Planned Parenthood Fundraiser Shows Determination to Protect Abortion Access

Attendees at the annual Planned Parenthood East End Benefit on June 4 in Bridgehampton gasped in horror as Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson described the tragedies women are experiencing in states with abortion bans.

McGill Johnson described an interaction with a desperate patient in Texas who exceeded the six-week mark of her pregnancy, meaning that an abortion would be illegal — even though the pregnancy was no longer viable. Doctors turned the woman away because of the strict laws in the state preventing them from aborting the fetus, but told her to come back if she became more sick — because only then might they be able to help her.

The conversation showed the determination of the group to support a woman’s right to choose following the leak in early May of a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade and end national protection for women who seek abortions.

The annual fundraiser, held this year at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club, focuses on the Hudson Peconic region, covering Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties, and featured an address by McGill Johnson, the national president of the organization.

In addition to discussion and planning for the future, the event featured a silent auction to benefit Planned Parenthood.

McGill Johnson spoke about the recent changes nationally to abortion access and the work Planned Parenthood had done before the leak of the Supreme Court decision, noting that data showed that 80 percent of Americans supported Roe v. Wade, but only 30 percent believed it would ever be overturned, which she referred to as the “believability gap.”

“This means now more than ever that we need to get people mobilized and engaged and into the streets,” McGill Johnson said during her speech.

Planned Parenthood orchestrated a national day of action on May 14 with the expectation that 20,000 people would participate — instead there were 450 national events, with over a million participants.

While Planned Parenthood is not giving up the fight, the organization has begun making plans to support women and abortion seekers from the 26 states expected to ban abortion with the overturn of Roe.

She said that one thing the organization hoped to do was to work with organizations like Power to Decide to build an “abortion finder,” similar to the travel site Kayak, to help women find help in planning an out-of-state abortion.

“You can just plug in where you are, your gestation, figure out your closest appointment, figure out the route there and where you’re going to stay,” she said. “All the things you don’t want to have to worry about.”

Abortion seekers will likely turn to states like New York, because of the state’s Reproductive Health Act, which protects abortion rights in the state, regardless of the Supreme Court decision.

“What we are doing at Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, and what our chief medical director is doing, is we are prepared to expand our hours, in terms of when we provide in-clinic procedures,” said Vince Russell, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic.

“What we will look to do is continue to open up additional hours and sessions for in-clinic procedures as the need arises to be able to provide those services to those patients fleeing those states,” he said, referring to states making abortions illegal.

McGill Johnson urged New Yorkers who are looking to support Planned Parenthood and abortion access to donate to help support women who can not afford the cost of the procedure.

“It will have a drastically consequential outcome on the poorer communities and those that don’t have the means to be able to travel and move out of state,” said Russell.

“Abortion will continue to be legal and will be able to be sought for those that have the means and the ways of travel, but for those that are not, I think we will have more adverse outcomes,” he added.