Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Planned Parenthood march against Obamacare repeal

"With this disaster of a bill dead and buried, I hope that we can get to work."

Hundreds of Planned Parenthood supporters rallied in Balboa Park on Friday morning (March 24) in anticipation of a congressional vote to defund the organization that was pulled from the table by Republican backers moments before the vote was to have taken place.

The proposed American Health Care Act was intended to replace provisions in the Affordable Care Act, more popularly known as Obamacare. One tenet of the bill would have blocked funding for groups that provide abortion services, including Planned Parenthood.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Supporters of the organization argued that federal funding had never been used to pay for abortion services, but instead to provide cancer screening and other health services to those uninsured or otherwise unable to access care. The group says it serves approximately 140,000 people, mostly women, in the region.

"When I was a broke student, when I was removed from my mom's health insurance and couldn't afford my own, Planned Parenthood was there for me," Erin Panichkul of the Coalition for Reproductive Justice told a crowd assembled at the western edge of the park, many dressed in pink shirts and waving pink signs bearing the organization's logo. "Planned Parenthood is my safe space."

Congressional staffers for Representatives Susan Davis, Juan Vargas, and Scott Peters showed up to offer support to the group and general criticism of the proposed act. Peters staffer Kiera Galloway described the bill as "an unconscionable attempt to remove health coverage for so many men and women throughout the San Diego area."

Madison Shockley, pastor at the Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, said that religious beliefs regarding abortion shouldn't be a deterrent to supporting the broader goals of the organization.

"There is nothing in my faith that prevents me from standing with Planned Parenthood. In fact, my faith demands it," said Shockley, insisting that the group "serves the people that my God cares about" and was "doing sacred work."

Hours after the protest, House speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill in the face of likely defeat had a vote been called.

"I’m proud that so many Americans — including thousands of the people I represent in San Diego — made their voices heard and urged their representatives to oppose this healthcare repeal," read a portion of a jubilant release sent by Peters following the non-vote. "With this disaster of a bill dead and buried, I hope that we can get to work — together — on real reforms to make healthcare more accessible and more affordable for the American people."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

Hundreds of Planned Parenthood supporters rallied in Balboa Park on Friday morning (March 24) in anticipation of a congressional vote to defund the organization that was pulled from the table by Republican backers moments before the vote was to have taken place.

The proposed American Health Care Act was intended to replace provisions in the Affordable Care Act, more popularly known as Obamacare. One tenet of the bill would have blocked funding for groups that provide abortion services, including Planned Parenthood.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Supporters of the organization argued that federal funding had never been used to pay for abortion services, but instead to provide cancer screening and other health services to those uninsured or otherwise unable to access care. The group says it serves approximately 140,000 people, mostly women, in the region.

"When I was a broke student, when I was removed from my mom's health insurance and couldn't afford my own, Planned Parenthood was there for me," Erin Panichkul of the Coalition for Reproductive Justice told a crowd assembled at the western edge of the park, many dressed in pink shirts and waving pink signs bearing the organization's logo. "Planned Parenthood is my safe space."

Congressional staffers for Representatives Susan Davis, Juan Vargas, and Scott Peters showed up to offer support to the group and general criticism of the proposed act. Peters staffer Kiera Galloway described the bill as "an unconscionable attempt to remove health coverage for so many men and women throughout the San Diego area."

Madison Shockley, pastor at the Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, said that religious beliefs regarding abortion shouldn't be a deterrent to supporting the broader goals of the organization.

"There is nothing in my faith that prevents me from standing with Planned Parenthood. In fact, my faith demands it," said Shockley, insisting that the group "serves the people that my God cares about" and was "doing sacred work."

Hours after the protest, House speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill in the face of likely defeat had a vote been called.

"I’m proud that so many Americans — including thousands of the people I represent in San Diego — made their voices heard and urged their representatives to oppose this healthcare repeal," read a portion of a jubilant release sent by Peters following the non-vote. "With this disaster of a bill dead and buried, I hope that we can get to work — together — on real reforms to make healthcare more accessible and more affordable for the American people."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader