pro-women candidates started to shift the map, running highly competitive races in districts Donald Trump won by a landslide.
The Women’s March sparked an energy that continues to this day. More women than ever are running for elected office because they are tired of politicians trying to control women’s bodies and taking away our rights. Women are speaking out in the workplace because they are sick of predatory bosses and institutional inequality. Throughout the year, brave women stood up and spoke out against powerful men who had harassed and assaulted them. And women are empowered because individuals who have abused their privilege and power are being held accountable.
It’s 2018, and we’re seeing a solid vision for getting Iowa back on the right track with more and more voters rejecting politicians who don’t respect our rights. Women, people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants and others are demanding full equality in all places of our lives – in the state legislature, halls of Congress, in our homes, at our schools, in the workplace, and in the world.
Planned Parenthood is proud to be a part of the fight alongside allies, activists, #MeToo, TimesUp, and countless others.
For more than 100 years, the idea behind Planned Parenthood has been bigger than women’s health. From Day 1, it was about the fundamental belief that freedom and full equality cannot be achieved until everyone has control over their lives at the most basic levels: bodies, families and future.
It’s 2018, and we shouldn’t be debating women’s bodily autonomy. Yet, we are still fighting for a world that respects women, treats women and all people with dignity, and pays women equally. Where women can prevent pregnancy if they want to, or plan and raise healthy families on their own timeline. Where women’s bodies are their own.
It’s 2018, and women will rise up to be a potent political force leading the largest grassroots movement in generations. You see it everywhere – women are demanding access to care at Planned Parenthood, standing up to sexual harassment, running for office in historic numbers, winning unlikely races that no one imagined could be won, and determining the outcome of some of the country’s most important elections.
And you see it at Planned Parenthood, with more than 122,000 Iowa supporters signed up and polls showing overwhelming support for Planned Parenthood health centers.
It’s 2018, and we will not stop fighting until every individual can control their body and their life.
Suzanna de Baca is the president/CEO of Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa.