Debates on Women's Health Issues 'Galvanizing,' Planned Parenthood Pres. Richards Says in Interview

May 8, 2013 — Despite constant attacks on her organization's mission, Planned Parenthood President and CEO Cecile Richards finds the debate around women's health issues "enormously galvanizing," she said in a recent interview with The Hill's "Healthwatch."

Although some abortion-rights supporters have expressed concern about an intensity gap among younger voters, Richards said she "feel[s] a little bit the opposite," in that many young people born after the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision "just assume this is the law of the land."

Planned Parenthood's college chapters have doubled in the past two years, and Richards said young supporters are organizing "like nothing [she has] ever seen" in nearly seven years with the organization. Meanwhile, "Planned Parenthood patients, former and present," have come out in defense of the organization against political threats, she added. Planned Parenthood's next big push will be to increase its reach with young men, "Healthwatch" reports.

Richards' opponents also praise her tact in handling the politics of women's health debates, according to "Healthwatch." Marjorie Dannenfelser -- president of the antiabortion-rights group Susan B. Anthony List -- said Richards "is really good at what she does," adding, "She's been able to create fear with this threat of a tidal wave of disapproval. ... Who in the political world would not wish for a situation like that?" (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 5/7).