FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ana Sandoval, PPAC Communications (916)446-5247

Hundreds Stand with Planned Parenthood at Annual Capitol Day

SACRAMENTO -- Today, more than 800 people are standing with Planned Parenthood to educate lawmakers and the public about the wide range of preventive health care services offered by Planned Parenthood health centers. Traveling from as far as San Diego and Eureka, participants are taking part in an education fair and rally before meeting with their local legislators and staff to educate them on the importance of fully funding cost-effective preventive health care like those services provided by Planned Parenthood and teen pregnancy prevention programs.

Planned Parenthood health centers provide Californians with services including life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, well-woman exams, contraceptive services, STD prevention and treatment, and much more. Planned Parenthood also provides comprehensive sexual health education and teen pregnancy prevention programs throughout California.

“Each year, more than 800,000 women and men in California trust Planned Parenthood health centers to provide them with professional, non-judgmental health care,” said Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “Thousands of new patients who are struggling to make ends meet or who have recently lost their jobs or insurance in the economic downturn now rely on Planned Parenthood for their essential health care needs.”

California prides itself as a national leader in the area of prevention and Planned Parenthood is one of the largest providers of preventive health care in the state. For more than 90 years building healthy communities has been Planned Parenthood’s mission. We have been here providing essential services to all Californians regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or their ability to pay. Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the services Planned Parenthood provides are dedicated to family planning and other preventive health care.

Planned Parenthood Capitol Day 2011 features a morning rally on the West Steps of the Capitol including speeches by members of the California State Legislature. Confirmed speakers include: State Senators Kevin DeLeon, Mark DeSaulnier, Noreen Evans, Christine Kehoe, Mark Leno, Ted Lieu, and State Assemblymembers Marty Block, Bob Blumenfeld, Betsy Butler, Ellen Corbet, Mike Eng, Mike Feuer, Alyson Huber, Jared Huffman, Bill Monning, Dr. Richard Pan, Anthony Portantino, Nancy Skinner and Norma Torres.

Other rally speakers include Melody Howe Weintraub, Board Chair, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California; former Assemblymember Hannah Beth Jackson, Master of Ceremonies; Kathy Kneer, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California; The Rev. Faith Whitmore, executive director, Frances House; and Corina Flores, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte employee and former Teen Success member. There will also be performances by Spare Change, a teen drama group from Humboldt County and the West Sacramento dance crew Capitol Roots.

Planned Parenthood’s Capitol Day 2011 includes a health education fair on the West Steps of the Capitol, a rally followed by a march to the Sacramento Convention Center, informational workshops and legislative visits by supporters of preventive health care.

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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California’s eight separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of reproductive health care, family planning and comprehensive sex education.