Brooklynites lined 13th Avenue in front of Rep. Dan Donovan’s Dyker Heights office on March 8 demanding the pol protect Planned Parenthood’s funding after House Republicans unveiled a bill that seeks to effectively defund the reproductive health care provider.
It is a chilling prospect that would be a blow to locals who rely on the organization for health care, said one demonstrator.
“Planned parenthood has been there for my family members’ basic health care needs when they didn’t have insurance,” said Bay Ridgite Jannie May. “And I just think it’s absolutely draconian to take away the only option some people have. It’s just unthinkable and cruel.”
On March 6, House Republicans introduced their long-awaited bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — which drops the mandate for most Americans to have health insurance in favor of a new tax-credit system to encourage people to purchase insurance on the open market. The bill would eventually roll back the Medicaid expansion and takes specific aim at Planned Parenthood clinics with language that would cut off federal funds through Medicaid and other government programs for one year.
Planned Parenthood clinics are vilified by conservatives for offering abortions, but also provide other reproductive-health services, including cancer screenings, access to birth control, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted disease. The district Donovan (R–Bay Ridge) represents includes one Planned Parenthood clinic in Staten Island. There are four others across the city — one per borough.
News of the bill sent Planned Parenthood supporters scrambling to voice their outrage, and by Tuesday morning coordinators with the organization rallied concerned Brooklynites to Donovan’s Dyker Heights office. The lawmaker has supported legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in the past, and has recently come under fire for refusing to hold a town hall.
The last-minute rally sought to send the congressman a clear message, said an organizer with Planned Parenthood of New York City.
“After the news, Tuesday morning we got up and decided we needed to take swift action,” said Elizabeth Adams, the branch’s director of government relations. “We needed to let Congress know that right here in New York City there are people who rely on our services that are not going to let this stand.”
Dozens of demonstrators armed with hot-pink posters declaring, “I stand with Planned Parenthood” encouraged drivers on the Dyker Heights thoroughfare to honk in support of the group. Motorists blared their horns, straphangers waved from busses, and even one passenger whipped out a planned parenthood sign waving it back at demonstrators. It was an empowering outlet for constituents to voice their concerns, said one local who attended the rally.
“We are fully embracing our power to speak up and fight back,” said Bay Ridgite Teri Brennan. “We’re not taking anything for granted anymore, and we want Donovan and Congress to hear us.”
But the legislator has no intention of leaving those seeking quality health services on a budget high and dry, and instead feels the funds are better spent elsewhere, according to a rep for the congressman.
“Consistent access to health services and expanding the network of health providers should be the main priority, which is why Congressman Donovan has consistently voted to re-direct funds to local community health centers, which provide a full range of health and preventive care services,” said spokeswoman Alexia Sikora. “Most of us agree that maintaining access to quality women’s health services is critically important. Congressman Donovan has consistently supported community health centers that offer care to women at affordable rates, and he’ll continue to do so.”
