Cecile Richards Met With Ivanka Trump to Give Her a Planned Parenthood Explainer
At the Women in the World conference in New York City last night, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards had harsh words for the current administration. "Frankly, if we had more members of the United States Congress that could get pregnant, we would quit fighting about Planned Parenthood and access to reproductive health care," she said. "Anyone who works in this White House is responsible for addressing why women are in the crosshairs of basically every single policy that we've seen out of this administration."
Apparently, those may have been words specifically for Ivanka Trump.
According to Politico, the two met shortly after the inauguration for the purpose of educating Trump about the work Planned Parenthood does. A spokesperson from Planned Parenthood told ELLE.com the purpose of the meeting, "from Planned Parenthood's perspective, was to make sure that Ivanka Trump fully understood the important role Planned Parenthood plays in providing health care to millions of people and why it would be a disastrous idea to block people from accessing care at Planned Parenthood. It was also important to clear up any misinformation regarding the Medicaid reimbursements Planned Parenthood receives and explain that Planned Parenthood is reimbursed the same way hospitals are. It's not a budget line item."
The failed Republican ObamaCare replacement plan would have blocked Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. Republicans have rallied around this platform, arguing that federal funds should not go toward abortions. However, because of the Hyde Amendment, federal funds are already prohibited from being used for abortions, and blocking Medicaid reimbursements would just keep money from going to breast exams, pap smears, and all the other work Planned Parenthood does. Republicans argue that there are plenty of federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics that women can go to instead, but that ignores that Planned Parenthood primarily serves low-income women, and that rural health clinics are not required to provide family planning services or sliding-fee scales.
Ivanka Trump recently became an official, though unpaid, employee of the White House as an "assistant to the president," and has long claimed to be an advocate for women's issues. However, her meeting with Richards seemed to do little to galvanize her to fight for those issues. Richards criticized Trump for her silence on the ObamaCare replacement bill, saying "It's time for Ivanka to … stand for women" in an interview with Buzzfeed.
Ivanka Trump continues to present her case. In an interview with CBS, she said "I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence," (though that's pretty much what it is!), and that her father knows when she disagrees with him. She also said, when addressing criticisms that she's complicit in the misdeeds of her father's administration, "If being complicit is wanting to, is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact than I'm complicit." Please someone define "silence" and "complicit" for Ivanka.
"Planned Parenthood welcomes the opportunity to meet with anyone to talk about the important role Planned Parenthood plays in providing health care to millions of people and ensure they have the facts," the organization said. "Senior staff at the White House, including Ivanka Trump, play an influential role in shaping the Administration's policy and negotiations with Congress, which has a profound impact on women's health and lives. "
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